FOR THOSE GIVING AND FOLLOWING ORDERS

Was it a treat to see an ocean of men and women trained in giving and following orders all in the same place?

It was for me.

These people are all Hall of Fame worthy, and already enshrined in my personal hall.

While most of us packed our gear and went home after two, three, or four years serving, these guys packed their gear and headed to their next duty station, their next assignment, their next command.

All of them have made the grade over and over to the point of judging who makes the grade today. They are the world’s standard.

It all starts with knowing how to follow orders.

These people have been to all the training anyone could imagine.

Probably more than you’d want to imagine.

This isn’t a roomful of plotting suck-ups planning their next career move in advance of their coming promotion.

They are the people with decades of experience in getting things done.

They know how to recruit, how to train, how to recognize leaders, how to build secure logistics, and eventually how to find the right person to replace them in their life’s work.

 

One Step After Another

Thee people have all risen through the ranks.

 

Officers generally move from second lieutenant (O-1) to first lieutenant (O-2) in 18-24 months, and then to captain (O-3) after another two years. Promotions to major (O-4) and above are competitive and involve selection boards.

These higher ranks are typically achieved between 10 and 22 years of service, based on performance, leadership roles and Army requirements.

 

From Google AI:

 

To become a General in the Army you must first become an officer through a program like ROTC or Officer Candidate School (OCS), complete a bachelor’s degree, and serve for over two decades.

The path requires demonstrating exceptional leadership, achieving high performance in various command and staff positions, earning advanced degrees, and completing senior military schools. Promotion to General is a highly competitive process that involves selection by a board, nomination by the President, and confirmation by the Senate. 

 

Advanced Degrees And Military Schools

They’ve been to all of them, probably taught in them too.

 

The first formal leadership training is the Basic Officer Leaders Course (previously known as Officer Basic Course), a 19-week course that teaches young officers small unit tactics and how to effectively lead a platoon in combat.

Around year 5 of service, the next formal training step is the Captain’s Career Course (CCC). The Captain’s Career Course is a 22-week course that prepares officers to lead a company-sized element and effectively serve as a staff officer at the battalion level.

At the 10-year mark, officers must complete the 10-month Intermediate Level Education course, formerly known as the Command & General Staff College (CGSC) in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, an accredited graduate-level program where students receive a Master of Military Arts and Sciences degree upon completion.

The Intermediate Level Education course prepares rising officers to lead battalion-sized elements and task forces and serve as staff officers at the brigade and division level. It is at this level when infantry officers take a deep dive into the operational art of warfare and are expected to master battalion- and brigade-level tactics.

The capstone of U.S. military education is the U.S. Army War College (known as Senior Service College/ SSC), taken by lieutenant colonels or colonels between year 16–25 of service. Over 10 months, select lieutenant colonels and colonels study strategic level content including unified operations, theater-level campaign planning, and national military and security strategy.

In a typical 25-year career (300 months), a U.S. Army officer receives thus a minimum of 30 months of formal military education to prepare themselves for effective and successful assignments at higher levels of command.

 

A Reassuring Group

Look at these faces and you’re looking at dads, uncles, granddads.

Put them in other clothes and they could pass as a reunion group.

These are the people who hold the trust of giving orders and following orders.

They are the good guys, our good guys.

 

 

How do I know they are who we hope they are?

By trusting the process.

They weed out the squirrelly people early on, keeping those who understand the mission.

What exactly is the mission?

From Google AI:

 

The purpose of the U.S. military is to provide the forces needed to deter war, protect the security of the United States, and defend the Constitution.

It achieves this by defending against foreign and domestic threats, ensuring the security of U.S. interests abroad, and supporting national security goals.

The military also provides aid during natural disasters and helps ensure global trade, energy, and commerce. 

 

#1 Job?

Everyone who looked like this had the top job pegged as ‘don’t get me killed.’

We joined, did the time agreed on, then packed up and went home to the rest of our lives.

We’ve been watching the guys who stayed and hoping they’re up to the job.

Most of all we’re hoping they don’t give some Pfc an illegal order and hear:

“Let me try and understand this. You want me to go against all training and education, all history and tradition, all priorities and good sense, to make you look good?

“Could you type it up, then fold the paper, coat it in butter, and shove it up you a$$ you boot-licking song and dance m-erf-er. This is the g###mn Army, son, not a theater to show your mommy to make her proud of you.

“She’ll never be proud of a drunken shill serving a broken down clown who can’t help showing the world his @ss as proof he’s everything he says he is.

“Real praise is what others give, not what you give yourself. Go ahead and file your illegal order, sir.”

 

PS: To be a good soldier you must recall the oath:

The Oath of Enlistment (for enlisted):

“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

 

PSS From Google AI:

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), service members must obey lawful orders, but they are also required to refuse orders that are clearly illegal, such as those that violate the Constitution or international human rights law.

Now carry the f*ck on. Dismissed.