--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A general is just as good or just as bad…" description: "\"A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.\" — Douglas MacArthur" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/douglas-macarthur-2344_command_a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad_3007704.png" --- # A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops… ![“A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.” quote by Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/douglas-macarthur-2344_command_a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad_3007704.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/douglas-macarthur-2344_command_a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad_3007704.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/douglas-macarthur-2344_command_a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad_3007704.png) > “A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.” [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A leader’s reputation mirrors the quality of the troops they command. **In simple terms:** Leaders reflect their troops. Key Takeaway Lead by example. Themes leadership responsibility military Mood respectful inspirational Type historical motivational When to use this quote - army morale - organizational culture - political leadership Key Concepts command influence collective performance Questions to Reflect On - How do you improve troop standards? - What actions demonstrate good leadership? A Different Perspective Leaders can also shape troop quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Troops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-troops-4805984/) [Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/) [General Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-just-2160829/) [Just Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-good/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Troops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troops/) [Troops Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troops-command-4805985/) ## Related quotes > [Nobody's more mindful of the sacrifices of our troops than those of us that command them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-abizaid/nobody-s-more-mindful-of-the-sacrifices-of-our-troops-than-those-of/) [John Abizaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-abizaid/) > [General R, just showed up. Don't pass me nothin already rolled up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-cafe/general-r-just-showed-up-don-t-pass-me-nothin-already-rolled-up/) [Red Cafe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-cafe/) > [Texas, in general, I just love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snow-tha-product/texas-in-general-i-just-love-it/) [Snow Tha Product](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snow-tha-product/) > [Football in general is just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-hillis/football-in-general-is-just-fun/) [Peyton Hillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-hillis/) > [France is invaded; I am leaving to take command of my troops, and, with God's help and their valor, I hope soon to drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/france-is-invaded-i-am-leaving-to-take-command-of-my-troops-and-with/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Something I try to instill in others is to just be a good person. It's a decision you make a million times a day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chance-the-rapper/something-i-try-to-instill-in-others-is-to-just-be-a-good-person-it-s/) [Chance The Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chance-the-rapper/) > [Progress is often just a good idea away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/progress-is-often-just-a-good-idea-away/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [There's no need to overwhelm yourself with thoughts, because you know that you're just as good or better than some of the players you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobi-jones/there-s-no-need-to-overwhelm-yourself-with-thoughts-because-you-know/) [Cobi Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cobi-jones/) > [The most important thing is to just be good at what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pratt/the-most-important-thing-is-to-just-be-good-at-what-you-do/) [Victoria Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pratt/) > [I always tell myself every day, I'm just as good as anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-rozier/i-always-tell-myself-every-day-i-m-just-as-good-as-anybody/) [Terry Rozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-rozier/) > [The Constitution: it's not just a good idea, it's the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-badnarik/the-constitution-it-s-not-just-a-good-idea-it-s-the-law/) [Michael Badnarik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-badnarik/) > [Sometimes its just good to be alone, in the silent, and enjoy it..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/sometimes-its-just-good-to-be-alone-in-the-silent-and-enjoy-it/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Winning is just such a good feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-fleetwood/winning-is-just-such-a-good-feeling/) [Tommy Fleetwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-fleetwood/) > [I'm a fan boy when it comes to Michael Buble. He's just so good at 'it'. He's got a voice of this generation, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-williams/i-m-a-fan-boy-when-it-comes-to-michael-buble-he-s-just-so-good-at-it/) [Robbie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-williams/) > [There are a lot of stuff on the record that I am thinking is generic but actually it is just as good as everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/there-are-a-lot-of-stuff-on-the-record-that-i-am-thinking-is-generic/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) ## More by Douglas MacArthur > [Men since the beginning of time have sought peace...military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/men-since-the-beginning-of-time-have-sought-peace-military-alliances/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride - humility in the weight of those great American architects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-stand-on-this-rostrum-with-a-sense-of-deep-humility-and-great-pride/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/our-country-is-now-geared-to-an-arms-economy-bred-in-an-artificially/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [If I had one more division like this First Marine Division I could win this war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/if-i-had-one-more-division-like-this-first-marine-division-i-could/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/however-horrible-the-incidents-of-war-may-be-the-soldier-who-is/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [While Asia is commonly referred to as the Gateway to Europe, it is no less true that Europe is the Gateway to Asia, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/while-asia-is-commonly-referred-to-as-the-gateway-to-europe-it-is-no/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [I believe that the entire effort of modern society should be concentrated on the endeavor to outlaw war as a method of the solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-believe-that-the-entire-effort-of-modern-society-should-be/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [In war, as it is waged now, with the enormous losses on both sides, both sides will lose. It is a form of mutual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/in-war-as-it-is-waged-now-with-the-enormous-losses-on-both-sides-both/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-am-concerned-for-the-security-of-our-great-nation-not-so-much/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [I've looked that old scoundrel death in the eye many times but this time I think he has me on the ropes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-ve-looked-that-old-scoundrel-death-in-the-eye-many-times-but-this/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/age-wrinkles-the-body-quitting-wrinkles-the-soul/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [For those to whom much is given, much is required. It is not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/for-those-to-whom-much-is-given-much-is-required-it-is-not-whether/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [In war, you win or lose, live or die - and the difference is just an eyelash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/in-war-you-win-or-lose-live-or-die-and-the-difference-is-just-an/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Beware not the enemy from 'without' but the enemy from 'within'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/beware-not-the-enemy-from-without-but-the-enemy-from-within/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) [Explore all 171 Douglas MacArthur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) ## More Command quotes > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Why has no religion this command before all others: Thou shalt work?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berthold-auerbach/why-has-no-religion-this-command-before-all-others-thou-shalt-work/) [Berthold Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berthold-auerbach/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [When you're in command, command.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-w-nimitz/when-you-re-in-command-command/) [Chester W. Nimitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-w-nimitz/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There is a particular danger with a war that God commands. What if God should lose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-is-a-particular-danger-with-a-war-that-god-commands-what-if-god/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Once you have hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/once-you-have-hierarchy-you-need-rules-to-protect-and-administer-it/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [You've got Washington picking winners and losers. And so, all of a sudden, decisions are being made on what helps politicians, not what helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/you-ve-got-washington-picking-winners-and-losers-and-so-all-of-a/) [Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/) > [While it is becoming increasingly obvious that the fundamental architecture of a system has a profound Influence on the quality of its human factors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-m-branscomb/while-it-is-becoming-increasingly-obvious-that-the-fundamental/) [Lewis M. Branscomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-m-branscomb/) [Browse all 1,694 Command quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas MacArthur" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad-as-the-troops-under-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Command" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad-as-the-troops-under-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/douglas-macarthur-2344_command_a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad_3007704.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/douglas-macarthur-2344_command_a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad_3007704.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/douglas-macarthur-2344_command_a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad_3007704.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.” — Douglas MacArthur", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Douglas MacArthur", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A general is just as good...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad-as-the-troops-under-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/a-general-is-just-as-good-or-just-as-bad-as-the-troops-under-his/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```