Well today Colin Powell publicly endorsed Senator Obama for President of The United States - Is this Good, Bad or indifferent??? Does it matter?
I greatly respect and admire Mr. Powell, he has proven himself time and again a strong strategic leader. From his 18 Leadership Lessons (provided in an article written by Oren Harari) to his 13 rules/tenets on leadership - Mr. Powell knows exactly what he is doing when he speaks, writes, and acts. I'm quite sure that he took his time and made a calculated decision on whom to back. More importantly, I'm sure he made his decision based on our country's needs and our future as a nation.
However, as the internet article was written (by an AP writer) there are hints that may prove to spark great debate on the Why? he endorsed Obama. For example, the AP writer states:
"Powell said he was cognizant of the racial aspect of his endorsement, but said that was not the dominant factor in his decision. If it was, he said, he would have made the endorsement months ago." This statement may just provide this question in many readers minds - "So, it was still a factor, should it have been?" I believe that this AP writer included this statement to get just that kind of reaction. Why not spark some additional heated debate? It's good for the campaign, right? I say not. This endorsement, is just that - an endorsement for whom Powell believes is the "best candidate" for our country's future. Do I agree? - it doesn't matter wether I agree or disagree. What I will say is that in my opinion this election will be one of the toughest in history for the American voting public - we are in a severe economic crisis, we are fighting multiple conflicts abroad, we are struggling with our foreign policy, and many more delicate and potentially crippling issues. And both candidates are conveying to the voters that they want to balance the budget - by not raising taxes? WOW that will certainly be the coups of the millenium - I'll certainly be watching to see where that type of revenue will come from?
About Palin and her readiness to assume the Presidency - Powell makes it clear that he believes she is not ready.... I agree, but many others in the past have been spoken of in this way and things turned out just fine. What I will say, is that a Washington OUTSIDER would be refreshing and would serve to break-it-up a bit in the comfy Washington political circles - and might be good thing for the nation. That being said, I do agree that Sarah Palin is probably not the right OUTSIDER to get that done.
There are many more issues at play, but I just wnated to take a moment to jot down a few ideas and get some dialogue going - I wnat to get as many views and arguments/comments so I myself can be as informed and get a wider view of whst this endorsement means.
Thanks,
Mick
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Unit Level Leader Development - Are We Getting it Right?
I recently came across a 2008 RAND report on unit level leader development programs. I will summarize the main points here as the report is lengthy and very detailed. The report does not recommend any real changes to our unit level leader development programs - the report essentially states what the Army wanted to hear - we are doing things right. Not surprising, since RAND is the Army's "Survey and Research Monkey". I recommend that you take a look at the Report and make your own conclusions; I am merely providing mine here for discussion:
My Personal Conclusions (at the Brigade and below)
1. RAND says we are alright at the Unit Level. I believe we need some reform – at a minimum we need some formal guidelines at the unit level, which leads me to number two.
2. RAND says leave it up to Commander’s to decide with little or no formal guidelines. That’s great if the Army can guarantee that all Commanders are strong leaders; the Army cannot. Paradigm Time: 1. The Army can make anyone a leader and 2. The Army owes it’s soldiers the best leadership possible; thereby, the best leader development available. If you subscribe to these paradigms as I do, the way things are now, some commanders do a lot of leader development, and some do none – it essentially varies from “Hero to Zero” and that cannot continue – in order to meet the accepted paradigms I feel there must be some concrete set of standards applied to leader development programs within units. If nothing else, the Army MUST REQUIRE something occur at the unit level within a determined period of time. (at least a leader development event of some type (from a menu) once a quarter?) Standardize the program but retain flexibility.
3. Basically RAND says standardization and formal requirements it’s just too hard to do, and that is absolutely unacceptable – We owe it to our soldiers to figure out how to ensure they are prepared to lead our Army into the future. The RAND report states that our OPTEMPO makes it too hard to do (My observation) – What? Nothing more to say about that?!?!?!
