Posted on Mar 11, 2015
LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
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We all have at least one, if not 10000, stories where you learned something but totally never thought anything but "did that just happen?"? Post your favorite. Do not forget to include any lessons learned by those involved (or scratching their heads and were watching it all unfold).

****leave names out of it****
Posted in these groups: Ab5e0403 Lessons Learned
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Responses: 11
CPT Public Affairs Officer
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This is not the craziest, but.....

....being expected to develop a roadmap and long-term plan without a defined end-state or even defined goal to guide the plan development. Yep. Just happened. Literally building a plan to nowhere. Might actually find the edge of the World with this one.
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CPT Zachary Brooks
CPT Zachary Brooks
10 y
This happens to me daily in my civilian job. Did you at least get some guidance?
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CPT Public Affairs Officer
CPT (Join to see)
10 y
CPT Zachary Brooks That's a big negative, Sir. However, we are splitting up the work now since it conflicted with other priorities. We are just basically going to line out what the current capabilities are and how they can be utilized and let the 357 shop have at it. If they want us to do further work after that, we are going to need more guidance. In my mind, it's frustrating but I also welcome the chance to do something unique and show that even with such jacked up parameters, that we can still make magic happen. I just hope that we don't have to develop 30-something COAs to support this.
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CPT Public Affairs Officer
CPT (Join to see)
10 y
I will add...thankfully, this is not coming from those we work with directly, but a slap-dash program coming from much higher based on a newly assigned initiative that they are probably finding ill-defined as well. I don't think that the blame lies with anyone one shop or person in particular. It seems like one of those situations where everyone is driving to push things as fast as possible since this priority just fell in our laps and our doing the best with what they have in front of them. However, strategic guidance would definitely help make this more efficient and ensure that the plan was actionable. In the meantime, we will keep submitting the RFIs and doing a helluva job providing a great professional product that can actually be utilized.

Now...if you want to hear about a Charlie Foxtrot....try being the 20th assessment of a site when crunch time happens and they realize ta 19 other assessments failed to provide actionable information that actually fit the scope of the mission. That happened too. Thankfully, we knew the desired end state, had great support, and were able to validate a lot of information. That made that work very enjoyable...even if we were magic number 20!
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MAJ Terry LaFrance
MAJ Terry LaFrance
10 y
hee hee, just setting here chuckling, the joys of staff work
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MAJ J5 Strategic Plans And Training Officer
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Edited 10 y ago
eh.... There once was this time on RallyPoint when people on RP who post allot got made at people like LTC (Join to see) for posting funnier and more popular post. He kept getting more attention though he clearly did not care but in the name of everyone else complained and had his very funny but interesting posts hidden. Now he very cleaverly incorperates his wonderful and beautfiully funny MEMEs into his posts. Seriously his post are funny but not as funny as the pot calling the kettle black. eh... God bless you LTC (Join to see) may you too reach the top. Because even CW5 (Join to see) knows LTC (Join to see) has skills. Eh.........?
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LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
LTC (Join to see)
10 y
No ---r there I was sleeping when I woke up being tagged in every post by this guy on Rally Point....
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CPT Zachary Brooks
CPT Zachary Brooks
10 y
I thought we were to leave names out of it?
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MAJ J5 Strategic Plans And Training Officer
MAJ (Join to see)
10 y
LTC (Join to see) it was in good fun.
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LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
LTC (Join to see)
10 y
MAJ (Join to see) it is all good. I have woken up to bigger scarier things.
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CW5 Desk Officer
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Here's a lesson learned, and I learned it. Back around 1999 or so, I was driving from Sarajevo to Tuzla, in some sort of civilian vehicle. The car was full - myself and three others. I think it was a local rental car, so it was not a high speed SUV. The roads were narrow, snowy, slippery, and dangerous. And on the side of the road - in many places - were long drops off what seemed like cliffs.

I was driving too fast for the conditions and I lost control of the car. It did a 360 and was stopped by a snow bank and some sand piled up on the side of the road. I can just imagine what my passengers must have thought -- "WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!!" I had a "did that just happen?" moment as soon as the car stopped moving.

The lesson was to slow it down and get to my destination safely.
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LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
LTC (Join to see)
10 y
Great lesson, hard way to find out! CW5 (Join to see)
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MAJ Terry LaFrance
MAJ Terry LaFrance
10 y
Warrant Officer wisdom
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