How has being SF or in the Army changed you?

[Basenshukai]

Ever since becoming an SF soldier:

1) When out in the great outdoors, I don't see beautiful landscapes. I see potential ambush points, danger areas, restrictive terrain, and potential patrol bases.

2) Whenever I enter a place, I look for exits, I assess everyone I can for threats.

3) When in my car, I never come so close to the car in front of me that I can't see his rear tires. I also look for exit points at any stops.

4) I never park without an "out" if I can help it.

5) I'm never unarmed.

6) The mission comes first, the men come next, and then me. Chow time follows a similar order.

7) PT has gone from being just performance enhancing to also becoming "preventive maintenance".

8) Critical thinking is part of the job; not just something I learned somewhere between college and graduate school.

9) I have come to learn that "systems" are managed, while "people" are led. Whenever this concept becomes confused, it is time to become a civilian.

10) Meetings should last no more than 27 minutes.

11) Powerpoint slides should have no more than four bullets per slide, and no more than 10 slides. If any longer, your concept is lacking clarity and you are reaching for a crutch.

12) Nothing takes just "five minutes".

13) If an email recipient is within 100 meters, go see him/her in person unless this is impossible.

14) Phone calls are better than emails. Face-to-Face better than phone calls.

15) A unit that has any soldier that is so critical that he can't be absent for any reason is a poorly led unit.

16) The kitchen utensils area at Kohl's might as well be an armory.

17) Books are not kryptonite.

18) The gym is part of the office (so is the range).

19) There are three critical questions to ask if one must make a hasty incoming commander's assessment of an SF unit: a) When is the last time the men shot their weapons and what are their scores, b) What was the last time a real APFT was conducted, and what were the scores, c) When was the last time the men had the opportunity for time off with their families?

20) "I'm an SF soldier." I really do think that thought every morning. It brings a smile to my face.

[Scimitar]

Great post Sir,

3) When in my car, I never come so close to the car in front of me that I can't see his rear tires. I also look for exit points at any stops.

Is this because this allows room to maneuver around car in front in a single motion?

10) Meetings should last no more than 27 minutes.

A short meetings a good meeting, but why 27 min?

12) Nothing takes just "five minutes".

14) Phone calls are better than emails. Face-to-Face better than phone calls.

So true!

9) I have come to learn that "systems" are managed, while "people" are led. Whenever this concept becomes confused, it is time to become a civilian.

May I steal this one?

S

[Trapper John]

Love Basenshukai's 20 Things

I came into SF at 19 (SF Baby) an orphan child of living parents. I was literally raised by SF at a very formative stage in my life. I entered in 1969 and left during the rift in '75 when groups were being deactivated and I feared being transferred to a Regular Army unit. After long talks with a few mentors and some restless nights, I sadly decided to go back to school. The fire and anger in my belly subsided after about 10 years and I came up for air 2 marriages later with a PhD and a burgeoning career as a medical research scientist and entrepreneur. The rest as they say is history.

But at the core of my being is SF and the lessons taught to me by giants among men. Everything I think and do is tied back to that which I learned and experienced in SF. In fact, I just wrote a strategic plan for internal consumption by my company's leadership (who all just coincidentally have a SF connection in their background), well that strategic plan looks and reads like a UW mission statement.

And on the day that I die my last thought will be of my Brothers as I look forward to reuniting with them in Valhalla. I have said before that if I ever get a chance at another life, God, let it be as a Special Forces soldier.

[Basenshukai]

Originally Posted by Scimitar

Great post Sir,

Is this because this allows room to maneuver around car in front in a single motion?

You are close. A motor vehicle's design is such that the driver should be able to maneuver around an object within his view from a stop. So, if you can see the tires of the vehicle in front of you, you should be able to drive around him, on either side, from a stop. This is more difficult to do in a place like NYC, where if you leave an extra inch of space in front of you, a yellow cab will attempt to squeeze in. This is an application of an old SF concept of not putting your patrol base against a cliff, for example (don't box yourself in).

Originally Posted by Scimitar

A short meetings a good meeting, but why 27 min?

The Human Selective Sustained Attention Span has been calculated at somewhere between 10 and 40 minutes, depending on the study. I have found that, in light of the myriad of things going on in the unit on any given day, the best time span is just over 20 minutes, but less than 30 minutes.

But, I have rule for my meetings: First, I prefer to do them standing up. I came across this concept from an article in Forbes magazine about three years ago. I also heard that Donald Rumsfeld used the technique. I tried it during my second company command while on deployment. Standing up during a meeting keeps folks from getting too comfortable and eliminates the BS. People tend to get to the point quickly.

I also do not allow for sidebars, or "hyperlinking". A lot of time is wasted when a single comment in a meeting brings up an issue that has little importance, but is discussed for several minutes. Also, if a person must make an "alibi" comment to the group, it must apply to the group, not to two or three people. If it applies to only a few, I leave it upon said person to conduct their own micro-meeting after my meeting, so as not waste anyone's time.

