Old guys and young guns

Given the large number of young officers and NCOs in the force (LT thru CPT and SGT through SSG) who may have had multiple (3,4,5) combat deployments over the past several years, coupled with fewer older officers and NCOs who have less, I wonder if there is a growing separation in mutual understanding between the two generations. From what I've read, and heard second hand, our young leaders have gotten pretty good at fighting the type war we are engaged in, while most of our senior leaders grew up in a different Army and world. In the past, one might have concluded that the center of gravity for battlefield action rested at the battalion (MAJ/LTC and SGM/CSM) level, today it seems to be at the company (LT/CPT and SFC/1SG) level. It will be interesting to see how the Army and the rest of the military deal with this situation…that is if my observation is accurate, which it might not be.

Boxed in

According to an article in this week’s Army Times newspaper, “ The Pentagon faces a more than $100 billion bill to repair and replace worn-out or destroyed equipment, vehicles and weapons, officials and members of Congress say, but paying for it may endanger plans to boost the size of the military.” The article goes on to state that, for example, Humvees are averaging over 100,000 miles a year in road time…five times the peacetime rate. From an engineer standpoint, heavy construction equipment is also being pushed far beyond what would normally be expected in peacetime operations. Yes, we are a nation at war, and heavy use of equipment is to be expected. Still, it seems to me as if the Department of Defense has boxed itself into a corner by attempting to do too much, with too little, for too long a period of time.

How will we fare this summer-fall?

Thus far in 2008, I can spell DISASTER with all caps. Start with the midwest floods now underway, then keep in mind we have yet to get into the peak time for tropical storms. With each natural event that too often shatters lives and property, often beyond repair or recovery, we ought to remain thankful that the Army Corps of Engineers is around doing their job. You can say what you want about the effectiveness of levees and such built by the Corps, as approved and funded by Congress, but Corps folks care…big time. They show it everyday.

Some great photography from space

Check out some great photos taken from space above earth here. This site has many other large photos posted daily that feature all sorts of subjects. Nice site to "bookmark".

Who owns the beer?

A few posts back, I lamented about a Belgium company attempting to buy Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser. Looking around the Internet today, I discovered that a couple of other popular beers, Miller and Coors, have already been purchased by foreign companies…Millers by a South African company SAB-Miller, and Coors by Molson of Canada. Learn something every day I guess. It's not that I don't like foreign beer, I certainly do. I spent fours years living in Germany, and of course there's nothing like an ice cold Corona or Tecate with a lime on a hot summer day. Then there are the thousands of small micro-breweries in the U.S. which are also great to sip. On second thought, maybe it makes no difference in what country beer is brewed…beer is beer.

Voice from my past

Yesterday, I received a phone call from a past mentor of mine, and an individual who more than most others, is responsible for me doing today what I am doing…editing Army Engineer magazine. LTG (Ret) Jack Morris was Chief of Engineers during the period when I worked as a Major in the Pentagon (1976-1980). While at that time I had only infrequent contact with him (staffing actions, etc) it was later, after he had retired, that he became an important part of my post-Army professional life. General Morris and another key mentor of mine LTG (Ret) Dan Schroeder, were largely responsible for the creation of the Army Engineer Association. I was asked if I would serve as the first Executive Director of the fledgling non-profit organization and I agreed. When I began work, I soon found out that the job was going to be much more difficult than I had imagined, and my days were spent working with many retired and highly regarded senior Army engineers, seeking to develop a framework for future financial and operational success. One day when I was seemingly overwhelmed with concern about whether or not our new programs were going to be successful (the bank balance at the time was not growing from month-to-month and in fact went into negative territory at times), General Morris called me on the phone and asked if it would be OK for him to stop by my small office to "have some lunch and talk". Of course I said "Yes, Sir", and asked when he'd be there. He said, "I'm in the building snack bar right now, would you like me to bring you a hot dog and drink, along with what I'll eat?" Within minutes, in the door he walked with hot dogs and drinks for each of us. This was not the sort of "luncheon engagement" I would have expected to have with a prior Chief of Engineers. Three hours later, after listening to his personal and caring encouragement to me, and observing his unbounded enthusiasm concerning where he envisioned the association eventually going regardless of immediate organizational and financial challenges, my attitude and outlook improved tremendously. That was the first, but no where near the last time we would share such conversations. Always, I left with a greater sense of purpose and determination. When he called me yesterday to say hello and offer his compliments in relation to the quality and content of Army Engineer magazine, I felt as if we were again sitting side by side, eating hot dogs together. He's much older now of course (as am I) and yesterday he reminded me he was a World War II veteran, and that he really enjoyed reading the materials in our magazine about engineer service during that momentous period. So today, I went back and looked at his service history, just to refresh my mind in relation to all he'd done and accomplished. To have a person like him as a mentor is wonderful, and I suppose if it were not for his earlier encouragement and guidance, I'd probably be mowing grass or fishing full time today. Thanks, Sir!

