What was your military experience like?

Best: Being a part of a team, and then later leading the team. I had the pleasure of getting to know so many good people and having some great times. Especially I&I duty in New York.
Worst: Recruiting duty, 2003-2005. Cannibalistic, toxic culture. Worst leadership I have ever encountered. Direct quote from senior advisor to station NCOICs... "Canvassing recruiters are consumable. You must drive them with reckless abandon. If they break, we will replace them." He was referring to Marines with anywhere from 6-12 years time in, multiple deployments, etc.,

I'd do it all over again for sure. My highest point was earning the title of United States Marine having successfully completed boot camp and later getting a maximum score on the PFT. That only happened once, damn sit-ups! Lowest point, finding out I was being transferred to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. That was the one place I didn't want to go to!

I am writing this because I enjoyed my army career and perhaps others could learn from it.

I started my army career as a young soldier in a black helicopter unit. It was quite interesting to be in a regiment with a nice budget and focused on the mission on hand instead of extraneous tasks like details. I can still visualize the helicopters hovering in the air and the rotor wash making the ground chaotic.

I went to OCS and became a Tank Officer. I knew I had to win the trust of the NCOs in the platoon, so I studied the TACSOP over and over again until I understood contact drills like the back of my hand. I think the M1 looks sleek powerful. It has a 1500 HP turbine engine, weighs 70 tons, and shoots 20 lbs. depleted uranium dart that travels one mile per second. I appreciated and understood the fact being in helicopter and tank units meant our greatest priority was to train to be killers.

Then what I perceive as the best achievement of leaderships was commanding a Finance/Budget Company. From my combat arms time I carried forward the desire to take care of the soldiers and their families, getting my hands dirty, and the need to provide superior support to them so the killers can focus on their jobs. I often subscribe to the theory of "world class" when the application is appropriate. I told the soldiers my vision was giving world class support to Ft Riley soldiers and the community. I told them every one of the customers are heroes. Some will deploy and will not come back. In a few months I noticed that the soldiers were greeting all the customers in an amiable manner and really did their best to help the customers. I had much gratitude and was so very proud of the soldiers.

It dawned on me that I asked for world class support and they accomplished it thus I needed to reward and thank them in world class ways. This was a must, so I started brainstorming. I went to the airfield and talked to the pilots. When I said I was in the black helicopter unit it opened the door. I asked would you fly my soldiers around to which they smiled and said yes. All the soldiers got to fly in helicopters.

I was pretty well funded, so I grilled food on Thursdays after SGTs Time Training. I am an excellent cook when I choose to be and none of the soldiers wanted to go to the DFAC for lunch. Sometimes we had exquisite potlucks. I recall one SFC who fried catfish for the whole unit. The food was quality and delicious.

Friday mornings we played flag football. We got a lot of cardio with it and it was fun. A couple times we had a 3 mile run and had hot chow and buses waiting at the finish line which is the dam outside Ft Riley. At our informal Christmas parties the door prizes started with a TV, Boom Box and they got cheaper but were still good prizes. One prize was an autographed picture of me in a frame. Of course, the soldier winning it felt obligated to act like it was appreciated. In the back was 4-day prize. All these things I did because I subscribed to the theory somethings must be world class. I truly wanted them to enjoy being in the army and building up their morale which I did.

It was not always fun and game. When the unit got tagged to conduct funeral details I designated myself as the OIC. After 911 we were tasked to conduct gate guard. I did a few shifts with them. During spring cleanup, I put on my PTs and became the weed wacker man. I wanted them to know that I was not too good to do what they were tasked to do. I also took care of them and their families and pushed them to grow professionally and personally. If a soldier could use me as a steppingstone for greater purposes, then I was willing to help.

Later in my career I went to the Combined General Staff College (CGSC) for MAJs. To be candid I did not like the school because I am a slow reader, writer, and learner; but now I appreciate what I learned. In a nutshell CGSC is about the theory of warfare and the various paradigms and models. It allows me to identify what is important in the Ukrainian War and why it is happening. I will mention a few paradigms:

CENTER OF GRAVITY (COG): What is the true strength of one side. For example, the COG for the Taliban is Sharia Law.

REVOLUTION IN MILITARYAFFAIRS (RMA): Doctrine, tactics, technology, weapons, and weapons systems that give one side a huge advantage. The RMAs in Ukraine are all the precision weapons we have given to her.

PRINCIPLES OF WAR: These are the principles that guide how our military fights.

CLAUSEWITZ TRINITY: War has three important components: Government, military, and people. I will analyze Russia with the Trinity:
- Government. Putin screwed the pooch by invading Ukraine. Will he use nukes because he is desperate?
- Military. The Russian military just sucks ass all the way around from training, planning, and fighting.
- People. Ultimately will the Russian people overthrow Putin?

Yes, I did enjoy my army career and will do it all over again. The best times were with the NCOs and the soldiers. Bar none. I continue my leadership in the capacity of helping veterans and people with PTSD. I have no choice in the matter. So, for you young leaders think about what I did for the unit to build up their morale. If you can build up their morale, take care of them, and are trusted; they will go to hell and back with you. I will edit later. I need to do some yard work.