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Old 04-19-2011, 07:44   #16
CW1287
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A Play Ground Lesson on Life (and an early lesson of leadership)

Wet Dog,

This is in order of how I looked at it not in the order of the story.

First an Officer (or any Special Forces Soldier) must be able to think outside the box. There are always more than two options, you must be able to think abstractly to see the "third option" at times. With this comes flexibility. An Officer must not be static and must be able to more with the flow an adapt as the situation calls for it.

Just because a soldier is the strongest or biggest does not mean they are the best at the particular task at hand. A soldier must be well rounded. In a sense they must be a "jack of all trades" or the "complete package" in all areas while still maintaining excellence in their primary trade.

An Officer (Peter in this case) must place the team before themselves. In this case Peter put the team together to take on other schools, he did not create the team for his own personal gain. Once the team was created he not place himself on the roster.

With the last paragraph, the Officer must place himself in a position to take care of the needs of the team, supervising to make sure the team is on track, but making sure the needs are provided for. Peter in this case made sure the team had the best of everything, such as lunches.

Reward the team for their hardwork. Making sure the team gets the credit THEY are due not taking the credit for yourself. If there is negative credit, you as the leader take blame for the short coming and drive on, you protect the team at all costs.

Make sure the team sergeant and team is set up for success. In this story Peter chose Scott to be the team leader and set the standard and example for all others. As a good leader you must make sure the team sergeant is upholding and enforcing the standards of the team. After reading through all the treads I am sure this is not an issue.....

Ultimately the most important is being a team player. Everything that Peter (or an Officer) does is for the benefit of the team. Knowing that the team drives success means making sure everything is done to make the team the best trained, equiped and proficient as possible, with all/any resources if possible.

This is what I got out of this.

LT W
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Old 04-19-2011, 07:53   #17
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1stindoor, MTN Medic, Wet Dog,

I will continue living by these lesson and hopefully someday I will have the opportunity to lead, work and and be a guest of a team made of quality soldiers like yourself and other QPs. Until I get to the that point I will continue learning from all the great threads on this site (and from the poor ones ).


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Old 04-19-2011, 09:54   #18
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Peter also got other elements involved, the Admin.office, the art department, economic class as laborers, cafateria staff, etc. Peter also got the local populace, (other students in school) to "unanimously" support Scott by their cheers.

The crowd of students are not competing athletes, but they felt they were on the team. A much larger force became role-players in the team's success. In SF we call those campaigns, (a phase of guerrilla warfare).

Now Scott as an effective team leader should teach and instruct to all team members team development, work load sharing, cross training for different positions in the event someone is hurt or missing at a game.

Peter continues to make opportunities for team advancement, continues to see team training, in short, he creates the cultural.

Bother Peter and Scott will develop differently. Scott will learn to teach and mentor one-on-one, very different from Peter's experience with larger groups, committees, themes, to some level, political - nation building. Peter will instruct Scott. Scott's vision will grow beyond the team with "Cdr's Intent", see his roll in the team's ability to effect change.

Irregardless of position, both Peter and Scott will have to identify mentors and remain coachable to learn.

Last edited by wet dog; 04-19-2011 at 10:04.
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Old 04-19-2011, 10:36   #19
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Irregardless of position, both Peter and Scott will have to identify mentors and remain coachable to learn.
And both will need to identify those people that exhibit the skills necessary to succeed them in the future. Work themselves out of a job while ensuring their collective vision is seen to fruition.
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Old 04-19-2011, 11:24   #20
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Wet Dog, apparently, Peter was the biggest and strongest, even if it was only between the ears.
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Old 04-20-2011, 10:43   #21
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...I would be happy to give you a required reading list...
Some of these may also be worth your time.

Richard
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File Type: jpg SF Reading 018.JPG (89.7 KB, 178 views)
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Old 04-26-2011, 05:05   #22
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Richard,

Thank you for the list. The green ones on the right hand side, do those say "A Military History of the Western World"? Just wanted to verify. I have read a few of those, but it is clear I have a few more to begin.

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Old 04-26-2011, 17:35   #23
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have any of you gentlemen personally met or known any 18A's who weren't former combat arms officers?
Yes.
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Old 04-26-2011, 18:40   #24
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The green ones on the right hand side, do those say "A Military History of the Western World"? Just wanted to verify.
Yep - JFC Fuller's classic. I got mine (1st ed) for free at the USIS library at the AmEmbassy-Bonn when they were going to toss them for not having been checked out in years. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Gutes lesen!

Richard
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Old 04-26-2011, 23:48   #25
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LT W,

I have only one thing to add to your list of what an SF Officer should and is expected to do. Do not accept substandard performance or immoral/unethical actions by anyone. Mistakes are made everyday. If they are honest mistakes that can be corrected, then correct it. If they are done intentionally as a flaw in character or out of sheer laziness, that is unacceptable.

Remember, "big boy rules."
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