Gonna go back and read some more, but why would Mike's last name be anything other than Hawk? 
Case Study: Sun Tzu, III/31
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Gonna go back and read some more, but why would Mike's last name be anything other than Hawk?
Excellent necro-crossthreading.
I'm asking because I don't know, but which would build more character for him? Bailing and going down range or toughing it out where he is?
Or does it come down to X could make him a better leader with Y sacrifice Vs. A could further his career more quickly while making B sacrifice?
Or does it come down to X could make him a better leader with Y sacrifice Vs. A could further his career more quickly while making B sacrifice?
I think at this point in his life, Faith is probably more concerned with "career building" than "character building." The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been going on for a couple of years at this point; using all of the prior conflicts that Faith has seen either while he was growing up (Panama, Grenada and Gulf War I), both conflicts are likely to be over shortly, leaving Faith "out in the cold" in terms of combat experience.
Promptly at noon, Faith closed down his computer, grabbed his beret, and went looking for The Dud to tell him that he was going to lunch. The Dud wan’t in his office (figures), so Faith went down the rusty staircase, past the peeling leadbased paint, into the asbestos-infested basement. A health safety placard on the door to the SCIF, the secure compartmented information facility, warned of “high levels of radiation in this area.”
Despite repeated requests, The Dud still hadn’t done up the paperwork to grant Faith access to the SCIF, so he had to knock on the door. As he waited, he couldn’t help but notice the massive safe that was just outside the SCIF door. Faith was a tall man, almost six and a half feet, and this safe came up to just under his armpits. Judging from the dust, it had been there for quite a while. Whatever its original use, it was now serving as a hat rack for the Soldiers who worked in the SCIF; a dozen or more maroon berets were tossed haphazardly on the safe’s top.
Eventually, a Soldier exited the SCIF, allowing Faith to enter. As the exiting Soldier reached for his beret, Faith asked him, “What is this safe doing out in the hallway?”
“I don’t know sir, it has been out there the whole time I’ve been in Group.”
“How long has that been?”
“About a year, sir,” the Soldier answered.
“What’s in it?”
“Nothing?” the Soldier said with a shrug. Faith didn’t find him very convincing.
The Dud was nowhere to be found, so Faith met his wife for lunch. Over a couple of slices of Anthony’s Pizza at the post’s PX food court, Faith filled in his wife about what had happened that day, including the news from Mike. Understandably, Faith’s wife was less than pleased with Faith 1) going back to Division, and 2) the probability that he would go to Iraq.
“Look,” she said finally, “Division wasn’t good for you the first time you were here. I see the kinds of MI officers they have here in Division every day, and I don’t think that there has been much improvement since you were here the last time. Knowing you like I do, I think you’re much-better suited for an assignment in SOF than you are back in Division. But I know how miserable you are right now, and like you said, the wars could be over any day now. So, if you want to come back to Division, that’s fine with me. At least we could carpool to work then.”
Despite repeated requests, The Dud still hadn’t done up the paperwork to grant Faith access to the SCIF, so he had to knock on the door. As he waited, he couldn’t help but notice the massive safe that was just outside the SCIF door. Faith was a tall man, almost six and a half feet, and this safe came up to just under his armpits. Judging from the dust, it had been there for quite a while. Whatever its original use, it was now serving as a hat rack for the Soldiers who worked in the SCIF; a dozen or more maroon berets were tossed haphazardly on the safe’s top.
Eventually, a Soldier exited the SCIF, allowing Faith to enter. As the exiting Soldier reached for his beret, Faith asked him, “What is this safe doing out in the hallway?”
“I don’t know sir, it has been out there the whole time I’ve been in Group.”
“How long has that been?”
“About a year, sir,” the Soldier answered.
“What’s in it?”
“Nothing?” the Soldier said with a shrug. Faith didn’t find him very convincing.
