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Originally Posted by A Soldier
How do the skills mentioned in the article translate well to the civillian world??
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mastery of fundamentals...name a field of endeavor...those that master the fundamentals, whether it involves personal risk or not, a good grounding in the fundamentals allows someone to persevere in the face of stress, whether it is working in the dust and noise of a construction site or dealing with a hundred ringing telephones...
every day, i send survey crews out to work on four and six lane highways and roads, with traffic moving at 65 miles an hour around them...they need to keep their SA on a keen edge, they need to have mastery over fundamentals, they need mastery of the equipment and software they use to be effective and safe...the more a crew is experienced in the environment, the more work they can accomplish...this is not to say that they are sent out without instruction or guidance...
the unknown is a daunting situation for many folks, even without the presence of physical danger...i have been in a position, the last three years, of training survey crews for engineering companies, that for lack of a better explanation, lack the SA and understanding needed to keep surveyors employed...thus, there is a tremendous amount of turnover within these companies...novice crew and party chiefs are very apprehensive about working outside their comfort zone, and while normally they are cockier than a brand new buck sergeant/second lieutenant, they seem to be clingy when faced with a new challenge...call it leadership, call it management, call it what you will, but at times like this, the boss needs to step forward and take an active role in the actual work (rather than direct, budget, allocate, etc) until such time as the crew gains enough skill and experience to go foward without having their hands held...it's true in surveying, probably true in roofing, crab fishing and working on an oil rig...
i could go on, but the truth be known, a soldier has more skills to succeed in the civilian world than they know and certainly are more capable than their prospective civilian employer is aware of...as mentioned in the article, success breeds success and soldiers, well trained soldiers, anyway, become used to overcoming, adapting and perservering...IMNSHO...