When people first meet me, I am usually under estimated. I’ve known this, and have learned to use it to the advantage of whatever organization I’m in. This time I can’t help but think that maybe they are over estimating my capabilities…the proverbial “oh, shit”. I often talk about how the Guard and Reserve have a management and leadership issue that they need to be aware of and take steps to mitigate. I call it my theorem of the “paper-trained” airman. A paper trained airman is where your training record (or your resume, in the case of officers) says you can perform a certain task, but you haven’t had a chance to actually perform that task in years (or even only performed it once, as can be the case in the military). We are deploying folks all over the world, into jobs that their training record or resume says you can do. The question should be: are we proficient in those tasks? The reality of it is that there is no way to know, except by doing. This is why deployments need to be an integral part of Guard and Reserve Airman’s career, along with in-residence PME (Professional Military Education). Absences away from home are hard…no doubt about that. It takes a lot of advance planning, and it takes the support of families and employers everywhere for this to work.
In only three weeks I have decided that another theorem that I have always subscribed to…that you hire based upon attitude, not on skill set…trumps the theorem of the paper trained airman. The right attitude is what it takes to survive and thrive. In short, I have already made up my mind that I will succeed, and I’ll do whatever it takes to do the job, and do it right. I have already decided that I’ll take whatever they throw at me and go at it with gusto. It is still quite possible that I came here as a “paper-trained” airman, but the good news is that I am very much less concerned about this issue than before I deployed.
Getting into this situation (having a seemingly impossible task, and having your bosses just know you can do it), and working through it, is key to growth. This pays off everywhere else in your life, not just the military. This is the thing that I like about the military-- it keeps you sharp. You do your best every single day, and that is all they ask. But our basic core value is that your best yesterday isn’t good enough for today. You must do it better today than you did it yesterday, and you must continue to contribute more today than you did yesterday.
I am lucky to have the chance to explore the things that I often espouse.
I had a few nice surprises this week. First, I had to run on a treadmill (egad). For the first time since I became a marathon runner, I got to see my legs in action, in a mirror in front of me. My running buddies have been telling me that my legs look nice and are “cut”. The first time I heard that…I started looking for bandages. My friend Becky explained it to me, but I didn’t really get it (or maybe just didn’t believe it). Holy crap, I get it now…I did a double take…I couldn’t believe that was my legs. Wished my belly looked like that!
My second surprise was that I had to do some traveling…the Air Force expert on a certain program I am using was at a nearby base, and I went to see him for some hands on training. So, I got to spend the last five days at Al Udeid Airbase, Qatar. It is a very nice base and they have lots of MWR activities there (Morale, Welfare and Recreation), and you can have three alcoholic beverages a day. My traveling companions were happy to be traveling with me since I don’t drink.
More surprises: I got to see a concert while I was there…Saving Able…a new southern/classic rock band. I got to ride to Al Udeid in a C-21… a sweet 6 seat AF jet. I got to see two folks from home that are deployed there. I got to ride home in the cockpit of a C-17…I thought I had died and gone to heaven…and I swear I could a reached out and touched the big dipper, it was right on top of the clouds and so were we. I’m attaching a couple of pics of my travels. Going forward tomorrow and will have more tales to tell soon.
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