Adult Supervision

"It's easy to be a clown until you're put in charge of the circus."

The unit is going through Annual Training. This is one week of briefings, classes, training, qualification, and personal file updates necessary before we mobilize. This training is more important than you realize as you go through it. To have someone sit down with you, one on one, and review your record and make updates as necessary gives you piece of mind when you are far away.

For instance, last time I went away I was engaged and had only one child. My life insurance and other legal paper work reflected that. Obviously, now that I am married and have two children this week allows me to change my insurance, update my will, and make sure that me and my family receive the benefits we deserve when I am away.

Due to turn over and the work load on the full time support at the unit, the plan went through one or two drafts before going "final". I helped plan and coordinate some of this training. Plans are good and necessary however, all plans require execution, and no plan survives first contact with the enemy. Today I found myself "executing" more than I thought I would. Maybe because I had to, or maybe because I can't not get involved. At the end of the day I found myself standing in front of twenty NCOs and officers conducting an "azimuth check", going over what we accomplished, and reviewing the plan for the next few days. And then I dismissed everyone.

WTF?! Since when did I get to be the one with the most brass?! When did I turn into the adult? - I hate adults! I used to be the smart ass LT sitting in the back of the room singing out of tune and now I'm leading the chorus? Who checks on this? Now, I know as I write this that I can think of one young Captain and one soon-to-be ex-Major who are asking the same thing. I'm sure there are others waiting to chime in.

After spending almost twenty years kvetching about how everyone else is doing it wrong its about time I "man up" and do it right.