4. RAND’s research model has some false assumptions; therefore, their research model is slightly flawed. They state that leader development resources are available on the internet from CAL and other online resources. And that these sources serve both the individual (Self) and the commander (Unit) with leader development. In order to make their case, they unfortunately make a false critical assumption: They assume that just because it is posted and available on the internet, that people are using it. Ask yourself when was the last time you went to CAL and looked for self or Unit level leadership development resources??? Me – only recently researching my Thesis – aside from that NEVER!
RAND says we are good to go…..I say we are not…..From those of you out in our units….. What are your thoughts????? Are our commanders doing their job? Is there true leader development occurring in our units? Is it time for some standards, guidelines, requirements, or the like??? Or is leader development merely a bi-product of experience?
The RAND Survey can be accessed at the following link: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG648/
My Personal Conclusions (at the Brigade and below)
1. RAND says we are alright at the Unit Level. I believe we need some reform – at a minimum we need some formal guidelines at the unit level, which leads me to number two.
2. RAND says leave it up to Commander’s to decide with little or no formal guidelines. That’s great if the Army can guarantee that all Commanders are strong leaders; the Army cannot. Paradigm Time: 1. The Army can make anyone a leader and 2. The Army owes it’s soldiers the best leadership possible; thereby, the best leader development available. If you subscribe to these paradigms as I do, the way things are now, some commanders do a lot of leader development, and some do none – it essentially varies from “Hero to Zero” and that cannot continue – in order to meet the accepted paradigms I feel there must be some concrete set of standards applied to leader development programs within units. If nothing else, the Army MUST REQUIRE something occur at the unit level within a determined period of time. (at least a leader development event of some type (from a menu) once a quarter?) Standardize the program but retain flexibility.
3. Basically RAND says standardization and formal requirements it’s just too hard to do, and that is absolutely unacceptable – We owe it to our soldiers to figure out how to ensure they are prepared to lead our Army into the future. The RAND report states that our OPTEMPO makes it too hard to do (My observation) – What? Nothing more to say about that?!?!?!
4. RAND’s research model has some false assumptions; therefore, their research model is slightly flawed. They state that leader development resources are available on the internet from CAL and other online resources. And that these sources serve both the individual (Self) and the commander (Unit) with leader development. In order to make their case, they unfortunately make a false critical assumption: They assume that just because it is posted and available on the internet, that people are using it. Ask yourself when was the last time you went to CAL and looked for self or Unit level leadership development resources??? Me – only recently researching my Thesis – aside from that NEVER!
RAND says we are good to go…..I say we are not…..From those of you out in our units….. What are your thoughts????? Are our commanders doing their job? Is there true leader development occurring in our units? Is it time for some standards, guidelines, requirements, or the like??? Or is leader development merely a bi-product of experience?
The RAND Survey can be accessed at the following link: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG648/
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Felons in the Military? Why Not?
I recently saw a news piece on a young man who is trying to join the Army and deploy to Iraq, nothing wrong with that; however, this young man made a bad decision when he was around 20 years of age and is a convicted felon. This young man has been DENIED enlistment based on his drug conviction. Lately this topic has been flying around: Should felons be allowed to serve in the Armed Forces?
I am not sure why this question is even asked? In that, a felon (once his debt to society is paid) can resume a life and seek employment as a free citizen, just like you and I. There are exceptions – sex offenders cannot work in certain fields and must register their location with authorities and there are others. These convicted felons have served their time and are now “free” to pursue happiness within our society as productive citizens. Unfortunately, society doesn’t see it that way and many times “hamstrings” these folks by “blackballing” them; severely limiting their ability to get a job, a home, etc… This results in the current “revolving door” rates of about 75% or higher – these folks get out of prison, can’t find a place to live or a job and resort to crime and hit the “revolving door” right back to prison.
