Following the Crowd

 Hooligans weekly ruck march.                                    

   A Controversial subject in the Army, as most any subject when talking about and organization that has been around for centuries, is the topic considering assimilation. Whether you are referring to cases of death by affiliation, accidents done due to blindly following like sheep, or the fact that the people in the military are typically more willing to be part of the crowd.

   Being part of something bigger than yourself is a great reason that I hear all the time for reasons people have chosen to affiliate themselves with military service. Partly because you can see a lot of truth in it when you are considering that statement perspectively. Granted like any defined statement you can twist or point at the contradictions in the gray areas quite easily. However I would like to discuss how I have personally been negatively influenced by this matter.

   Toxic leadership is something of a term coined up that directly refers to problematic issues in a unit source fully originating from a leadership position. In addition to not only the origin the term refers to the fact that the style of leadership is damaging and can often be contagious and corrupting in multiple aspects of the unit in turn. When toxic leadership is present in a unit you will usually be able to find out the sources most quickly from going to the lower level individuals and evaluating morale, welfare, attitudes, opinions of the unit, and so on and so forth.

   For the majority of the better part of the last year, being under toxic leadership at one of the higher levels of my chain of command I have noticed a significant change in the direct leadership or "first line supervision" above me. From the get go of my career I have dealt with one of the same individuals and have grown through the trials and tribulations of working with this individual. I will now further evaluate what particular characteristic traits I  have had the the opportunity to see effected most.

   Intial attitude of the said individual upon my arrival to their subordinacy was to say the least a positive, and extremely cohesive relationship that not only benefited us two as individuals but also bettered the peers and confidants around us. By having extensive history between the duo we had made a great team and often came to one another for advice and assistance in all or many aspects of work and life intertwined. After later being introduced to a new manager level supervisor however things began to directly change the scenario of everyday life in the unit.

   Growing as individuals under leadership for any extended time you begin to adopt traits and characteristics of your superiors and they become the defining factors of how you begin to interact with those around you. As a man of thorough introspective evaluation and of awareness of my own personality I typically do my best to maintain a positive attitude and not to let the negative aspects of situations be absorbed by my character being.

    Having watched the changes in my first line supervisor I started to really notice the changes in leadership style and attitude over the course of time of our time going through negative situation after another under the orders of our superior and known to be toxic style leader. Though I witnessed my first line who I had for the majority of my career looked up to complain and verbalize their distaste for our superiors leadership techniques and trying to make everyone aware there needed to be changes for the benefit of our unit, I also witnessed something odd.

   Within the matter of months the individual in line above me began to adopt the traits they had previously used to detest and fight against. After losing their ability to stand up for themselves they began to as the saying goes "If you can't beat em', join em' " in the most literal sense. Now completely changing the demographics of the squad sized element I most often directly interact with.

   Now what had seemed to be problems that could be at one point fixed have spread to rest of the soldiers and has like a cancer, started to kill the morale and welfare of the platoon day by day. I have correlated the relationship for the root cause for this issue directly back to following the crowd. Like many in the Army when you don't know what is going on you would typically look around to get your bearings on the situation and to hopefully shed some light on actions to be taken.

   Lack of communication has been the defining factor in my experience with solving these problems from the lowest level possible. With such diverse backgrounds in the military and people with different perspectives and educations its difficult at times for people to see eye to eye. Even after multiple attempts at working out the issues I have had personally with open minded discussions to try to find common ground in the underlying issues, the stubborn close minded aspects that the toxicity in the leadership has been to far overbearing time and time again. Results have included my leadership resorting to tactics in problem solving that the rest of world would see as irrational, inefficient, and preposterous.

   Following the crowd in this fashion is something that is looking to continue, and to only get worse with time. Leadership in the Army needs to make it aware that these type of problems are partly the reason the Army has become so inefficient, and wasteful in its resources. Efficiency is something often enough not taught in the Army as of today and is a crippling issue that is only to get worse without correction. Hence my writing of this article to in a hope get the word out that something needs to be done about the current leadership traits in the Army if we are going to move towards becoming a greater fighting force in the world today.

