11-12-2014, 11:17
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#1
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,810
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What Advice Would an SF Soldier Give?
If any of our SF members had one piece of advice to share with others (other SF soldiers, wannabes, conventional soldiers, spouses, civilians, kids, etc.) what would that piece of wisdom be?
It can be SF advice, life lessons, whatever you would like to share as your legacy.
What should it be?
To get the ball rolling, I would offer that I believe whatever happens, you should never quit trying. Dedicate yourself completely to whatever cause you are pursuing. You can accomplish far more than you would imagine, if you just keep striving for your goals. You may fail, in trying, but you will never succeed if you quit.
TR
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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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11-12-2014, 11:46
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
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Life happens; never allow yourself to one day regret not having lived it to its fullest.
For example: http://langvei.com/team-member-detai...s-thompson.php
Richard
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“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
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Richard is offline
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11-12-2014, 15:54
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#3
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kent, Wa.
Posts: 504
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Don't quit.
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Blue
NOUS DEFIONS
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bluebb is offline
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11-12-2014, 19:37
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#4
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Occupied Northlandia
Posts: 1,697
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Never be in a hurry to get yourself killed. (Look for your next position before you move; have a plan, etc.)
You may find yourself in a firefight that lasts a good part of a day. Rushing in and blasting away at everything can get you into some serious problems. Take your time as it relates to your training (the more you train the faster you can go) and bring your guys home alive!
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"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles." — Jeff Cooper
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miclo18d is offline
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11-12-2014, 19:47
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#5
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Location, Location
Posts: 4,071
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Shut-up! Look, listen, think. Be low profile. Toot your horn honestly, appropriately and with humility. Be polite, be professional, be prepared. Be ON TIME! Learn to follow before you attempt to lead. Accomplish the mission. Never quit, never give up, never surrender. NEVER. Be brave.
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The two most powerful warriors are patience and time - Leo Tolstoy
It's Never Crowded Along the Extra Mile - Wayne Dyer
WOKE = Willfully Overlooking Known Evil
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MR2 is offline
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11-12-2014, 20:01
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#6
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: West of Bragg...a few months out of the year
Posts: 264
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Never ignore your family. When the Army is done with you they are all you will have left. My last BC said that and it has changed the way live.
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11Ber is offline
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11-12-2014, 21:01
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#7
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Sirius Channel 23
Posts: 521
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Remember who you are: From my first TS, from his, as he loaded him into a medivac at Lang Vei.
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SFA D-7914
Jump Street Never Ends
“There is a road, no simple highway, between the dawn and the dark of night, and if you go, no one may follow, that path is for your steps alone”
"Draw unto others as they have been drawn to you"
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2018commo is offline
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11-12-2014, 21:39
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#8
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Lower Alabama
Posts: 656
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Take care of your body. Getting old sucks and when you are one of the oldest guys in Group still on an ODA, having to keep up with guys 10yrs your junior, it can be down right painful at times.
x/S
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If not us, than who?
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exsquid is offline
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11-13-2014, 06:18
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#9
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Asscrackistan
Posts: 4,289
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SF Wise: Don't be MOS Centric. Learn how do to other peoples jobs on the ODA. Remember that as SF we can be broken down into three 3-4 man split cell teams.
Military Wise: 1000% on exsquid on taking care of your body, and 11Ber on your family. Lastly if you're in the Military do some college for Lord Sake!! Doing a course or two a year over the course of your 20+ years in you will or should walk out with a Undergraduate degree if not a Graduate Degree. Think about your ODA being there or you to help you as needed.
__________________
"Berg Heil"
History teaches that when you become indifferent and lose the will to fight someone who has the will to fight will take over."
COLONEL BULL SIMONS
Intelligence failures are failures of command [just] as operations failures are command failures.”
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MtnGoat is offline
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11-13-2014, 06:25
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#10
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Area Commander
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Raeford, NC
Posts: 3,374
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Know and understand yourself. It's in my signature line.