When I deployed with my company, the first thing I did was eliminate three meetings of five that were part of the previous company's rhythm. Meetings are generally a huge time waster as they force officers and NCOs to spend precious time preparing, briefing, and then discussing their brief. I found that my guys generally lost 1 additional hour, for every 30 minute meeting. Far more can be accomplished if a unit has extra time than if it has extra meetings.

Originally Posted by Scimitar

May I steal this one?

S

If you wish.

[spottedmedic111]

Originally Posted by Basenshukai

Ever since becoming an SF soldier:

Excellent post. Wish I'd thought of it.

[Scimitar]

Originally Posted by Basenshukai

All

Thank you Sir,

The stand up principle is definitely interesting, I might just try that at the office and see what results we get.

S

[cowboykpy]

Originally Posted by Basenshukai

All

Sir, I wish more meeting holders were exposed to your ideas.

Seriously, one of the more insightful posts I've read in a while.

[WarriorDiplomat]

Serving in Special Forces is identical to the OSS James Ward quote, You can choose the job the career chooses you hence why so few enlisted are in it for the long run. I have hated my job and my unit and I have loved my job, my unit and the mission intensly.

How my experience has changed me, as all here have stated the career chose me I was compatible and this is what I was born and bred to be. My Uncle does our ancestry and have traced relatives back almost a 1,000 years to the crusades buried in Jeruselam all the wars in between to include Vikings on my mothers side to the sons of the American revolution, the Civil War 2/3 fighting for the North and 1/3 for the South, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam etc...if there is any truth to Eugenics and I believe there is my pedigree is that of a soldier period.

My views have changed somewhat I am more cynical however my core beliefs have never shaken, I can see clearer through my early idealism the realism of the world and the people within.

I have developed compassion for people and dislike towards politicians. We fight wars with people who are completly outmatched and politicians call everything we do heroism, yet the enemy outnumbered and overpowered will stand and fight and never quit in the face of overwhelming adversity. I have gained a greater respect and admiration for the resiliency of the people we call bad guys. How many would stand against a giant and welcome death for the cause? I have learned not to hate the enemy but respect and admire their willingness to die for their belief. We come home to a country allowing liberals to suppress ours and impose their beliefs on us disgusts me. I do not want to get into semantics on this we all have our thoughts and feelings.

The Infantry is blessed by God, they are warriors through and through no confusion on what they do boots on the ground to hunt the enemy. Watched a Bradley drive into a gunfight heard bullets hitting the side ping, ping the ramp came down Sarge stepped out and gave the order "follow me" and everyone of his soldiers followed him without hesitation. I have never felt so proud of our soldiers than to see the soldiers follow their leader under fire without hesititation now thats leadership."God Bless the Infantry".

My belief in what we stand for is stronger I love America deeper than I ever have, freedom is precious we have all seen enough things to know how sweet freedom really is. This deeper devotion I have to my country has made more critical of our leaders to understand the great responsibility they have to lead the greatest country on earth.

[Trapper John]

Originally Posted by WarriorDiplomat

Entire Post

Beautiful!

[Bechorg]

Like you, I came in as an SF baby in 2006 at the tender age of 18. I had zero life experience and I felt as if the cadre could only assess my potential to do good work. The lack of experience made me push myself to the front. Luckily my physical efforts made up for my immaturity that would later be flushed out in the Q and on the team.

SF taught me that I was not the best, barely average, and I would have to fight every single day to stay afloat. Many times I was "that guy" who didn't have his stuff together and was the one to blame for failure. I continue to put in extra work just to feel average. That grit has been acquired over the years through hard work. I am still here, I am still learning, and I am still average. Honesty has been my best friend and got me through some tough times when I was to blame.

I showed up to my team and deployed two months later. We did three trips to Afghanistan and I was considered a go to guy by the second trip. After the third one I decided to get out, mostly because I had lost myself somewhere along the way and I needed to see something else. It was a huge mistake, but the lessons from it are profound.

My break in service from SF showed me the most. My encounter with the civilian world was depressing. SF soldiers live on another level of life. You can't replicate it anywhere else in the working world. The lack of brotherhood and lack of purpose left me feeling like I didn't have a reason to wake up in the morning.

Originally Posted by Trapper John

Love Basenshukai's 20 Things

I came into SF at 19 (SF Baby) an orphan child of living parents. I was literally raised by SF at a very formative stage in my life. I entered in 1969 and left during the rift in '75 when groups were being deactivated and I feared being transferred to a Regular Army unit. After long talks with a few mentors and some restless nights, I sadly decided to go back to school. The fire and anger in my belly subsided after about 10 years and I came up for air 2 marriages later with a PhD and a burgeoning career as a medical research scientist and entrepreneur. The rest as they say is history.

But at the core of my being is SF and the lessons taught to me by giants among men. Everything I think and do is tied back to that which I learned and experienced in SF. In fact, I just wrote a strategic plan for internal consumption by my company's leadership (who all just coincidentally have a SF connection in their background), well that strategic plan looks and reads like a UW mission statement.