   Time will only tell if things are to improve in the Army with the issues of soldiers blindly following orders without the need for understanding. Leaders being 'toxic' leaders, whilst infecting the rest of the soldiers and instilling these values in them. So if in the military or not always be aware of the way you are reacting to your subordinates because whether you like it or not they will in time reflect your leadership styles and traits. Always remember to be the example, and to treat others the way you want to be treated because that will the only way our generation will become a better generation for those to come after us, as well as to allow us to live more efficient and stress free lives.

     

   They say that genius and insanity are two sides of the same coin. I have to agree with the statement because it really is such a statement that would apply to the two words. Genius is typically thought of as a person with a exceptional intellect or talent in one aspect or another such as "Beethoven was a musical genius of his time". The fact that people get so lost in this world in the aspects of social stigmas and with pop culture, completely allowing it to take control of their lives and distract them from what used to be basic fundamentals to survival and tradition. 

    Previous generations before us have been taught values and that hard work pays off in the end and is much more appreciated and meaningful. Granted it is difficult for us to determine this factor amongst all our peers on a general basis of no-official judgement by a professional study. We can assume that this trend is common in the generation of todays modern group of young Americans.

   Insanity on the other hand has been said to be someone who is extremely mentally ill, someone who is extremely irrational, someone foolish, or someone who is afflicted with something that prevents them from normal perception, behavior, or social interaction.

(Insane derives from the Latin insanus, in- ‘not’ + sanus ‘healthy.')

   Now asking yourself "how does creativity, insanity and genius all tie together?" would not be a bad question. Interestingly enough however, they do. Some of the greatest thinkers, musicians, scientists, philosophers, inventors, and all others in professions and ways of life have been on the fence of this debate. Creative or genius? In classrooms throughout classrooms and lecture halls I have heard the same statement more than one time. "Insanity is trying something and failing with the same methods again and again expecting to see different results."

   Some say Thomas Edison tried 10000 different different materials in the attempt of finding a filament that would burn for a reasonable amount of time in the creation of the lightbulb. He also said the famous quote "I did not try and 3000 times to create a lightbulb and fail, I found 3000 ways to not make a lightbulb". Perception of his tedious work at the time of creation of  successful lightbulb must have been that he, was truly insane for his determination. How would we be had he accepted the stereotypes that others were trying to place on him or had accepted their words for his own reality.

   Knowing that without education and understanding of situations such as the following you can very easily see that people perception of reality in this spectrum of life is very commonly misinterpreted. Media, public education, culture, foreign relations, and general knowledge on this type of concept can be to blame yes. But it reality it is everyones responsibility to attempt to be more open minded and to strive for knowledge in this time in our lives for it truly is power.

Stop Drop and Roll

Yet another invaluable training exercise conducted by the Army. Had they never showed me I never would have known what to do with a fire. Using valuable resources yet again after multiple instances where, when a fire was actually present, there was nothing to combat it. Just proof that when you give that kid who ate glue in kindergarden the ability to teach the class, everyone starts consuming arts and crafts supplies like candy.

Koncept Productions Presents:                        

A Day in the Life Episode I                                 

"Hooligan Shenanigans"                                    

Waiting for a bus that never came.

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted."

- John Lennon

   Hurry up and wait... Something I had heard many times growing up but never truly had the chance to understand until I joined the Army in 2012. Granted it is a motto, or slogan of negativity, or maybe just a coping mechanism created out of the twisted humor that being in the Army causes one to have. This phrase can mean quite a lot to anyone when put in the right context. However I have found my own meaning to the simple phrase.

   Upon your initial entry to the army you get a wake up call when you go through something called in processing. Only to be defined in my words as... Waking up earlier than what should be legally permitted, rushing with a dire sense of urgency everywhere gripping a stack of forms and papers you will never understand or have the time to read, melting in un-air conditioned hallways that seem to be flooded with fluorescent unnatural light, and the smell of a nervous sweat. For some reason you always get a hint of a cigarette being burned just around the corner, but never see where it is coming from. 