Why does this matter? Well I have no issues with allowing felons in the military. They obviously made a bad choice; however, they have served their time and now want to become part of a professional, all volunteer military force – Good for them! They may be looking for direction and to become part of something bigger than themselves. More importantly, a successful tour in the military could provide them with the opportunity to rehabilitate: Getting a redirected set of values – Army Values; leadership training and experience; life and job skills; and a new outlook on life.
Why not allow these citizens the opportunity to become a productive member of society and serve their country as a volunteer professional soldier? This certainly could serve to lower the return rate “revolving door” issue. Some will argue that it will only make a minimal impact, I would argue that any reduction no matter how small, is worth it.
Any thoughts?????
r/ Mick
I am not sure why this question is even asked? In that, a felon (once his debt to society is paid) can resume a life and seek employment as a free citizen, just like you and I. There are exceptions – sex offenders cannot work in certain fields and must register their location with authorities and there are others. These convicted felons have served their time and are now “free” to pursue happiness within our society as productive citizens. Unfortunately, society doesn’t see it that way and many times “hamstrings” these folks by “blackballing” them; severely limiting their ability to get a job, a home, etc… This results in the current “revolving door” rates of about 75% or higher – these folks get out of prison, can’t find a place to live or a job and resort to crime and hit the “revolving door” right back to prison.
Why does this matter? Well I have no issues with allowing felons in the military. They obviously made a bad choice; however, they have served their time and now want to become part of a professional, all volunteer military force – Good for them! They may be looking for direction and to become part of something bigger than themselves. More importantly, a successful tour in the military could provide them with the opportunity to rehabilitate: Getting a redirected set of values – Army Values; leadership training and experience; life and job skills; and a new outlook on life.
Why not allow these citizens the opportunity to become a productive member of society and serve their country as a volunteer professional soldier? This certainly could serve to lower the return rate “revolving door” issue. Some will argue that it will only make a minimal impact, I would argue that any reduction no matter how small, is worth it.
Any thoughts?????
r/ Mick
Monday, May 26, 2008
A DAY TO REMEMBER!!!!
Enjoy your time off this weekend but I ask you to remember all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedoms, rights and country. Remember Americans like Marine SGT Merlin German, the "Miracle Man" who inspired hundreds if not thousands with his courage and never give up attitude. If you dont do anything in the spirit of Memorial Day, please do one thing and read his article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080525/ap_on_re_us/memorial_day__miracle__marine
These are the kind of men and women who selflessly protect everyone of us. His sacrifice and the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of other service members throughout our nation's history should be remembered...... always remembered.
Thank you.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080525/ap_on_re_us/memorial_day__miracle__marine
These are the kind of men and women who selflessly protect everyone of us. His sacrifice and the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of other service members throughout our nation's history should be remembered...... always remembered.
Thank you.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Remembering Those Who Sacrifice....
Take time this Memorial weekend and for that matter, as often as you can to remember and reflect on those many Americans who sacrifice for our freedom...
As an Aide-de-Camp I traveled with my boss, to honor those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. As the CSAs personal representative, My boss was responsible for ensuring that a fitting, final tribute was made to our fallen comrades. I will never forget the families that I had the opportunity to meet and serve during my travels. I remain in periodic contact with all of them; I will not mention their names here, but I would like to share one story in particular that will remain with me forever.
These events occurred during a trip to Northern California. The family had recently lost their son. A young Staff Sergeant who left behind a wife and infant daughter. We met with the family prior to the memorial service and sat with them for hours just talking about their loved one and who he was and what he stood for etc... Then we discussed the memorial service and other aspects of planned events that were to happen in the coming days. While this family was grieving and dealing with the loss of a loved one, they somehow found out that another serviceman, from a neighboring town, had been killed in action. They then turned to my boss and asked what they could do for this family and how could they contact them. My boss was a little surprised and asked that I work with them to find out the requested contact information, but the most interesting comments came next. The father then stated his reason for wanting to help this family, "I know what this family is going through, I have a ten day head start and these 10 days of experience are invaluable in helping them get through this."
