Hi, Alan - very enjoyable and thought-provoking post:).

Actually, it's more of a memory-provoking post for me.   I served in the US Army Reserve for a number of years.  While my service was completely peaceful, totally in the US, and mostly short periods of weekends, two-week periods, and a few longer stretches, I retain sharp memories of many of these experiences.

I had the opportunity to observe leadership at the enlisted and officer level, from man-to-man through large group actions.  I saw some of the best and some of the worst leadership during this time and still use examples from that on occasion as appropriate.

Your question about curiosity reminded me immediately of Major Evans, who I was shadowing during a short tour with the Big Red One (lst Infantry in Fort Riley, KS).  Major Evans was a battalion operations officer, so was responsible for the training and  operational deployment of this armor unit.

In the field, Major Evans learned a great deal about what was going on during exercises by repeatedly employing one simple tactic:    We would drive up to a couple of tanks sitting somewhere, Major Evans would hop out and climb up on the tank.  He would then smile broadly and say "Hi, how are you guys doing?", followed by "What are you all doing here?" - all spoken in a "just folks", friendly, and open manner.

The man learned all kinds of things about how the exercise was really going by doing this versus the information gained through reading formal reports or talking only to the commanders, who were usually not the most objective folks on site.

I took this learning with me into my civilian work and emulated Major Evans' folksy and open approach, which has paid off nicely throughout the years.

One important thing:  This was not asking questions with an agenda or a certain answer in mind to hear.   Major Evans was the epitome of curiosity and simply followed up on whatever was said with more questions.

One example of curiosity possibly saving lives down the road, as opposed to killing cats:)

Appreciate your contributions.

John