New version of Firefox

I just downloaded Firefox 3, the latest version of the popular web browser. So far, it's looking good, and it's very fast. Lots of handy, time saving features as well. Check it out here.

New PT Program on the way

Interesting read today in the Army Times, about the new PT program which is going to stress fitness standards along the lines experienced in combat, versus having to pass an annual PT test. Check it out here.

More from Charlie Poole Festival

This guy from West Virginia played competition fiddle, guitar and banjo during the Charlie Poole Bluegrass Festival in Eden, NC last weekend. I caught him sitting behind a nearby building practicing in the shade for his upcoming on-stage performance with his banjo. He and all others entered in the competition share a great deal of love for traditional Appalachian Mountain music, and when I was around them for just a short while, all I heard was talk about the "great ones" that had come before them. People like Charlie Poole.

Who was Charlie Poole?

If you love traditional bluegrass music (as I do) then you probably know all about Charlie Poole. Each year in Eden, NC just a short drive from where I live in SW Virginia the city holds a festival to honor his music. Good old pickers and singers from across the country come to enter competitions playing various instruments such as banjo, fiddle and guitar. Some play all string instruments, and all have a knack of being able to immediately join together in a spontaneous display of incredibly good music. I spent the entire day yesterday just hanging around with my camera, listening and tapping my feet and clapping my hands in rhythm to whatever tune was played. I loved it all, and took almost 100 pictures, which I am sorting through now for the "keepers". A couple of those are above. One sticker I saw on the back of a bass fiddle read "We will no longer be called Hillbilly Rednecks. We will henceforth be known as Appalachian-Americans. I want one of those stickers!

Sad day for journalism

Someone passing away when it's least expected is always tough to deal with, but when I heard yesterday about the death of NBC's Tim Russert I realized sadly that the single most influential political journalist in my life would no longer be around to give us all (selfishly me) a better and most fair understanding of what's going on politically in our country. After every major political event, election or debate, I like millions of others sought the opinions of Tim Russert. This year, his analysis of the republican and democratic primaries stood above all others in my view. And, like those millions out there wondering who will make the best President, I was looking forward to Tim's analysis before November. Now, we'll have to go it alone, so to speak. My wife complains about the amount of time I spend flipping channels between MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, between the hours of 5PM to 7 PM each weekday. Much of my interest in that regard has been fueled by being able to listen to and watch journalists whom I respect and admire. Tim Russert was at the top of my list, and my evening news watching will never be the same again.

Beer for sale?

I hope it's not going to actually happen, but when I read that a Belgium beverage firm has offered a large amount to buy out Anheuser-Busch I get worried. We've already sold way too much of our country to the highest overseas bidder and in my view that's not a good thing. But, I'm no economist or business expert. Still, I want my Bud Light continued to be brewed by an all-American company. Look what Daimler-Benz did to Chrysler.

Chief's Blog

The Army Chief of Engineers (LTG Robert L. Van Antwerp) has his own Blog. Check out his latest and scroll down to see him "playing baseball" with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Farewell Drill Sergeant School

The Army recently closed the doors to its highly regarded Drill Sergeant School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, which had been operating since 1964. The reason was to consolidate this training at a single installation…Fort Jackson, SC. Personally, I think this is a sign of other initial entry training related consolidations which may come later…like basic training itself. Unlike Fort Leonard Wood which has several large and important diverse missions including basic training, Jackson is largely focused on just initial entry training and seems to be in the sights of Army planners who are seeking to "become more efficient". I'm not all that sure I agree with this direction, however, so I'll sit back and "observe from the sidelines" a bit longer.

