First things first: Happy Birthday (230th), USMC!

I don’t have a lot of time to round this out, but the Valour-IT Project has gone over the goal for Team Army and Navy. The Marines still have quite a hike to make it, which, surprises me, and the Air Force is stll pulling in the $$$, but they are “covering our six.” Thanks, Team AF, for guarding our tails as we take this challenge on. It’s still looking like a seesaw battle for number 1, Army and Navy fighting it out even now…

In 1980, as a young LT, I was put in charge of the Physical Readiness Test (PRT) for a 278 person department at a major training command. The CNO at the time, I think was ADM Heyward, put a renewed emphasis on the program. My ideas on why will have to wit for another day, but here’s what I learned, and how it applies to this project to collect funds.

The test was sit ups, push or pull ups, and either a 1.5 mi run or 500 yd swim. Grading was broken down not only by time/count, but also subdivided by decades of age groups. At the time, if you “exceeded 40,” you didn’t have to take it. Many of the “Old Men” opted out.

Here’s what has always stuck out about the thing I learned. I’d have 24-27 YO guys come up and ask: “How many sit ups do I have to do?” I’d ask their age, then consult the CNO Instruction on my clipboard and say something like “31.” This would be the number to achieve the minimum grade of “Satisfactory.” (Categories were Unsat, Sat, Excellent, Outstanding) When it came time to get a partner and see how many push ups they could do in the 2 minutes alloted, I’d see this guy (and many like him in excellent physcial shape), knock put the 31 “required” push ups in about 22 seconds, then the’d stand up and walk off to take a break. A few would come and ask “what’s the maximum I have to do?” I’d see these people at 1:55 staining to do “one more!” as their partner holding their feet would say to encougare the perrson with the screwed up face, eyes clamped closed, trying to press their elbows to their knees (that’s how we did it in the “Old Navy,” no “crunches” for us), while rivers of sweat in the Viginia summer ran down their faces. If they had passed the number for max points, it didn’t matter, it was about using every second alloted to do as much as they were able.

The same thing happened with the push ups, and the run times. Fine, strapping young men, most doing the minimum (“if the minimum wasn’t good enough, they wouldn’t make it the minimum” they would say), and a few doing everything they could do.

Over the subsequent years, as the PRT was done every 6 months, I saw this behavior over and over. In the work place, I saw the same thing. Guess what? It turned out that the people wanting to know the lowest performance they could turn in to get by, were more than likely to take that into their professional performance off the PT field. The ones who suffered the sore muscles from the straining for excellence for all that was in them that day, were more than likely the sailors and officers you could count on, no matter what it was going to take to get the job/mission/project done. I did note exceptions, but it was close to a 1:1 correletion in performance in the work place and for physical readiness. It’s an overall life philosophy, easiest noticed, in my observation, during the semi-annual PRT.

To bring this home today, Teams Navy and Army have met the self acknowledged “minimums” for the Valour-IT Project. Do we have it in us to use the time between now and 23:59 11/11/2005 to go for something that says what our life philosophy is?

I have emailed local and national radio talk show hosts and everyone on my personal mailing list, with a request to pass the email along. I have told others of the project as an “oh, by the way” comment when I could slip it in. And today, as I work, I’ll be thinking of who else to contact and email when work is done, encouraging them to consider this project.

Have you done it all for the wounded? Will you sweat and strain to the finish line? I think I still haven’t done enough….get creative, tell the story, help those who helped us.

I’ll see you in the virtual victory circle! Make it happen, people!

Thanks to Mudville Gazette and The Political Teen for the Open Posts!

Here Greyhawk expresses his discouragement at really neat stuff Neptunus Lex is giving out to those who donate to the Valour-IT Project in the name of Team Navy (who is now within less than $1000 of meeting their goal! Go Navy!).

If you’re reading this, Greyhawk Team, I suggest after you place your cash in Team Navy’s pot, and Lex gets your USS RONALD REAGAN ball cap (with scrambled eggs, of course) to you, you might consider leading off your blog with this picture:

MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

JUST DO IT, GH! (or Mrs GH can secretly donate and get it for a Christmas present for GH!)

