Quelling Counterattacks and Some Naval Perspective

Last night was full of phone conversations with a far flung family; the wife in Panama and my son missing his MEF in Virginia.  My photo ambush yesterday was not without some entertainment value as I spent a good five minutes trying to explain it to my wife.  She kept asking why our son in law had taken up prayer.  She wasn’t buying my explanation of a conversation to radical right wing Christianity. 

My attack did light some sort of fire under my son in law as they won some sort of trivia contest last night in NYC.  After a well executed, if comprised ambush, one must be ready for a counterattack and to prevent that my wife supplied some ammunition (see photo below) captured on the road back from three days at Las Lajas.  She had so much fun with yesterday’s ambush that she wanted to participate.

He Does Like to Nap

Civilian friends often ask about the pride I feel in serving in the military and what it meant to be a Solider for so long.  I’m never adequate to the task of explaining it sufficiently.  Luckily others are not so ill equipped.  One of the Roothuggers recently sent me a full speech of which I include portions of below.  At the risk of actually saying something nice about the US Navy and causing the Cantankerous Friend to bloom in full voice about all things nautical, this was a very good speech.  It’s a tradition at West point to have a key leader speak to the cadets when they are 500 days from graduation and commissioning as US Army officers. 

The speech was delivered by Admiral William McRaven and it eloquently states some truths about military service and leadership that rang very true based upon my own experience.  There are some bone deep truths exposed and leadership lessons that would serve anyone whether they wear a uniform or not.  The next to last paragraph below spoke volumes to this old soldier.  The full speech is available on line and is worth the time spent reading it, if for no other reasons to gain the pride in knowing this country produces men like Admiral McRaven:

Admiral McRaven

Admiral McRaven is, by anyone’s definition, a true warrior.  A 36-year veteran of the US Navy, a Navy SEAL, serving on the storied SEAL Team 6, and commanding SEAL Team 3; more recently, Admiral McRaven commanded the Joint Special Operations Command, the most elite and complex SOF formation in the world; and not incidentally the commander of the raid that finally got Bin Laden.

“A Sailor’s Perspective on the United States Army

So, if you will humor this old sailor, I will tell you what I’ve learned in my time serving with the Army.  Well, I learned first and foremost that your allegiance as an officer is always, always to the Nation and to those civilian leaders who were elected by the people, who represent the people.  The oath you took is clear; to support and defend the constitution, not the institution-- not the army, not the corps, not the division, not the brigade, not the battalion, not the company, not the platoon, and not the squad—but the Nation.

I learned that taking care of soldiers is not about coddling them. It is about challenging them. Establishing a standard of excellence and holding them accountable for reaching it.  Spend time with the soldiers being miserable, exhausted and scared. If you’re a Blackhawk pilot or and Tank Commander, spend some time on the flight line or in the motor pool with the maintainers and the wrench turners. Whatever position or branch you are in, find the toughest, most dangerous, shittiest job in your unit and go do it. I learned that you won’t get a lot of thanks in return. I learned that you shouldn’t expect it. Your soldiers are doing the tough job every day, but I guarantee you, you will learn a lot about your troops and they will learn a lot about you.

I learned that the great leaders know how to fail. In the course of your Army career you will likely fail and fail often. Nothing so steels you for battle like failure. No officer I watched got it right, every time. But the great ones know that when they fail, they must pick themselves up, learn from their mistakes and move on. Rudyard Kipling, the great British storyteller, poet and soldier once wrote, in part,

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.  If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowances for their doubting too. If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.  Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it and which is more--you’ll be a man my son.”

All Army officers are expected to take risks in battle. The truly great officers know that real victory is achieved when men and women of character take professional risks and challenge the weak-kneed, the faint of heart, the indecisive or the bullies. 

And finally, in watching Army officers, young and old, I learned that the great officers are equally good at following as they are at leading. Following is one of the most underrated aspects of leadership and each of you will be asked to follow someone else. The strength of a good unit rests more on how well the officers follow the commander, than how well they lead their own soldiers. I have seen many a good Battalion and Company underachieve because someone in the officer ranks thought the Commander was incompetent and quietly worked to undermine his authority. I guarantee you, that in the course of your career you will work for leaders whom you don’t like and don’t respect. It will be easy to make fun of their idiosyncrasies, their receding hair line, their soft chin or their spouse. Be very careful about getting too smug, too opinionated and too righteous. As long as the actions of your commander are moral, legal and ethical, then do everything you can to support the chain of command and avoid the rolling eyes, the whisper campaigns and junior officer dissension. I learned that the great Army officers know how to follow.

I learned that the greatest privilege the Army can bestow upon you is to give you the opportunity to lead such magnificent men and women. These soldiers are not without their challenges. Your soldiers will, at times, question your authority. They will undermine your actions. They will mislead you, frustrate you, disappoint you, and occasionally fail you. But, when the chips are down, I mean really down, your soldiers will be there and they will inspire you with their courage, their sense of duty, their leadership, their love and their respect. In difficult times, your  Soldiers will be everything you dreamed they would be—and more. I learned that your soldiers are at their best when their brothers and sisters in arms are threatened. They are at their best when life deals them the hardest of blows and their indomitable spirit shines through. These soldiers and tens of thousands like them will be the warriors you lead in 500 days.

You had better be up to the task, because I have learned that they expect you to be good. And, most importantly, I also learned that your soldiers expect you to hold them to high standards. These soldiers joined the service to be part of something special and if they are not held to a high standard, if their individual efforts are no more important, no more appreciated than the efforts of a slacker then it will directly affect the morale of the unit. And I learned that nothing is more important than the morale of a unit. MacArthur once said of morale, “…that it cannot be produced by pampering or coddling an Army, and it is not necessarily destroyed by hardship, danger, or even calamity…It will wither quickly, however, if soldiers come to believe themselves the victims of indifference or injustice on the part…of their leaders.”

The great leaders in the Army never accept indifference or injustice and they only judge their soldiers based on the merit of their work. Nothing else is important. Not the soldier’s size, not their color, not their gender, not their orientation, not their religion, not their ethnicity— nothing is important, but how well your soldiers do their job. I am confident that history will reflect that the young American’s who enlisted in the Army after September 11th, were equal in greatness to their grandfathers and their great grandfathers who fought in the World Wars—and in 500 days you will inherit these incredible soldiers. Be ready.

Finally, in watching the Army for most of my career, I learned that no institution in the world has the history, the legacy, the traditions, or the pride that comes from being a soldier. I am envious beyond words. I learned that whether you serve 4 years or 40 years you will never, ever regret your decision to have joined the United States Army. You will serve beside the finest men and women in America. You will be challenged every day. You will fail. You will succeed. You will grow.  You will have adventures to fill ten life times and stories that your friends from home will never be able to understand. Your children and their children and their children’s children, will be incredibly proud of your service and when you pass from this earth, the Nation that you served so very well will honor you for your duty. And your only regret will be that you could not have served longer.

And if for one moment you believe that because Iraq is over and Afghanistan is winding down that the future holds few challenges for you, then you are terribly, terribly mistaken. Because as long as there are threats to this great Nation, the Army upon which this Nation was founded, will be the cornerstone of its security, it’s freedom and its future. And you, as Army Officers, will shape that future, secure our freedoms and protect us from harm. So what has this sailor learned? That there is no more noble calling in the world than to be a soldier in the United States Army.”