Only after reflecting on this event, did I realize that in all of the media coverage (and there was a swarm of media) of this very honorable and fitting final tribute to our fallen comrade - we missed a very important story! What the media failed to take away is the power and strength of Army families. The powerful story that Americans didn’t get that day was: This family, an Army family, having just lost their son, father, husband - was reaching out in their time of grieving and looking to help another Army family, who they didn’t even know, get through the difficulties of losing a loved one – and all because they had a 10 day head start. That is the power of Army families! And truly a part of the story that America needed to hear.
Please take the time this weekend to remember and reflect on those who have gone before us, those soldiers and families who are currently sacrificing, and those powerfully strong Gold Star families who have “laid so costly a sacrifice at the altar of freedom.” My sincerest admiration and thanks goes out to all of you!
As an Aide-de-Camp I traveled with my boss, to honor those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. As the CSAs personal representative, My boss was responsible for ensuring that a fitting, final tribute was made to our fallen comrades. I will never forget the families that I had the opportunity to meet and serve during my travels. I remain in periodic contact with all of them; I will not mention their names here, but I would like to share one story in particular that will remain with me forever.
These events occurred during a trip to Northern California. The family had recently lost their son. A young Staff Sergeant who left behind a wife and infant daughter. We met with the family prior to the memorial service and sat with them for hours just talking about their loved one and who he was and what he stood for etc... Then we discussed the memorial service and other aspects of planned events that were to happen in the coming days. While this family was grieving and dealing with the loss of a loved one, they somehow found out that another serviceman, from a neighboring town, had been killed in action. They then turned to my boss and asked what they could do for this family and how could they contact them. My boss was a little surprised and asked that I work with them to find out the requested contact information, but the most interesting comments came next. The father then stated his reason for wanting to help this family, "I know what this family is going through, I have a ten day head start and these 10 days of experience are invaluable in helping them get through this."
Only after reflecting on this event, did I realize that in all of the media coverage (and there was a swarm of media) of this very honorable and fitting final tribute to our fallen comrade - we missed a very important story! What the media failed to take away is the power and strength of Army families. The powerful story that Americans didn’t get that day was: This family, an Army family, having just lost their son, father, husband - was reaching out in their time of grieving and looking to help another Army family, who they didn’t even know, get through the difficulties of losing a loved one – and all because they had a 10 day head start. That is the power of Army families! And truly a part of the story that America needed to hear.
Please take the time this weekend to remember and reflect on those who have gone before us, those soldiers and families who are currently sacrificing, and those powerfully strong Gold Star families who have “laid so costly a sacrifice at the altar of freedom.” My sincerest admiration and thanks goes out to all of you!
Military Housing: Permanent Party Vs Students??
Apologies up front for the length….. However, please read it, and if you have any feelings about this topic jump in and pile on!
Well I have had enough of the privatized housing in the US Army. I live at Fort Leavenworth and have been placed into sub-standard housing. Not only is the housing sub-standard, but the maintenance of the quarters is non-existent. When maintenance does occur, it rarely fixes the issue.
I’ll try and tackle these topics in order – and tackle them one at a time to save room on this BLOG so stay tuned for more info on my Maintenance Nightmare….
