field trip

Well,

I got assigned as an investigating officer for what's called a 15-6 investigation. They do these whenever someone has a bad accident, or in my case, loses something very valuable and sensitive in nature. So, I have to hand off my duties to my NCO for a couple days and go interview a bunch of people about what they know and what they're roll was in the loss of the item. It takes precedence as my primary duty now, and I'm the only one in the BN Staff that can do it because I'm the only one that outranks the company commander...besides the two majors...and they aren't about to do it. So, field trip for me! I'll make sure to take some pictures and some day...maybe I'll get some pictures up on here. Hopefully I'll be able to get to the bottom of this thing kind of quickly so I can get back and catch up on the real work I have to do. I'm just looking forward to being the commander so I don't have to do these silly staff tasks. I know there will be a plethera of other retarded things to take care of, but it will be nice to be off of staff! Only another two months! On another positive note, they are telling me that I don't have to take leave before I take command, so that rocks! I'm slotted for Sept-Oct right now, so Hawaii here we come:) Hopefully I'll be able to avoid losing stuff like the company I have to go investigate...just crappy circumstances trying to changeover property at the same time as trying to learn a new AO and get ready to bring the fight to the bad guys. I don't think I'll have the same challenges since my platoons aren't really going outside the wire...they just man the guns on 4 different FOBs and provide artillery support where it's needed. Anyways, I have to get going, so more to follow when I get back from my field trip;)

The "wall"

I am borrowing the idea of this from my future BN CDR's wife. She wrote in her blog about the 'wall' that spouses hit during a deployment. With this being her 4th deployment and this our (Robyn's and my) 3rd, I can relate and understand what she's taking about. I am writing from this side of the pond on the 'wall' that we hit over here. It comes on this side too. Generally around the same time, 2-3 months into the trip after you realize, "holy crap...this is going to be a long deployment." It comes once everyone figures out the terrain, their take on what they think the enemy is doing, and when they get a handle on their individual job to a point where the thought process and discovery learning aren't as involved. Not that there aren't new challenges daily, but the routine is established, and there's time to be bored and the xth briefing set of slides you prepared or mission you participated in isn't that much different than the rest. Then there are the stupid things about a deployment that generate the inevitable discussions from the nay-sayers about why we're here. The casualties, the accidents, the Soldiers getting in trouble for doing dumb things like negligently discharging their weapon after cleaning it. After a couple months of energetically searching out a better way to do business than the unit before us and getting stifled in one way or another, by the weather, by the system of beaurocracy, or the chain of command being too busy or focused elsewhere to notice...it limits one's motivation to continue to knock down walls. The chain of command gets into their comfort zone too...they get to a point where they have their grasp on the situation and another way to solve it is less readily accepted. I think that is true of most leaders when we find a way to solve a problem that we think will work, our openness to trying another way decreases exponentially as time goes on. It is my goal to break this cycle, recognizing that I have gotten to this place, and most of the unit has as well. I will work to continue to find new ways to fight and win, and I will endeavor to ensure my Soldiers do not become comfortable with the way things are. We can and will continue to improve. If we can't, then why bother after being here for almost 10 years? In an unclassified news release, GEN Petraeus said he thinks the TB are going to bring it pretty hard this year. I know our BN is welcoming the challenge and looks forward to helping them find their Allah and give these people and the unit that follows us some peace in the future.