Back in that day, this was a SIGO's life:
9.27.2011
I don't know if it's "operational art," but I guess I like it.
Group case-study on operational art.
Now, discuss the Allies' centers of gravity, decisive points, lines of operation, and culminations.
9.23.2011
Thought for the weak
Not long after we started here last month, some messages were sent out from senior leaders reminding us to adhere to standard uniform policies. What follows here is a direct quote from one of those messages (and was originally sent from a Sergeant Major), with a few points of clarification in brackets:
"All:
"I notice this morning an international students was riding his bike without a jacket. I couldn't turn around in traffic to stop him, but there were several ILE students [some of us] who walked and rode past him. So if students are not policing each other then the violation continue. Not to be preaching, but when an enlisted Soldiers ask me 'can we ride our bike without our ACU jacket [uniform top] or wear other backpacks that are not authorized'. How do you response except with the truth.
"We have a systemic problems with the wear of the uniform from the students which needs to be address. I'm sure it has been, but maybe they don't care. So when I hear the CASCAL survey [???] about 'Soldier are not discipline,' its start with them.
"Maybe we need to do a lamp [our august newspaper] articles on standard uniform wear. I'll work that piece.
"Thanks you all for your support. Hooah!!"
Mind you, if I understand the intent of this, this esteemed senior noncommissioned officer is right in that Field Grade officers should set the example, and should know better than to even ask those kinds of questions. Uniform policy is an accepted fact of soldiering -- an artifact of our culture, if you will.
Apparently however, correct English grammar and spelling are not -- assuming, that is, that the SGM is not a foreign soldier himself (his name doesn't appear foreign, anyway).
The senior officer who initially forwarded the verbatim comments -- who, ostensibly, is himself a CGSC alumnus -- should have known better than to embarrass the NCO corps by forwarding the exact message, thus detracting from the heart of the message itself (which apparently was: wear your uniform like a professional). More importantly, the senior NCO -- as a professional -- should set the example himself and either get professional help with his writing skills, have someone smarter screen his messages before blasting them out, or else just not bother. The message is lost, largely because the NCO tried too hard to sound smart.
Especially in this environment, where we thousand-plus Majors areexpected required to get it right the first time.
This is nothing new. Maybe it's just that our Army has left the professional writing skills exclusively up to us officers for far too long.
"All:
"I notice this morning an international students was riding his bike without a jacket. I couldn't turn around in traffic to stop him, but there were several ILE students [some of us] who walked and rode past him. So if students are not policing each other then the violation continue. Not to be preaching, but when an enlisted Soldiers ask me 'can we ride our bike without our ACU jacket [uniform top] or wear other backpacks that are not authorized'. How do you response except with the truth.
"We have a systemic problems with the wear of the uniform from the students which needs to be address. I'm sure it has been, but maybe they don't care. So when I hear the CASCAL survey [???] about 'Soldier are not discipline,' its start with them.
"Maybe we need to do a lamp [our august newspaper] articles on standard uniform wear. I'll work that piece.
"Thanks you all for your support. Hooah!!"
Mind you, if I understand the intent of this, this esteemed senior noncommissioned officer is right in that Field Grade officers should set the example, and should know better than to even ask those kinds of questions. Uniform policy is an accepted fact of soldiering -- an artifact of our culture, if you will.
Apparently however, correct English grammar and spelling are not -- assuming, that is, that the SGM is not a foreign soldier himself (his name doesn't appear foreign, anyway).
The senior officer who initially forwarded the verbatim comments -- who, ostensibly, is himself a CGSC alumnus -- should have known better than to embarrass the NCO corps by forwarding the exact message, thus detracting from the heart of the message itself (which apparently was: wear your uniform like a professional). More importantly, the senior NCO -- as a professional -- should set the example himself and either get professional help with his writing skills, have someone smarter screen his messages before blasting them out, or else just not bother. The message is lost, largely because the NCO tried too hard to sound smart.
