Field Notes are stories from the field that show doctrine colliding with reality. Field notes are how I document what actually happened when systems, people, and missions intersected under pressure. Some went well. Some went sideways. All of them taught me something about how resilient systems really work.
These aren’t case studies cleaned up for a conference. They’re honest accounts from disaster deployments, federal systems work, wildfire operations, and coalition environments where the stakes were real and the playbook didn’t always apply.
Field Reports are deep dive applications of the doctrine to concrete problems. Where Field Notes tell short stories from the field, Field Reports walk through the full analysis, the numbers, the trade-offs, and the recommended moves. Most reports began as work I did for myself or a colleague, then cleaned up so others can reuse the thinking without repeating all the research and analysis.
New Here? Start With These:
Field Guides
The Mobile Mapping Unit That Changed Everything – How a self-funded 26-foot truck taught me (mostly) everything I know about forward-deployed systems
What The Katrina Book Was Really For – Why I wrote a book for Rhode Island USAR (narrative infrastructure, not vanity publishing)
Systems Built On Heroics Are Brittle – What Hurricane Florence cost me, and why “can-do culture” eventually breaks people
(Publication dates reflect when documentation was published, not when the work occurred).
These field notes draw from 20+ years of work (2005-2025). Some were written immediately after the events. Others were written years later when I finally had the distance to see the patterns clearly.
Publication dates reflect when I made the work public, not when the experience happened. You may notice evolution in voice and clarity across pieces. That’s because they were written at different points in my career, then published when I finally had the platform and capacity to share them.
Why Field Notes Matter
Doctrine guides explain principles. -> Field notes show what happens when those principles meet reality.
Doctrine is prescriptive. -> Field notes are descriptive (including when I got it wrong).
Doctrine is timeless. -> Field notes are time-stamped and context-specific.
If you want to understand the doctrine, read the guides. If you want to see where it came from (including the mistakes that led to it), read the field notes.
Sphere and Spikes: Building What You Need Without Becoming a Specialist
Field Note: The 1790 Farmhouse and What It Taught Me About Stewardship
Field Notes: Why Facts Don’t Change Minds: Motivation And Story Frameworks For Leaders
Field Notes – The Pre-Shoot Ritual: How To Lower Friction For High-Stakes Video
Disposable Pixels (UI) On A Durable Substrate
Business Analysis Center of Excellence – How To Stop Committing Project Malpractice
Field Note: Rapid Goal Setting For Cross Functional Teams
The Audition Trap: Why Panel Interviews Create False Negatives in Hiring
Systems Built On Heroics Are Brittle
How Wildland Fire Actually Moves: A Guide To The Three Tier Dispatch System
Field Notes: What The Katrina Book Was Really For
Field Notes: What The Mobile Mapping Unit Taught Me About Forward-Deployed Systems
Field Notes: What I Learned Writing The Government Video Guide
Guarding the Room: A Hubbard Brook Story About Science and Funding
How Field Notes Connect to Doctrine
Field notes don’t just tell stories. They anchor the doctrine guides with concrete examples.
For instance:
- The Mobile Mapping Unit story explains why federation works where integration fails
- The Katrina Book story shows narrative infrastructure in action
- Systems Built On Heroics explains why capacity matters more than can-do spirit
If a doctrine guide references a field note, it’s because that story proves (or complicates) the principle.