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D-3129 Life
"If one day you decide to know yourself...you'll have to choose the warrior path...You'll reach the darkness of your spirit.... Then, if you overcome your fears....You will know who you are."
"De Oppresso Liber"
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Snaquebite is offline
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11-13-2014, 08:22
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#11
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Newnan, Georgia
Posts: 371
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These are the things I learned in my 26 years in the military and they apply equally to life in general. 1. Own your screw ups. 2. Make your screw ups right 3. Make a decision. 4. Learn how to work with people you do not like for a greater organizational good. 5. Do not snivel. 6. Do not quit.
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TrapperFrank is offline
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11-13-2014, 16:23
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#12
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: You can't get here from there; you have to go someplace else first.
Posts: 967
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All of the above are insightful approaches, to which I would add:
Your mind is your greatest tool, and consequently -- weapon. Soak up knowledge like a sponge and look for ways to apply it that color outside the lines ... don't limit yourself; if you're carrying a firearm, don't rely entirely upon it -- learn to fight unarmed or with whatever is available. Think about building as well as destroying and 'see the ground' as did General Buford in The Killer Angels -- it ultimately defines how you will operate.
.
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No one knows whether you're a genius or an idiot until you open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Don't know where I'm goin', but there's no use in bein' late.
I've never been lost. I've been a mite confused at times, but never lost.
I'm not lost! I know where I am; I just don't know where everybody else is.
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UWOA (RIP) is offline
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11-13-2014, 22:21
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#13
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 534
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"Stand up and do something"
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"I know a lot of good tricks"
American on the inside, useful on the outside
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cat in the hat is offline
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11-13-2014, 22:47
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#14
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Orange, Ca.
Posts: 4,950
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Be persistent, but learn to recognize when something bad is going to happen and react accordingly. Learn when to charge head first or when to walk away.
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mark46th is offline
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11-14-2014, 10:38
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#15
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Southern Mo
Posts: 1,541
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1) Do everything for its greatest purpose.
2) Treat people well, even those who don't deserve it.
3) Never ever ever quit. If they drag your body away, it was a good death. Better that, than to live with regret.
4) Revel in the good moments. They make life fun.
5) Gut through the bad moments. These are the times that hone your character.
6) Don't sacrifice your integrity.
7) Meeting someone is easy; building rapport is tough. Ask people questions that will let you glimpse into their soul, and they will remember you for a long time.
8) Helping your fellow man when you can makes you human. Helping him at your peril is divine.
9) Don't just say "thanks". Send a follow-up, even if it's a one-liner.
10) A rewarding life begins outside your comfort zone.
11) Don't get married until you have been to three different continents.
12) Children are not yours; they are loaned to you by God. Raise them well, and love them.
13) You are going to have your fifteen minutes of fame. When that time comes, avoid looking like a jackass. Touchdown dances are for amateurs and idiots. Try to look like you've been there before.
14) Prior planning prevents piss poor performance.
15) Never forget snivel gear.
16) Situations change. Professionals find a way to make it work. Amateurs flounder.
17) It's much easier to get out of shape than it is to stay in shape. Don't blow off PT.
18) Amateurs practice till they get it right. Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
19) Embrace technology, but always have a knife and pen and paper handy.
20) Great speeches are fine, but if you want to motivate your people, let them build a fire and get some hot chow.
21) A weekend safety brief greater than 3 minutes in length is nothing more than verbal masturbation.
22) Have a good eye for talent. Leave your job in better shape than when you found it.
23) Praise works wonders.
24) Don't bitch unless you have a way to fix the problem. Then still don't bitch, just fix the problem.
25) Trust is earned, not given.
__________________
"And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods?"
Thomas Babington Macaulay
"One man with courage makes a majority." Andrew Jackson
"Well Mr. Carpetbagger. We got something in this territory called the Missouri boat ride."
Josey Wales
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