1. HOUSING ASSIGNMENT AND POLICIES: When our family arrived here at Leavenworth, excited to be at the intellectual center of the Army and looking forward to some “balance” in the “Best year of our lives,” the troubles began to tip the scales out of balance – starting at the Leavenworth housing office. So, in we go with smiles on our face ready to see our choices of quarters. We got our two sets of keys and off we went with the kids. Put yourself in my shoes and picture this: My wife, and two kids in the car - our drive takes us through first: the beautiful historic homes of Leavenworth, and the wife asks me are we in those: Nope. Then we drive through some very modern looking large newer homes and neighborhoods, Honey are we in those – Nope. Then we drive to Kansa Village, we can’t be in those, can we? - YEP we sure are. And Oh By The Way – we can see the beautiful new homes from our front porch. Now that is the “Leave it To Beaver” version, but hopefully those of you who have taken a similar drive on Fort Leavenworth can comment. Well, now as you can expect the tears begin to flow, as the front door opens and it’s all downhill from there. I can deal with the tears, I can deal with the crappy, run down, cracker box home that leaks, creeks, chips, peels, etc… But what I think is criminal is the fact that when I asked the housing office about why I wasn’t offered a new home – the answer given was that I was a “STUDENT” Oh my God – not a STUDENT? Heck, she should have just labeled us LEPERS, as they threw us into the LEPER COLONY at Kansa Village. I’m Sorry for the sarcasm, but I just can’t help it. Because we are students our time at Fort Leavenworth is less valuable than those that are here as permanent party. How does that create balance? Yeah that makes sense, let’s develop a have and have not community? Hmmmmmmmm? Let’s apply some of the INTELLECTUAL power at Ft. Leavenworth and consider a “better” way of doing business. All that I would ask is that every soldier (student or otherwise) be provided the same opportunity and chance at a standard & equal level of service. I understand that once all housing is full: that’s it – I GOT IT! But to automatically deny access to students and create second-class student housing colonies is just wrong! We all deserve the same chance at having a nice comfortable home on the installation. For those of you who didn’t know, students are thrown into an inflexible database and assignments are spit out from there – but only certain housing areas are applied to the student database, (that is the way it was explained to me by housing – more specifically – I was told that because I was a student I could not have a new home).
The Next issue is some of the answers provided by housing. For example, when I asked about and questioned the policy – I was told that I could move off-post and I didn’t have to live on the installation. At this point, it took all that I had to not lose my mind! Being told by a civilian, that I, the service member, could move off post if I didn’t like it, is about as wrong as I could imagine any answer could be. First, thank you Mr. / Mrs. Civilian employee whose only reason for being here and having a job: is the soldier, thanks for telling me if I don’t like it I can live somewhere else! Again, my apologies for the sarcasm. WRONG!!!!!! Mr. / Mrs. Housing employee – I CHOOSE TO LIVE ON POST WITH THE REST OF MY PROFESSION. I CHOOSE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LIVING IN A COMMUNITY OF PROFESSIONALS LIKE ME. I CHOOSE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SCHOOLS, EVENTS, FACILITIES, ETC…. ON MY INSTALLATION! So please DO NOT tell another soldier that if they don’t like it they can live off post!!!!!!! MANY of us CHOOSE to live on post and EXPECT a certain level of equity and service. FYI - Just so the reader understands that we are not blind or naive: We understand it is all about the $ and not about the soldier or level of service, or quality of service for that matter….. We know this, but would like to think that it certainly should be. If that is to change then the easiest place to make that change is right here at the INTELLECTUAL center of the Army, Right?
So I guess they’ll continue to charge me $1,507.00 a month and OBTW begin to potentially charge me for utilities (of my run down, non energy efficient home), do the absolute least amount of maintenance possible, and sleep well at night knowing that they are saving/making $ SOUNDS GREAT!?!?!
r/ Student Housing “Leper Colony” Resident
Well I have had enough of the privatized housing in the US Army. I live at Fort Leavenworth and have been placed into sub-standard housing. Not only is the housing sub-standard, but the maintenance of the quarters is non-existent. When maintenance does occur, it rarely fixes the issue.
I’ll try and tackle these topics in order – and tackle them one at a time to save room on this BLOG so stay tuned for more info on my Maintenance Nightmare….
