It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.
Meaning of the quote
It's easy to tell people to go fight, but it takes real courage to be one of the soldiers who actually goes into battle. Being a leader who sends others to war is not the same as being the person who risks their own life. True heroism is found in the people who face danger and hardship on the front lines, not just those who give the orders from the back.
More quotes from Norman Schwarzkopf
You learn far more from negative leadership than from positive leadership. Because you learn how not to do it. And, therefore, you learn how to do it.
Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.
Do what is right, not what you think the high headquarters wants or what you think will make you look good.
When placed in command – take charge.
It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.
He is neither a strategist nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general. Other than that he’s a great military man.
War is a profane thing.