And on the day that I die my last thought will be of my Brothers as I look forward to reuniting with them in Valhalla. I have said before that if I ever get a chance at another life, God, let it be as a Special Forces soldier.

[Noslack71]

I fell into unconditional Love with the American Soldier and our country on a no name LZ in or near Laos in 1971. I have not always liked some of things they have done but, my Love for both continues to grow with each day I am alive!!!


Noslack

[booker]

The Human Selective Sustained Attention Span has been calculated at somewhere between 10 and 40 minutes, depending on the study. I have found that, in light of the myriad of things going on in the unit on any given day, the best time span is just over 20 minutes, but less than 30 minutes.

But, I have rule for my meetings: First, I prefer to do them standing up. I came across this concept from an article in Forbes magazine about three years ago. I also heard that Donald Rumsfeld used the technique. I tried it during my second company command while on deployment. Standing up during a meeting keeps folks from getting too comfortable and eliminates the BS. People tend to get to the point quickly.

I also do not allow for sidebars, or "hyperlinking". A lot of time is wasted when a single comment in a meeting brings up an issue that has little importance, but is discussed for several minutes. Also, if a person must make an "alibi" comment to the group, it must apply to the group, not to two or three people. If it applies to only a few, I leave it upon said person to conduct their own micro-meeting after my meeting, so as not waste anyone's time.

When I deployed with my company, the first thing I did was eliminate three meetings of five that were part of the previous company's rhythm. Meetings are generally a huge time waster as they force officers and NCOs to spend precious time preparing, briefing, and then discussing their brief. I found that my guys generally lost 1 additional hour, for every 30 minute meeting. Far more can be accomplished if a unit has extra time than if it has extra meetings.

Your methods mesh with the Agile/Scrum methods of timeboxing meetings and managing projects (which is how I run my projects). Good stuff, especially the standing part for meetings. I'll try that one first thing Monday morning. I keep meetings 15 minutes or less for anything other than a planning meeting, which is typically a maximum of 8 hrs for a complex project of 30-45 days in length. They get shorter as the project timeline gets shorter. Everyone hates unnecessary meetings. I do a walking meeting for a maximum of 15 minutes on a daily basis for my team to give me a SITREP on what they did the day before, what they plan on doing today that will meet the project goals, and what barriers they have or may have in the next 24 hours. That keeps things to only necessary information and prevents some blowhard from ruining everyone else's day with mindless BS (there is always one of these in every crowd), and it allows me to meet any issues before they get out of hand.

[Hawkeye06]

Again, from my personal experience.... I had faced adversity/diappointment in my pre-Army life....however, the key event that I can remember (nothing spectacular, but important to me at the time ...) happened during my re-test for the STAR land-navigation exam as part of the SF Qual Course (SFQC). I got misoriented (otherwise knon as 'lost') and lost a very large amount of time. I finally got myself reoriented and proceeded to conclude that I had no chance of completing the course in the alloted time limit and had an internal debate on wether or not I should quit right there. I stopped, drank some water, and decided that, although there was no hope, I shoud continue and try to do my best and at least fail with dignity. (This was probably the lowest point in my life as it was at this time that I saw all my dreams slipping away.... ) Additionally, I saw history repeating itself in that I had, as a cherry Lieutenant prior to 'the Q', ended up being medically dropped from Ranger School....HOWEVER, I knew I could never face my parents (who taught me to never quit and to FINISH any fight that I got myself into) or live with myself if I quit.) So, I started to run, and I ran through the water across Scuba Road, back North along th Bowling Alleys ...knowing that I was going to fail. I got to my second to last point and then the instructor at the point told me (I don't know why... ), that I "Neeed to hurry". So I ran. Maybe not fast, but as fast as I physically could with a ruck on my back and a M16 in my hands, and with all the desperation of a young man chasing his dreams. I got to my attack point, and shot my azimuth to where I thought my last point was and proceeded onward...and eventually came upon my final point wiht an instructor and a bunch of sleeping students sitting around trying to care for their worn-out feet.

SUCCESS! I had made it!... Probably the greatest achievement of my life.

And the NCO instructor said. "What took you so F_ing long?, you only had 30min left. You're the last one. Grab a seat and get some water." Looking back on that, I couldn't have wished for him to say anything more. Internally, I knew I had triumphed, but in the grand scheme of things, I was just another student who had barely made the cutoff.

I didn't LEARN anything that day, however, I AFFIRMED a lot. I had LEARNED a lot from my parents and my experiences as an adolescent, however I hd just AFFIRMED them as a MAN.


Thank you for posting. This speaks to my experiences just a few months back at SFAS. After becoming as some would put it "lost" for quite some time in the early hours of the star exam, I wasnt feeling confident at all. I thought I would not be able to finish with my pace and remaining time due to an injury what the 18D later told me was tendonitis. I was med dropped on that 13th day of SFAS and am haunted by those jackson springs woods determined to go back with all my experience from my 1st attempt back in January (04-15) and find all my star points with time to spare! Thankyou for sharing your experiences I will be thinking of you while im trudging through the woods in the dark as I report to 08-15 this friday