And now to add insult to injury, thanks for the Open Post at Mudville Gazette! (Note: Haloscan is really busy, so this isn’t there yet to taunt my favorite USAF related bloggers, but trust me, I’ll keep trying to get it there).

Update 11/10/2005 0800 EST:

Team Navy surges ahead by a few hundred $$$, AND HAS EXCEEDED THE GOAL OF $21,000!!!! Yes, we “slid in” behind Team Army (Great sprint at the end Army – BZ!) at the planned finish line, scoring a second home run for the wounded service members. Lets see if Team Army was in a short sprint yesteday, when they finally passed Team Navy, or if they have the “legs” (yes, pun intended, you dogfaces!) to saty in the race as long as it leasts.

If you haven’t donated to Valour-IT Project, please consider sending your funds via Team Air Force, or at least Team Marines, even if you love the Navy (or Army).

I’m sure this cartoon will boost visibility….Thanks you, Cox & Forkum!

Let me take a moment to gloat, before the tables are turned….

First: Here’s the link to my post on Valour-IT.

Next: Well, the Navy got off to slow start being leaderless in this blitz to pull in some cash for the cause, but, the USN and supporters have been leaving the competition in the dust since day 2…How do you other services like that?

I’m thinking the USAF can’t step up to the plate because of a bunch of wanna be SEALS (and I think they have a leg up on getting to BUDS after painting the F-4 at the USFA grounds with Blue Angel’s colors) embarrassed them on the home field! My advice to the flyboys: Get on with life and get over it…:)

As to the Amry and Marine Corps: To paraphrase a quote from the game Battlefield 2: “Fight harder, or I’ll have to get someone who will!!!”

Stats worth that provide bragging rights:

As of 2046 EST:

Navy: $10691.00
Army: $9049.99
USMC: $7030.00
USAF: $2990.00

Total (as in nothing to sneeze at): $30030.99!

And, to make a point, there are 6 more days of this, so no excuses as to not being able to ante up some $$$, the Navy team has the chance to put up the goal of $21K by it’s lonesome. How about the rest of you? I think going for $21K/service team would help out a lot more of the wounded troopers…what say we go for $84K?

Geez, why stop there if we can bring in 6 figures? Dream big and ask all your friends….

Well, it looks like us squids have been caught out at sea in receive EMCON “A.”

No one had volunteered to lead the Navy effort to raise money for the Valour-IT project, which provides computers and software to our injured warriors (of all branches), so they can function by using voice activated technology. It’s a quality of life issue, let alone serious morale issue.

We have used technology to hunt down and destroy our enemies on the land, sea (on and under), and air. It’s time we use that same advancement of science and technology to give the wounded a fighting chance to be normal, despite the physical disabilities.

The donations go thru Soldier’s Angels, which is a 503(c) organization. That group has done many more things than this for our service members. Scan Holly’s site and see how you can help with other things she is workin on, too.

The Army, Air Force and Marines are already moving out and we’re looking pretty lame. Does it remind you of that feeling when you missed the last Liberty Boat back to the ship? Yep, lame….

Someone may have beat me too the duty to handle this, but if not, I’m on it….

Update: Get over to The Indepundit (LCDR Smash’s blog), where his wife is leading the charge for the Navy team.

Pass the word.

Sorry for the lack of posts, but…

The Boss is gone, the swamp is full and alligators are plentiful.

Her daughter completed Vet School a few weeks back and is now at her intro to wearing a uniform as a veternarian. It has been rewarding to be able to pass on the gouge about detailers (or as you Army people call them: Career Management Advisors or some PC thing like that…Flesh Peddlers does it for me..), how to see where the “extra” money is hidden in enroute schooling PCS orders, advice on stuff like “you better hit the road and break in those boots, because some sergeant is gonna have a ball yelling at Officers like you soon,” who to talk to to get storage authorized for a longer period than routine for free, etc, etc. You get the point…