Especially in this environment, where we thousand-plus Majors are
This is nothing new. Maybe it's just that our Army has left the professional writing skills exclusively up to us officers for far too long.
9.22.2011
U.S. walks out of Iran speech at U.N.
Read the article here.
While it is amazingly stupid that Iran is still trying to play the Holocaust-denier card, it is sadder still that the entire assembly did not follow America's lead.
Maybe they should have just had the band play him off.
While it is amazingly stupid that Iran is still trying to play the Holocaust-denier card, it is sadder still that the entire assembly did not follow America's lead.
Maybe they should have just had the band play him off.
9.21.2011
Welcome to the best year of your life
Or so we were told, many times over the first couple of weeks of school.
We are the Chosen Thousand, having intrepidly descended upon the Army's Command and General Staff College in northeastern Kansas, from the four corners of Planet Earth. Though mostly Army, we come from all the services and many foreign nations. Segregated into 16-member "Small Groups," have embarked on our 10-month course to learn how to be better Field Grade officers.
So, here's a wrap-up of the first few weeks:
Week 1: Mall cop convention (we all had to wear our Class A uniforms) -- lots of do's and don'ts, for instance:
DO: Read on a graduate level but write essays on an 8th grade level, try hard, find balance, and have the best year of your life.
DON'T: get in trouble, bring coffee into the main auditorium, bring pets to the Commanding General's reception, plagiarize anything, or fail your Physical Fitness Test.
Weeks 2 through 6:
We study military history, particulary European military history after 1300 a.d., because all the famously dead generals did it.
NEVER cite wikipedia as a source.
Strategy is good. Don't look for any in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Toxic leaders are bad.
Our military has a LOT of ships, planes, and tanks. Don't mess with us or we use it all, jointly.
For all future scenarios, we will use some real countries and some fake ones. Try not to get confused.
Week 7:
"Dead Carl" von Clauzewitz was a Prussian general who really liked Napoleon and wrote a lot of very ethereal stuff about the fog and confusion of war. Pay no attention to any similarities with Sun Tzu.
However, Colin Powell apparently did understand Clausewitz -- even though no one would listen to Powell in 2002.
So far, at least one instructor per day will Godwin the lesson. See future posts for weekly Godwin tallies as our history studies close in on WWII.
We are the Chosen Thousand, having intrepidly descended upon the Army's Command and General Staff College in northeastern Kansas, from the four corners of Planet Earth. Though mostly Army, we come from all the services and many foreign nations. Segregated into 16-member "Small Groups," have embarked on our 10-month course to learn how to be better Field Grade officers.
So, here's a wrap-up of the first few weeks:
Week 1: Mall cop convention (we all had to wear our Class A uniforms) -- lots of do's and don'ts, for instance:
DO: Read on a graduate level but write essays on an 8th grade level, try hard, find balance, and have the best year of your life.
DON'T: get in trouble, bring coffee into the main auditorium, bring pets to the Commanding General's reception, plagiarize anything, or fail your Physical Fitness Test.
Weeks 2 through 6:
We study military history, particulary European military history after 1300 a.d., because all the famously dead generals did it.
NEVER cite wikipedia as a source.
Strategy is good. Don't look for any in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Toxic leaders are bad.
Our military has a LOT of ships, planes, and tanks. Don't mess with us or we use it all, jointly.
For all future scenarios, we will use some real countries and some fake ones. Try not to get confused.
Week 7:
"Dead Carl" von Clauzewitz was a Prussian general who really liked Napoleon and wrote a lot of very ethereal stuff about the fog and confusion of war. Pay no attention to any similarities with Sun Tzu.
However, Colin Powell apparently did understand Clausewitz -- even though no one would listen to Powell in 2002.
So far, at least one instructor per day will Godwin the lesson. See future posts for weekly Godwin tallies as our history studies close in on WWII.
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