Back again.
Last time I addressed the Split, and the troubles that our unit has gone through and is experiencing. But I also said it's time to move forward. So today I'm going to address what our unit has been doing and will be doing in the future.
This will be more of musings and spewing than coherent and ordered thought.
Last time I addressed the Split, and the troubles that our unit has gone through and is experiencing. But I also said it's time to move forward. So today I'm going to address what our unit has been doing and will be doing in the future.
This will be more of musings and spewing than coherent and ordered thought.
We are a realism unit. Obviously. Over the past two years Captain Rittehouse, LtCol Conrad, myself, and a handful of others have made pushes to continue us further in that realm in the form of deployment cruises, proper storylines, the FTX cycles and focuses, etc. We will continue to do that. This summer's deployment is a cruise-style as well, where we will be visiting two or more islands in simulation of 'flare ups' in hot spots around the Pacific and responding to them, as an MEU would. We are also working on ways to make casualties actually mean something, rather than continuing to pump bodies in the meat grinder.
But we are more than that. Anyone who's spent at least a month here will have realized that. We are a community. We are family. We are also not living up to our potential.
When SOI was first beginning Major Bird and I realized what kind of organization we had on our hands: A teaching group. We who have been here for a while recognize the significant things we have learned here that apply to our real lives, not just our virtual careers. Leadership and integrity have been the things I personally have been able to take away from this place. I can't speak for others but I know that character, humility, and teamwork are all things that have been learned from here as well. All of them learned, mostly, by accident. There are some leaders who consciously teach this, but mostly these are side effects of the system and the culture we have. It is something I would like to institutionalize.
Instead of the occasional leader who teaches these concepts, I would like it to be a focus of our leadership to teach these principles of leadership, integrity, character, and teamwork. This starts from me, by clarifying to my immediate subordinates what we intend by that, and making sure they instill a culture of those principles and teaching that. Those individuals then trickle it down, so that every person is in some way learning this... even if you don't intend to. I know plenty of people who will stop their feet and say 'This is the internet, I'm not going to learn anything from you!' Well sorry to tell you... you're wrong. You probably won't even recognize it, but I've seen it countless times over these 6 years of leading this place. It happens. And we don't always intend it, but now we will.
For those of you who are just here to be in a team, and fight, and play a game, this really doesn't affect you. You're probably going to learn something about teamwork in the course of your duties here anyway, because if you don't have teamwork you're not going to last long around here... everything is built around it. But for those of you who are here for more than to just play the game.. you're going to learn something. The FTX's will also begin to have some minor focus on teaching something of these principles (ie. leadership under stress being taught in a high intensity situation).
We have already begun to do this as an institution. Beginning the first Sunday of April (04APR15) the unit senior leadership will be conducting monthly meetings. These Operational Sync Meetings (title WIP) are intended for:
But we are more than that. Anyone who's spent at least a month here will have realized that. We are a community. We are family. We are also not living up to our potential.
When SOI was first beginning Major Bird and I realized what kind of organization we had on our hands: A teaching group. We who have been here for a while recognize the significant things we have learned here that apply to our real lives, not just our virtual careers. Leadership and integrity have been the things I personally have been able to take away from this place. I can't speak for others but I know that character, humility, and teamwork are all things that have been learned from here as well. All of them learned, mostly, by accident. There are some leaders who consciously teach this, but mostly these are side effects of the system and the culture we have. It is something I would like to institutionalize.
Instead of the occasional leader who teaches these concepts, I would like it to be a focus of our leadership to teach these principles of leadership, integrity, character, and teamwork. This starts from me, by clarifying to my immediate subordinates what we intend by that, and making sure they instill a culture of those principles and teaching that. Those individuals then trickle it down, so that every person is in some way learning this... even if you don't intend to. I know plenty of people who will stop their feet and say 'This is the internet, I'm not going to learn anything from you!' Well sorry to tell you... you're wrong. You probably won't even recognize it, but I've seen it countless times over these 6 years of leading this place. It happens. And we don't always intend it, but now we will.
For those of you who are just here to be in a team, and fight, and play a game, this really doesn't affect you. You're probably going to learn something about teamwork in the course of your duties here anyway, because if you don't have teamwork you're not going to last long around here... everything is built around it. But for those of you who are here for more than to just play the game.. you're going to learn something. The FTX's will also begin to have some minor focus on teaching something of these principles (ie. leadership under stress being taught in a high intensity situation).
We have already begun to do this as an institution. Beginning the first Sunday of April (04APR15) the unit senior leadership will be conducting monthly meetings. These Operational Sync Meetings (title WIP) are intended for:
The purpose of the meeting is to assist the MEU HQ in gaining full situational awareness on the entire unit, as well as to increase communication between sections which in time will increase cooperability and cross training. Further, it will provide MEU HQ to provide direction, tasks, and intent for the vision of the unit in a more efficient manner. Finally, during times of deployments, this meeting will serve as an intelligence brief and provide unit leaders information on the deployment.
-Capt Rittenhouse
In attendance will be MEU HQ, Echo and Foxtrot Company HQs, LCE HQ, ACE HQ, Tanks HQ, AAV HQ, FORECON HQ, LAR HQ, S-2 Leadership, and S-3 Leadership. This is the best platform for us to discuss things on a higher level and coordinate effectively, and it's a shame we haven't ever done it before.
We are taking an additional step to further these efforts of effective teaching, one which will take a bit more time to come to fruition. We will be modernizing the Corporals and Sergeants Courses. These will be transformed into a more class-type setting, rather than the hodge-podge way they are currently taught. Our Instructor base will be expanded to include qualified NCO Course instructors, and people will be able to sign up for the individual classes to take under that instructor, rather than just asking any old person to teach it (and the point of the class either not being gotten across, or the class not even really being taught). There isn't any content change anticipated in this, right now, however this is an intent of mine as we seek to streamline the system and teach relevant things.
We are doing more changes in order to make our systems more effective, a better working upper echelon, and better teaching, however I will go over those in further posts. For now chew on what I've said here, and leadership please begin to consider how you can teach what I've said. If you have any questions on it, as to what I mean or ideas of how to teach them, please forward them up the CoC.
We are taking an additional step to further these efforts of effective teaching, one which will take a bit more time to come to fruition. We will be modernizing the Corporals and Sergeants Courses. These will be transformed into a more class-type setting, rather than the hodge-podge way they are currently taught. Our Instructor base will be expanded to include qualified NCO Course instructors, and people will be able to sign up for the individual classes to take under that instructor, rather than just asking any old person to teach it (and the point of the class either not being gotten across, or the class not even really being taught). There isn't any content change anticipated in this, right now, however this is an intent of mine as we seek to streamline the system and teach relevant things.
We are doing more changes in order to make our systems more effective, a better working upper echelon, and better teaching, however I will go over those in further posts. For now chew on what I've said here, and leadership please begin to consider how you can teach what I've said. If you have any questions on it, as to what I mean or ideas of how to teach them, please forward them up the CoC.