Monday again

Makes no difference if you're retired working part time (or not at all) or are working full time and commuting to work on a Monday following a nice (but hot) weekend, but Mondays are Mondays. Each morning while the coffee is brewing, I check my email first, then scan Google News to see what's going on in the world. Most of it usually is depressing…gas is up (again) stock market is done (again), more flooding rain and severe storms in the midwest (again), and more earthquakes (again). Good news for me anyway is the Celtics won (again), Kyle Busch (thankfully) did not win another NASCAR race (again) and in fact was dead last in Pocono yesterday, and we supposedly have just one more day of high 90 degree temperatures (again) on the east coast. So there you are, Monday, again. On second thought I guess the alternative to no more Mondays at all is not a good thing.

Never too hot to fish

Those of us in the eastern United States are sweating right now when outdoors, and it looks like things will heat up even more over the next several days. That's why many will be out on a river some where (like the Smith River in SW Virginia shown here) trying to land a big one, or maybe just to wade around and stay cool. While it's never too hot to "go" fishing, catching much when the weather gets as hot as it's going to get (mid-90s), fish may not take the bait. But, who cares. If you are on the water, have fun and do so safely!

Do it online

I read today in the news media, "The Army will begin using an online program next spring to manage pay and personnel records for the entire service — active duty, guardsmen and reservists, according to Army officials." Older veterans may have a hard time understanding just how all this will work, since they were a part of a "paper" Army, well before the digital (computer) age. I'm not talking about "older" meaning just WWII or Korean War people, I'm including Vietnam vets, and even Gulf War vets from Operations Desert Storm as well. Personally, there are some things I like about doing "business" online, but there are many other times when I prefer placing my hands on a piece of paper and signing my name with an ink pen before it becomes official.

Not Motor City's day

First, the Detroit Red Wings lost to Pittsburgh in three overtimes last night, when they might have won the Stanley Cup had they held on in regulation. Wings are still up a game, but it had to be a sad night for Detroit's rabid hockey fans. Perhaps more important nationally from a Michigan standpoint, however, is the news that General Motors plans to close four North American plants given the steep decline in truck and SUV sales, caused by the high price of fuel, etc. Having close ties to the State of Michigan, I have been an observer of the American automobile industry since I graduated from Michigan Tech in 1963. Since then, I've seen many "ups and downs" in the industry, mostly all having been caused in my view by the industry itself. For example, why GM needed to have so many brands (Chevy, Pontiac, etc) all competing with each other for sales is beyond me. Also, it ought to have been obvious to any reasonable person that at some point the price of fuel was going to rise to where it has today, and that smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles were the thing of the future. But, GM and others in their urge to make as much profit NOW over the past ten years or so, decided to cash in on the high demand for rugged trucks and SUVs that gave the owner a sense of power and adventure on the highway and off road. So what if they only got 10-15 mpg highway.Therefore, like they did back during the 1970's fuel shortage, the American automobile industry decides it's time to start focusing on smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles again. I think the "train has already left the station" for the industry this time around, and I doubt it will ever be able to return to its glory days when Detroit was king. Motor City may be a name of the past, who knows.

Catch Phrases

I did it while I was on active duty in the Army, and those now serving do it as well. I'm talking about using "catch phrases" intended to motivate people to subscribe to certain ideas and concepts. When we wanted people to come up with innovative ways of doing things, we told them to "think outside the box". When we met with subordinates jointly seeking ways to improve operations, we told them, "there are no dumb ideas". We saw "challenges" and not problems. And, we wanted to "leverage" all possible variables to arrive at solutions. Today, people are using the same catch phrases but have come up with some new ones as well. We're operating in a "full spectrum" environment today, and planners are instructed to take a "holistic" approach in their thinking. We're "transforming" and "growing the Army" at the same time. For some phrases, people coin acronyms so that they don't have to spell them out, or waste any verbal energy saying the series of words. Why say "grow the Army" when you can speak "GTA". (In my time, GTA was a graphic training aide, so when I first read GTA in the Army Times, I wondered what the heck a training device had to do with making the Army bigger). And, it's easier to say "OPTEMPO" instead of operations tempo. One thing that's changed a bit from when I was on active duty, however, is that it seems to me more and more of these phrases today are being copied from motivational books primarily written to help inspire leaders and managers in the civilian world improve their business processes. That's not a bad thing…transferring specific elements of good business practice to certain aspects of the military…but to gain desired results from Soldiers listening to these motivational concepts, they need to be utilized in the right way and definitely not over done.