I did hose the new Captain over a little: I showed mom the DoD site with pay scales, complete with BAS/BAQ/VHA lists for her PCS area. I also read the PCS orders and showed mom where another $100/month propay will show up on the LES. Thanks to the Race for the Moon, a small calculator quickly did the math and suddenly, the request for a new laptop wasn’t looked upon so kindly, not for someone instantly making O-3 pay with 4 Yrs/0 Months… 🙂

You know, it has been a few conversations like that that have helped smooth out some mis-understandings and complete (not in a bad way) ignorance of the system. I grew up around the military, as the son of a civil servant who liked to travel. Naturally, most places we lived had significant military presense. I was “schooled” from way back, along with becoming a pin cushion at the Sand Point Naval Air Staion clinic at the ripe old age of 7 years old.

Rasing my hand and putting on the uniform didn’t hold a lot of basic mysteries for me. I now live were there are a very small percentage of military people. The kids don’t have too many places to go to get the day to day simple stuff, which has become second nature to vets, even if it was only a 4 year hitch.

Take a moment to help out that new kid heading off to boot camp, or OCS, or ROTC, or the Academies. Give them a few groups on the real stuff that makes a difference in getting in the groove quickly. Gouge is good…be generous with it.

Thanks to Mudville Gazette Open Posts!

Part XII – “Red Blood or Red Ink”

Index to the Series:
Part I: Initiative, marketing, sales, project planning and program management skills
Part II: Auditing Skills
Part III: Operations 24/7/365
Part IV: “Point Papers”
Part V: Collateral Duties
Part VI: The “Git ‘er done!” Factor
Part VII: “Total Care”
Part VIII: Communications in the Workplace
Part IX: “Give a smart person with potential a chance”
Part X: Process Engineering, Continuous Improvement, Total Quality Management, Total Quality Leadership, or what ever you call it. The bottom line title: Making “it” better
Part XI: The Military’s Supply System
Part XII: “Red Blood or Red Ink”
Part XIII: Constructive Plagiarism

This is probably an original way to portray what I’ll comment on below. It’s been running around in my head for a few years now, and this seems to be the right time to roll it out.

Think jeopardy. What’s the difference between warfare and business? Bingo. One is a more gentile form of the other, but in each case, the goal is to take something from the other party, and make it yours. What’s the difference between Wal-Mart moving in, with the local hardware, toy and grocery stores taking a significant, if not financially fatal “hit,” and Hitler moving into Poland? I think you can’t argue that there is a fundamental difference here.

It’s all about competition. It’s about figuring out your enemy/competitor’s weakness and exploiting it to your gain. Certainly one venue is far more radical, and in many cases, far more final. Particularly for those service members who have been able to attend one of the National or international service colleges, this is a daily exercised skill, and therefore, a part of their thought processes.

The curriculums of the war colleges focus on building better warfighters, at the upper levels. The degrees awarded are in the Strategic Studies arena at the Master’s level. The almost universally studied texts is “On War” by Carl von Clausewitz. The other classic is “The Ancient Art of War” by Sun Tzu. These writings are studies in how people operate in the most extreme climes of competition, that of armed conflict.

Reduce this to the business environment and what you have is people who subconsciously know what to look for when you ask them to figure out how to increase market share, or how to take over, or penetrate a market. To them, it’s just second nature to mentally construct an operational concept, that will form the “battle plan.”

Not only will they formulate the concept, they will have had practice in drafting the operational plan and then communicating it to the office/sales force staff.

Think about it. How many business seminars have you been to where some tremendously successful business person stand before you and they reference some great philosophy that is directly derived from a great warrior? Why shouldn’t they, it’s the same concept at work.

Part XI – The Military’s Supply System

Index to the Series:
Part I: Initiative, marketing, sales, project planning and program management skills
Part II: Auditing Skills
Part III: Operations 24/7/365
Part IV: “Point Papers”
Part V: Collateral Duties
Part VI: The “Git ‘er done!” Factor
Part VII: “Total Care”
Part VIII: Communications in the Workplace
Part IX: “Give a smart person with potential a chance”
Part X: Process Engineering, Continuous Improvement, Total Quality Management, Total Quality Leadership, or what ever you call it. The bottom line title: Making “it” better
Part XI: The Military’s Supply System
Part XII: “Red Blood or Red Ink”
Part XIII: Constructive Plagiarism

For most non-commissioned officers and above, pretty much everyone on on the ship had to interact with the supply system in detail. I have good and bad sea stories regarding the actual supply officers I worked with, but for the most part, while we didn’t like the thought that they didn’t have watches to stand at sea, they were a professional bunch, with only a few radical bean counters in the bunch.

