97 days – Maneuver Ball speaker

The Maneuver Ball was so much fun. It was a great time with so much tradition and ceremony, it is really cool to be part of an organization with that much history. I was there with Naomi Fuhrman, we where there to hang out with all the cool Infantry men and to dance. However when the music started they were not playing swing music, but club music and that is not our scene. We put up a valient effort at dancing and that was great, but it was also very entertaining to watch all the drunk people dancing because they were just commical. One of the cool things was the “grog” it was a sort of alcohol punch. They tool 10 different liquors’ and mixed them together each one represented a war or conflict that he United States had participated in. then when COL Haskes tasted it when they were done, he said, “there is something missing…” and one of the guys mixing pulled out an ACU Boot and threw it in which represented all the miles we have walked and our journey through west point. Then COL Haskes tasted the grog again drinking it from the boot. That was cool, the grog was absolutely nasty it was so strong.

the Commander of Fort Benning he has some great stuff to day. One of the things he talked about was,

“They don’t care how much you know….until they know how much you care.”

I think there is more truth in this then any of us realize. Your soldiers are not going to care how much you know, that said we have to be tactically competent and proficient but that matters little compared with how much we care about those we lead.

He also said,

“Be proud but don’t be satisfied.”

Like the captains from the Ranger Regiment said, you have to earn your scrolls everyday. Every day we are working towards becoming better and improving ourselves.

98 days - 75th Ranger REG & Maneuver Ball

I just got back from a briefing about the 75th Ranger Regiment. It was amazing! It is always amazing when you start a brief off with, "you all have a secret clearance right?"

They are a unit committed to the highest levels of excellence. One of their mottos and beliefs is that you have to earn your scroll every day. The organization of their entire community lends to this mentality and atmosphere.  

Maneuver (Infantry) Ball

That is tonight it is going to be a great time. The reason it is now called the maneuver ball instead of the just the infantry ball as in the past is because the Armor guys will be joining us as well. So they are joining us….do not listen to anything else they are joining us not the other way around.

I am ready to dance tonight!!!!

99 days - Leadership

So there are 99 days until graduation and I have decided to blog for 100 days straight until graduation. I may miss one or two because of Honduras or something or another but I will do 100 blogs, one for each until I graduate from West Point.

Leadership is all about people and caring about them and loving them. It is hard sometimes to help people see how much I love them when I am making decisions that they do not understand and do not they do not like. How do you help people see the big picture when some of them are determined to only see the small picture right in front of their eyes.

Something to think and ponder as this semester moves forward and that is why I am here. To learn, grow and improve.

100 days until GRADUATION!!!!!!!

THIS IS A HUGE MILE STONE IN MY WEST POINT JOURNEY. I AM NOT 100 DAYS AWAY FROM GRADUATING AND MOVING ON TO MY THE JOB FOR WHICH I HAVE BEEN TRAINING FOR FOR FOUR YEARS.

wow this feels weird, now it is my turn. one chapter is about to close and another is about to open.

MINIMALISTS....aaaahhhh

I really do not have time to be writing this but I have to.

MINIMALISTS....I hate them. People who figure out what is the lowest target they can hit and get by and aim for that. What is the point?

I do not see how you can honestly look at a takes and go into it saying you are going to only shoot for the absolute lowest standard.

When I attack problem I give my all to it I could never do less. Even for tasks that I do not fully agree with or have a hard time getting my heart behind, there is no excuse for doing anything less than your best in any and all circumstances.

If am an ambassador of Jesus Christ and I am one of this workers, I represent him when I work on anything in my life. Why would I want to be known for doing the minimum standards, Jesus never gave only a part of his heart to his missions when he preached when he healed when he hung on the cross he was ALL IN!!!!!!

ALL IN!!!! That is my battle cry and how I try to live. Always striving to do my best in any and all circumstances. Anything less is selling myself short.

Jesus is in the Business

Jesus wants us to long to be with him alone and not to live for the blessings that come with a relationship with him. He wants our focus on him and him alone.

Jesus is not in the business of making bad people good he is in the business of making dead people alive.

Jesus did not come to make bring us a good life he came in order to bring us closer to himself.

Jesus is in the business of restoration I got this devotional this morning it reminded me of how much Jesus loves me. even when I cannot feel, even when I am hurting and I wish Jesus would give him his strength, even when I am so tired and overwhelmed that I want to quite Jesus has and will never leave my side He is teaching me and growing me into the man of God He wants me to become.

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Restoration

Look at the life of Jesus. Notice what he did. When Jesus touched the blind, they could see; all the beauty of the world opened before them. When he touched the deaf, they were able to hear; for the first time in their lives they heard laughter and music and their children's voices. He touched the lame, and they jumped to their feet and began to dance. And he called the dead back to life and gave them to their families.

Do you see? Wherever humanity was broken, Jesus restored it. He is giving us an illustration here, and there, and there again. The coming of the kingdom of God restores the world he made.

God has been whispering this secret to us through creation itself, every year, at springtime, ever since we left the Garden. Sure, winter has its certain set of joys. The wonder of snowfall at midnight, the rush of a sled down a hill, the magic of the holidays. But if winter ever came for good and never left, we would be desolate. Every tree leafless, every flower gone, the grasses on the hillsides dry and brittle. The world forever cold, silent, bleak.

After months and months of winter, I long for the return of summer. Sunshine, warmth, color, and the long days of adventure together. The garden blossoms in all its beauty. The meadows soft and green. Vacation. Holiday. Isn't this what we most deeply long for? To leave the winter of the world behind, what Shakespeare called "the winter of our discontent," and find ourselves suddenly in the open meadows of summer?

If we listen, we will discover something of tremendous joy and wonder. The restoration of the world played out before us each spring and summer is precisely what God is promising us about our lives. Every miracle Jesus ever did was pointing to this Restoration, the day he makes all things new.

(Epic, 82-83)

Putting my foot down

This is a great topic one that I will explore in more detail however in the past 7 hours I have studied for no more than 2 of them.

I am having problems with my staff and their commitment to completing a task to standard and with dedication. Selling out for the job that is the problem. People do not see the big picture so they are not motivated to reach it.

I sent this email out to my staff earlier tonight if you know anything about West Point you will know that passes are everything and getting out on the weekend is what people live for.

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Hey everyone,

I am very sorry for the number of emails but I this one is needed. This email is not personal this is business; do not mistake firmness and an absolute for harshness.

We will be doing this differently in future however there are certain things that need to be done and they need to be done to standard and on time. Your passes and the passes of your staff are depended on the completion of these tasks by the deadlines presented. This is none negotiable. You have a staff for a reason. We all have school; a lot of school gets it done. I will not be approving passing until I receive the information required to standard.

(Tasks here)

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I will be discussing this more when I have time but I wanted to put this in my record of the semester. Now that I have put my foot down I cannot flinch or my word becomes worthless.