   Duffle bags are issued to you, as you scribble your name on a stack of forms and receipts and you slowly crawl down the line further into the depths of the building where the odd smells permeate the air as you realize that you are going to be filling that issued duffle bag you have been clutching to its limit. In actuality the reality of your situation is really not that bad, nevertheless perspective clarifies this differently for each individual participating in the discomforting, timeless, humiliating, and punctual line that is reception.

   Unknowingly I had agreed upon consummating a contract in a dusty decrepit old building in the downtown district of my city USA, to not just joining a organization, but a way of life. Further and further I traveled into this world of regulation and standards and the whole time I felt like I was often enough just waiting around. Little did I know that there was a lot more to it than just the phrase 'hurry up and wait' soon to be discover right then.

   'Prae' the Latin word meaning before, and 'parare' the latin word for make ready, together formed the word 'praeparare' or... As we know it today the word, prepare. To hurry up and wait is to agree that you will do your best to quickly prepare yourself to be of service to the military. Deemed a phrase used when we are stuck waiting ten minutes early to a ten minute early formation for a ten minute early formation. 

   Coping mechanisms come in many shapes and forms but this one is one of my favorite shared such mechanisms. Using humor, practicality, and sarcasm. We can now say we can hurry up and wait for anything, allowing us to understand situations we don't like in the Army better. 

" Hey I heard that your platoon had to be at formation two hours early when the rest of the company got to sleep in?"

"Yeah we had to hurry up and wait, you know how it goes..."

I guess it goes to show you can take a phrase, and depending on the kind of person you are decide... Am I an optimist, a realist, a pessimist? Should it matter? As long as you are optimistic and enjoy the time you are spending doing something you might not particularly want to do, you are wasting no time. So the next time you find yourself in a long line, or in a crammed little room where they issue you Antarctic Tundra attire in the middle of the summer in South Carolina, or at Disneyland waiting for your favorite ride with friends or family, know that hurrying up to wait is just being excited to have a chance to stop and smell the flowers in life. 

Sophisticated Civilization

Culture may even be described simply as that which makes life worth living.

   

Unity in the Community

Hooligans conducting a training exercise.

   Combined action of a group of people, especially when efficient and effective is the definition of teamwork. Teamwork plays a very important roll in my job, as it is something that has to be done all the time to let life be as painless as possible for myself and my peers. Squads are divided in my platoon by three and segregated by the type of work we do, forcing us to remain in our squad based elements for the majority of our work days. Conducting everything with each other at full cooperation to achieve success. 

   Tried and true my squad (if I do say so myself) is the most cohesive and team based squad in my platoon. Unlike the others, we function as a family and have truly put a new definition to the word brotherhood and chivalry. Something that the other squads can see in us but can't grasp to applying to themselves for the fact that they do not treat each other with the same dignity and respect we do. Striving to go above and beyond in everything we do.

   Years of my life I have enjoyed my isolation and independence when it comes to finding myself personal peace of mind. Since being here in the environment of constant interaction with my fellow man on the time line of every living hour of the day. Literally sunrise to sunset I will be in speaking distance, if not reaching distance from someone in my platoon except for the rare occasion I am out for a larger unit function or gathering, where the names and faces change but not the distance of interaction.

   Realizing the importance in knowing your roll as a team member and person of example is an extremely valuable lesson in life. Creating less stress, more understanding, greater achievement, and overall character building values. Army creeds, and mottos will express this over and over, trying to put the message out there to those ignorant to its power. Not saying that only the Army preaches this impacting merit of morale obligation. Just saying that this is where I consciously recognized its substance.

  So what I am asking of you the reader is... Where do you play part in the teamwork aspect of your life? How important is your role? And are you doing the best you can to fill it?