[SFRADIOMAN]

I think one of the biggest changes I experienced was that there is usually a shorter solution for a long question. Many of life experiences taught us to fully examine the situation, analyze the details and ponder over the various solutions and get a consensus for the path to be taken. SF provided the exposure to hundreds of men who had been there and done that many times and they were proud to impart those experiences on to you whether it be in the classroom or in the field. From commo training to FTXs to specialized training to combat in VN there were men who could teach you to 'see it quicker and act faster'.

In the field, this could be: keep quiet and get the hell out, shoot as many as you can and get the hell out, call in arty and air cover and get the hell out but bottom line was 'get the hell out' and live to fight another day. I also learned that the better I knew my job the easier it was to perform it and to train others in what I knew. Both of these things have influenced my civilian life.

But there is a big caveat: there is a transition from using brute force to solve problems to using verbal techniques to accomplish the objective. For me, this has been a difficult task.

The main thing that I came away with was, with SF, on an A team there was never any doubt that each would do his utmost (usually superbly) to accomplish a mission but in civilian life, many of the players will let you down and not care.