1. HOUSING ASSIGNMENT AND POLICIES: When our family arrived here at Leavenworth, excited to be at the intellectual center of the Army and looking forward to some “balance” in the “Best year of our lives,” the troubles began to tip the scales out of balance – starting at the Leavenworth housing office. So, in we go with smiles on our face ready to see our choices of quarters. We got our two sets of keys and off we went with the kids. Put yourself in my shoes and picture this: My wife, and two kids in the car - our drive takes us through first: the beautiful historic homes of Leavenworth, and the wife asks me are we in those: Nope. Then we drive through some very modern looking large newer homes and neighborhoods, Honey are we in those – Nope. Then we drive to Kansa Village, we can’t be in those, can we? - YEP we sure are. And Oh By The Way – we can see the beautiful new homes from our front porch. Now that is the “Leave it To Beaver” version, but hopefully those of you who have taken a similar drive on Fort Leavenworth can comment. Well, now as you can expect the tears begin to flow, as the front door opens and it’s all downhill from there. I can deal with the tears, I can deal with the crappy, run down, cracker box home that leaks, creeks, chips, peels, etc… But what I think is criminal is the fact that when I asked the housing office about why I wasn’t offered a new home – the answer given was that I was a “STUDENT” Oh my God – not a STUDENT? Heck, she should have just labeled us LEPERS, as they threw us into the LEPER COLONY at Kansa Village. I’m Sorry for the sarcasm, but I just can’t help it. Because we are students our time at Fort Leavenworth is less valuable than those that are here as permanent party. How does that create balance? Yeah that makes sense, let’s develop a have and have not community? Hmmmmmmmm? Let’s apply some of the INTELLECTUAL power at Ft. Leavenworth and consider a “better” way of doing business. All that I would ask is that every soldier (student or otherwise) be provided the same opportunity and chance at a standard & equal level of service. I understand that once all housing is full: that’s it – I GOT IT! But to automatically deny access to students and create second-class student housing colonies is just wrong! We all deserve the same chance at having a nice comfortable home on the installation. For those of you who didn’t know, students are thrown into an inflexible database and assignments are spit out from there – but only certain housing areas are applied to the student database, (that is the way it was explained to me by housing – more specifically – I was told that because I was a student I could not have a new home).
The Next issue is some of the answers provided by housing. For example, when I asked about and questioned the policy – I was told that I could move off-post and I didn’t have to live on the installation. At this point, it took all that I had to not lose my mind! Being told by a civilian, that I, the service member, could move off post if I didn’t like it, is about as wrong as I could imagine any answer could be. First, thank you Mr. / Mrs. Civilian employee whose only reason for being here and having a job: is the soldier, thanks for telling me if I don’t like it I can live somewhere else! Again, my apologies for the sarcasm. WRONG!!!!!! Mr. / Mrs. Housing employee – I CHOOSE TO LIVE ON POST WITH THE REST OF MY PROFESSION. I CHOOSE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LIVING IN A COMMUNITY OF PROFESSIONALS LIKE ME. I CHOOSE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SCHOOLS, EVENTS, FACILITIES, ETC…. ON MY INSTALLATION! So please DO NOT tell another soldier that if they don’t like it they can live off post!!!!!!! MANY of us CHOOSE to live on post and EXPECT a certain level of equity and service. FYI - Just so the reader understands that we are not blind or naive: We understand it is all about the $ and not about the soldier or level of service, or quality of service for that matter….. We know this, but would like to think that it certainly should be. If that is to change then the easiest place to make that change is right here at the INTELLECTUAL center of the Army, Right?
So I guess they’ll continue to charge me $1,507.00 a month and OBTW begin to potentially charge me for utilities (of my run down, non energy efficient home), do the absolute least amount of maintenance possible, and sleep well at night knowing that they are saving/making $ SOUNDS GREAT!?!?!
r/ Student Housing “Leper Colony” Resident
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Stephen King Part II
Bryan talked about this story on his blogsite. Wanted to share the link with you. I added a comment to their site. Feel free to add your comments on the site.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=164062&zoneid=176
Thanks.
MAJ R
http://bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=164062&zoneid=176
Thanks.
MAJ R
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