If you needed something, there were ways to look up exactly what it was, and then a form to order it with. While it seemed like a pain in the butt for a pad of paper, it was pretty handy when you turbine front frame attached gear box failed, and you needed another one in order to put that engine back in service.

We all learned it wasn’t a wild, wild west out there, with easy access to the storerooms, but a structured system, which accounted for useage and made sure the next one got on order to be able to keep the authorized spares in place.

My point is that military person in front of you understands the need for a large, seemingly cumbersome logistics network, and how, in fact, it really does make life easier.

The requisition form goes to the supply petty officer, he logs it in the division’s records and it begins it’s journey to the chain of command. The chief or leading petty officer usually has a grasp on the budget and knows if it’s a go or not, so they can justify it to the division officer, if it’s not a part of the planned, budgeted process.

You won’t need much to educate an ex-military person about your system, because the basic concepts and operation are already a part of what they have done. Show them the forms and tell them were to go to submit them and when and where to expect a delivery.

I ended up becoming very connected to training issues in my career. In the outside world, I was a skydiving instructor for about 15 years. I always found the quickest way to get someone into the “program” was to use correct analogies, that drew on their past experiences. When you see their eyes light up in a few minutes, and they are saying words indicating they “get it,” you’re on the way and probably saved many hours of classroom time with your new employee. This post was to provide an analogy that may be useful for just this situation, when you bring someone into a large corporation, with an extensive logistics system.

When it comes to “out of the box” thinking (a polite way of saying it can be completely stupid, and completely unhindered by fact, or even a degree of maturity, in this case), take a moment to see what Deb of Marine Corps Mom found coming from a mind of mush at UMass….

It got her attention and she needed a little stress relief, so she chose to express her opinion in return. Fair is fair, right? If you want to see some articulate writing, portraying a level of understanding, compassion and selflessness of thought, as well as a grip on the state of world affairs, now take the time to peruse her letter, complete with young Naughton’s meager effort to justify his pitiful behavior.

Scary as it is, it seems to be the fundamental MO of the liberal, victimized mindset. If you can’t stand up and defend your position (because you know it’s rotten to the core from the start), hide in the shadows and wait until you can, in the darkness, take what you want. If you deserve it, I ask why don’t you do it in the light? Because you know someone with take exception and bring justice to your life….

Anyhow, she did a fine job of communicating an essential message about life, liberty, the freedom of choice and why this is important.

Many times I have talked to or read stuff written by people who fall into the “Yeah? And what about BUSH-HITLER?” when you comment on problems. Only complaints, never a plan, liberally laced with constant negativism.

I regularly think they just can’t see they also have the option to solve problems….

So…I have decided to come up an abbreviation to toss in their face:

“Shut Up, Suit Up, and Step Up!” is the long form. Shortened, it’s just “(SU)³.”

I put up a post last month speaking my piece on how I feel about the current lack of concern about the National Organization of Women.

I’d just love to see these complainers put their actions in line with their complaining, and to realize they can be agents of change.

Thoughts? I need no royalties, nor credit, but just the faith that will get a few of them thinking…..

Just a quick post to say a heart felt “THANK YOU!” for those still in Iraq and Afghanistan, military and civilian workers alike, and to those who have been and returned from those areas.

To the families who have to know their sons, daughters, husbands and wives are far away, thank you, too.

To the families who have lost a loved one, I have no words, but I’m certain you know I’m forever indebted to you and the one who will not return.

For all mentioned above, yesterday was possible because many individuals chose to step up to the challenge and be part of something bigger than themselves, and we all will reap the rewards of their sacrifices.