The beginning of the end

It’s official. I’ve known the guys here for 7 weeks. But that’s really not an accurate measure, because when you factor in about 8 hours of class plus three meals, plus whatever free time, I’ve really known these guys for about 7 dog years. And I tell you what…with three weeks left, I am already starting to dread having to say goodbye to a few of them. A few others could get socked in the teeth and I wouldn’t miss the sounds of their voices, but that can be a story for another day (and yes, the Army is making me much more aggressive…just what I needed).

Interesting week here full of 14, 15, 16 hour days during which there were long periods of time where the Army E-6 (enlisted soldier who has been in the military for about 4 years) told a group of 60 of us to sit and wait…and wait…and wait. And two hours later, all of us were still sitting, waiting, and not asking questions. That’s when you know the Army has gotten the best of you…when you take orders from a junior enlisted soldier because you’re just too tired to come up with an independent thought.

Tough leadership week, too. Like I said, the Army is making me much more aggressive (something about walking around with two guns strapped to my body…) but it’s also forcing me to reconsider everything I know about leadership…and that is a very good thing. Now I am much more apt to get in someone’s face when they refuse to lead…like I did this week. Our team is “led” by  Major who we will henceforth refer to as The Slug. He produces nothing. He leads nothing. And my new favorite thing is to get a few inches from his face and say “If you are the leader, I expect you to lead. Period. And if you want to keep refusing, get the hell out of the way because our Airmen deserve better.”

I also watched my first family implosion. Hillbilly had a really tough day on Saturday. Here’s a quick summary…text wars between spouses are a very bad idea. In this case, it imploded into a complete misunderstanding and Hillbilly was very shook up. And he came to me asking for help. YES! I can lead. And the guys want to listen. Once the dust settled, my guy thanked me for helping.

And that’s how I measure success. When people come to me because they want my advice. And that happens here more than that has happened for me any other place. 

And to celebrate the fact that Hillbilly's marriage made it through the weekend, I took him, Juicebox and Tattoo out to the batting cages. I swear to you those softballs had faces. I had a contest with Tattoo to see who could hit the most out of 12 pitches. I won. These guys had no idea what they were in for...but I bet you did!