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Andy Young

@noduffdispatches.bsky.social
311 followers 27 following 23 posts

Pseudo-academic, amphibious warfare geek and house husband. Not necessarily in that order!

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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Sunday afternoon gaming with the boys... Some interesting tactical decisions: bold flanking moves; rapid relief marches; dogged frontal assaults; and heavy casualties. But the Union held *Seven Pines* and *Fair Oak*. Best bit? Spending time with these two, reliving my youth.
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
We talk a lot about values in leadership. But the real test isn’t what we say - it’s how we behave. The latest #LeadingFromWithin looks at The Integrity Gap: the space between our stated values and our lived actions. That gap is where trust erodes. It’s also where leadership begins. Read here:
open.substack.com
Ep 4: The Integrity Gap
Or: Values, Tribe, and the Work of Self-Leadership
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
We talk endlessly about leadership. We talk far less about the place it’s most brutally tested: at home. Parent Out Loud - a short piece on identity, vulnerability, and why parenting reshapes everything. Grab a cuppa, pull up a bollard, and have a read. open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Parent Out Loud
Or: Lessons in Joy, Sadness, Fear and Anger
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
🚨Ep3 of #LeadingfromWithin is live!🚨 Military personnel will be all too familiar with the Johari window, where "self-awareness" is sought with laser-like focus, often with unforeseen defenestration. Grab a brew ☕, take 5 🕠, and have a read.👇 open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Ep 3: The Open Window Doctrine
Or: How I Learned to Stop Navel-Gazing and Love the Feedback
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
New post from NoDuffDispatches. A quiet examination of that insidious inner voice that consistently undermines us. This isn’t a plea for sympathy - it’s an ethical reflection on something many of us carry but rarely name. Have a read, let me know if it resonates. open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Fear and Loathing, Inward
Or: What Iago Taught Me About Myself
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Episode 2 of #leadingfromwithin is out. "The Gospel According to (Major) Bach" is a short, honest unpicking of the leadership habits we inherit, internalise, and rarely question - especially after years of being told how to think. Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi... No Duff.
open.substack.com
Ep 2: The Gospel According to (Major) Bach
Or: Leadership, Lies, and the Weekly Journal That Betrayed Me
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
"Perhaps that is the quiet challenge Hamnet leaves us with...to be present enough to understand that encouragement is never neutral, that absence is always felt, and that courage is best taught by example rather than expectation." Latest from NoDuffDispatches open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
The Rest is Silence
Or: How Hamnet Taught Me to Listen for the Words Left Behind
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
🚨Blog Post Incoming!🚨 In the first episode of #LeadingFromWithin, I talk Servant Leadership, the impulse to martyrdom, and why good leadership habits don't necessarily translate into parenting. Feet up, kettle on, and dunkers at the ready. Enjoy! open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Ep 1: Leaders Eat Last... But What if You're Starving?
Or: How I Learned to Stop Martyring and Love the Toast
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Delighted to have been asked to review this gem of a book by Joseph Moretz. Yes, I'm a massive amphibious geek, and I could wax lyrical on the topic, but this genuinely fills a gap in the literature. Highly recommended.
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Before the season starts, before the noise, before the “plan” — there’s Period Zero. A quiet look at leadership, identity, and what we carry into the next phase. Latest on No Duff Dispatches 👇 open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Period Zero: Leading from Within
Or: The Pre-Reading you never knew you needed
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
I’ve been reflecting on edges this week. The moments where effort hardens into strain. This edition of No Duff Dispatches is a brief pause on pressure, patience, and learning to sit between the climb and the calm without rushing either. Kettle on. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Between the Crag and the Quiet
Or: What a Difficult Year, Old Stones, and Christmas Taught Me About Carrying On.
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Last week, I was thinking about Hammerstein-Equord's 4 typologies of officer; the seductive quality of frenetic activity; and how purposeful pausing makes me a better parent. Take a condor moment and enjoy Achilles, Great Whites, and thoughtful reflection👇 open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
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The Clever, the Lazy, and the Dangerously Diligent
Or: Toxicity, Tranquility, and the Art of Growing Up Alongside Your Children
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Some thoughts on the journeys we take as we meander through life. Life is seldpm a straight-line navigation. Sometimes it is sunny uplands; other times like negotiating your way through the Dead Marshes. Wherever your journey takes you, you never walk alone. open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Rivers, Skeletons, and Other Detours
Or: Footsteps, Anxiety, and the Occasional DEATH Cameo
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Chuffed to be asked to submit a (rather eclectic) selection of texts for @societyarmy.bsky.social annual booklist. This reflects 20yrs of reading for work, pleasure, and study. So pick up a book and pull up a bollard!
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
A new NoDuffDispatches is out: a reflection on resilience, low mood, and why stoicism isn’t a personality. From Lucknow Platoon mushrooms to the surprising power of connection - it’s all in there. Read here:👇 open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Resilience, Coursework, and the Awkward Art of Connection
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Low-Mood Course
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Remembrance isn’t just one day a year. It’s childhood, service, loss — and two small boys interrupting every solemn thought with snack requests. A short reflection on memory, hope, and family. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/noduffdi...
open.substack.com
Remembrance, and the Long Road Home
Remembrance, resilience, and the joy of trying to parent in a gale-force crosswind
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Latest from noduffdispatches.substack.com. Switching off from the hyper-productivity and dopamine-hits of modern life with... "Page Turners and Turned Off Phones" Reading as resistance, resilience, and rejuvenation... substack.com/home/post/p-...
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Page Turners and Turned-Off Phones
Or: How I Ditched the Feed and Found a Plot
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
No Duff Dispatches noduffdispatches.substack.com?r=4daius&utm...
noduffdispatches.substack.com
No Duff Dispatches | Andrew Young | Substack
Reflections on (self)leadership, living with depression, and the vagaries of post-Service existence. Click to read No Duff Dispatches, by Andrew Young, a Substack publication. Launched 5 days ago.
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
@rnssc.bsky.social Fellows doing their thing on Thursday with @lborouniversity.bsky.social
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Andy Young @noduffdispatches.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
The day job strikes again! One of my favourite activities at work is collaborating with others to run these events for our Fellows. Socially engaging; conceptually challenging; and friendly competition always make these hugely enjoyable.
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