policemedic
Verified SWAT
Case Study: Revolution
- Thread starter Marauder06
- Start date
I wonder if there is any chance Faith can fuck the dud and that other asshat over now he is in a position to whisper things in a certain persons ear.
That shit tier OER is going to get trumped... lol
I would have been the idiot to point it out at the the time it was said. THAT is why "Chopstick" is not in this case study
I would have been the idiot to point it out at the the time it was said. THAT is why "Chopstick" is not in this case study
Actually, you correctly pointed out an error in the story. Originally it was going to be a 20 mile footmarch, which is why it was 10 out and 10 back. But then I thought, "20 miles is a damn long way for support guys and pilots to have to walk, I don't think it's realistic," so I cut it down to 15... but didn't adjust the "out and back" distance. However, I liked Racing Kitty's explanation for the discrepancy so much, I decided to leave it as-is ;)
If any of you do find errors in any of the case studies, please let me know. If something doesn't make sense, if there is something you don't understand, or if it's contradictory or wrong, let me know and I'll get it sorted out.
OK, "What really happened" time.
Clearly, the 16th SAVE is meant to represent the 160th SOAR. No surprises there. And while there is a rather robust assessment and selection program to join the 160th, it's nothing like the one one portrayed in this case study, which is rather a mash-up of a bunch of different events from different A&S programs I've heard about over the years. I've never heard of "trojan horse" fake candidates (like Ken was in this story), although I think it is an excellent idea.
I was never a general's aide in real life. A question was asked earlier about whether being an aide is a good gig for an officer; the answer to that question is a resounding "yes" in most cases.
The whole "until you best me in racketball" side plot was based on a story that one of my professors told me. He did, in fact, get offered an aide job after beating the general in question in a game of racketball. I really liked that story and decided to try to insert it into a case study some day. I've never played racketball in real life.
IRL, I did try to get out of the Army several times. There was one occasion in which I dashed off a scathing resignation letter while I was away from my unit on TDY. My immediate boss, who wasn't really much of a leader but tried hard to take care of us, sat on it instead of forwarding it up the chain of command, because he knew what I had written would get my ass torn off at the Division level. He knew, or suspected, that there was a stoploss coming, and decided I didn't need to have the additional problem of being a marked man inside the Division and also not be able to get out of the Army. I'm still grateful he did that.
The grad school rejection letters... that was based in fact too. I got rejected by a lot of grad schools, but like I said in an earlier post I got accepted by one really good one, so it all worked out.
Some of the characters in this case study are compilations of people I know in real life, some of whom are members of this site. The "MAJ Roberts" character is loosely based on several assclown officers it has been my extreme misfortune to have to serve with over the years. The "Shannon" person is based on someone I knew at JSOC. I included her in this story as an example of how yes, there are women in the most elite units in our military and yes, sometimes they are in a "do-er" role, not just a stereotypical support role. You will see her again in a later case study. And not to worry, Chief Collins and the Special Forces guys will be back as well. I just didn't want to choke up the plot line with too many characters.
Now, some of the key leadership lessons.
1) Interpersonal relationships matter. In fact, in our line of work, they are arguably the most important thing. Much of what happened to Faith, for good or ill, was due to his ability or inability to manage interpersonal relationships.
2) Keep yourself physically and mentally ready. You never know when an opportunity might drop into your lap, and you have to be ready to capitalize on it. "Ranger School? Oh, I'd love to, I only need two months to get ready. What's that? The class is next week? Better give it to someone else, then."
3) Keep trying. You will experience setbacks in the military as you will in other parts of your life. Don't give up. "Never Say Quit."
4) Help people out when you can, as much as you can. It almost always comes back to you in a good way.
5) Attention to detail matters.
6) No one likes a guy who goes around acting all butt-hurt all the time. Man up, take your lumps, drive on.
7) Three things cause most of the problems in the military: relationship issues, substance abuse (including alcohol), and saying stupid things. If you can avoid these three pitfalls, most of your career ought to go pretty smoothly.
Any other questions or comments about this case study?
Clearly, the 16th SAVE is meant to represent the 160th SOAR. No surprises there. And while there is a rather robust assessment and selection program to join the 160th, it's nothing like the one one portrayed in this case study, which is rather a mash-up of a bunch of different events from different A&S programs I've heard about over the years. I've never heard of "trojan horse" fake candidates (like Ken was in this story), although I think it is an excellent idea.
I was never a general's aide in real life. A question was asked earlier about whether being an aide is a good gig for an officer; the answer to that question is a resounding "yes" in most cases.
The whole "until you best me in racketball" side plot was based on a story that one of my professors told me. He did, in fact, get offered an aide job after beating the general in question in a game of racketball. I really liked that story and decided to try to insert it into a case study some day. I've never played racketball in real life.
IRL, I did try to get out of the Army several times. There was one occasion in which I dashed off a scathing resignation letter while I was away from my unit on TDY. My immediate boss, who wasn't really much of a leader but tried hard to take care of us, sat on it instead of forwarding it up the chain of command, because he knew what I had written would get my ass torn off at the Division level. He knew, or suspected, that there was a stoploss coming, and decided I didn't need to have the additional problem of being a marked man inside the Division and also not be able to get out of the Army. I'm still grateful he did that.
The grad school rejection letters... that was based in fact too. I got rejected by a lot of grad schools, but like I said in an earlier post I got accepted by one really good one, so it all worked out.
Some of the characters in this case study are compilations of people I know in real life, some of whom are members of this site. The "MAJ Roberts" character is loosely based on several assclown officers it has been my extreme misfortune to have to serve with over the years. The "Shannon" person is based on someone I knew at JSOC. I included her in this story as an example of how yes, there are women in the most elite units in our military and yes, sometimes they are in a "do-er" role, not just a stereotypical support role. You will see her again in a later case study. And not to worry, Chief Collins and the Special Forces guys will be back as well. I just didn't want to choke up the plot line with too many characters.
Now, some of the key leadership lessons.
1) Interpersonal relationships matter. In fact, in our line of work, they are arguably the most important thing. Much of what happened to Faith, for good or ill, was due to his ability or inability to manage interpersonal relationships.
2) Keep yourself physically and mentally ready. You never know when an opportunity might drop into your lap, and you have to be ready to capitalize on it. "Ranger School? Oh, I'd love to, I only need two months to get ready. What's that? The class is next week? Better give it to someone else, then."
3) Keep trying. You will experience setbacks in the military as you will in other parts of your life. Don't give up. "Never Say Quit."
4) Help people out when you can, as much as you can. It almost always comes back to you in a good way.
5) Attention to detail matters.
6) No one likes a guy who goes around acting all butt-hurt all the time. Man up, take your lumps, drive on.
7) Three things cause most of the problems in the military: relationship issues, substance abuse (including alcohol), and saying stupid things. If you can avoid these three pitfalls, most of your career ought to go pretty smoothly.
Any other questions or comments about this case study?
dirtmover
Verified Military
I am glad that I got to finish reading it before I redeployed back CONUS. lol
Kraut783
SOF Support
Good story, always enjoy them Sir!
Look forward to seeing more in the future.
Look forward to seeing more in the future.
Just think, the Dud loses his "pet CPT(P)".
The 2nd SFG Cdr has to be nice to the guy he fired.
You could make another case study just on the interactions of those two individuals.
The 2nd SFG Cdr has to be nice to the guy he fired.
You could make another case study just on the interactions of those two individuals.