The Dud was nowhere to be found, so Faith met his wife for lunch. Over a couple of slices of Anthony’s Pizza at the post’s PX food court, Faith filled in his wife about what had happened that day, including the news from Mike. Understandably, Faith’s wife was less than pleased with Faith 1) going back to Division, and 2) the probability that he would go to Iraq.
“Look,” she said finally, “Division wasn’t good for you the first time you were here. I see the kinds of MI officers they have here in Division every day, and I don’t think that there has been much improvement since you were here the last time. Knowing you like I do, I think you’re much-better suited for an assignment in SOF than you are back in Division. But I know how miserable you are right now, and like you said, the wars could be over any day now. So, if you want to come back to Division, that’s fine with me. At least we could carpool to work then.”
Looks like there are security issues along with the aforementioned discipline issues. The former is something that Faith can directly affect, but not without incurring the wrath of the Dud. Seems like he isn't concerned with much, security issues notwithstanding. He also doesn't seem like the kind of officer who will respond well to a junior captain saying, "Sir, everything here is all fucked up and we need to fix it". Hell, he would probably blow you off if you said, "Sir, everything here is all fucked up and here's how we fix it." There has to be some way to show the Dud that the security situation is all messed up. Get him writing some policy letters and SOPs. At least then Faith can enforce them and prevent safes with who-knows-what from hanging out outside the SCIF.
Question: Does group have an EKMS or CMCC manager?
At least right now, taking the job over at Brigade is the easy fix, and in all honesty would solve all of his problems with the quickness. However, like someone mentioned before, it would probably prevent him from ever getting a SOF job again (If thats what interests him).
Question: Does group have an EKMS or CMCC manager?
At least right now, taking the job over at Brigade is the easy fix, and in all honesty would solve all of his problems with the quickness. However, like someone mentioned before, it would probably prevent him from ever getting a SOF job again (If thats what interests him).
RE: CWO5 Michaels. It's hard to make heads or tails of this fellow. On one hand, he works in the S-3 and has a good working knowledge of Intel issues (As evidenced by the fact that he knew a good bit about MI officer career progression). However at the time Faith met him, he was ostensibly listening to this IT nerd bitch about the deuce not caring about this "SCAMPI" system. Why does this concern him? And why is he so interested in Faith's opinion on the Dud? It seems like he was trying a bit of rapport-building with Faith before getting to his real question, about Maj. Dudley, and seemed satisfied with Faith's non-answer. Why does he care? In your intro bit it says that he's assigned to the Group S2 but works in the 3. You mentioned that the Dud is universally reviled, could the 3 be trying to burn him after this latest incident?
This part actually happened in real life. :-/
Since I don't know what those are, I'm going to have to say... no. ;)
Roger. As you and others have said, sometimes the most obvious solution, isn't the best solution.
These are all good questions that will be answered shortly.
On the drive back over to his office, Faith mulled over his options. Walking back across the parking lot, he passed an SF Soldier going the other way. The Soldier had not bothered to put his beret back on his head, even though Faith could see it peeking out of the Soldier’s cargo pocket. The Soldier looked Faith straight in the eye as they passed each other; it was almost as if the Soldier were daring Faith to say something to him, either about not wearing his headgear outdoors, or about the fact that he didn’t salute. Faith, stunned by this kind of unprofessional display from someone in SF, didn’t react at first. Then, embarrassed by the disrespect and by the fact that he didn’t do anything about it, Faith made up his mind.
“That’s it, I’m out of this clown factory,” Faith said out loud, although there was no one there to hear him.
Walking down the hallway back to his office, Faith noticed that the door to his office was ajar. This was strange, because Faith distinctly remembered closing it before he left. Emanating from the room was a strange yet vaguely familiar sound. As he got closer, he recognized the noise as a small ball being bounced against the floor and then a wall.
When Faith entered his office, he was surprised to see someone sitting behind his desk, in his chair, bouncing a racquetball absently against the floor, and then catching it as it rebounded against the far wall. Noticing Faith, the stranger caught the racquetball and turned to face Faith.
“Captain Faith,” the stranger said, “Good to meet you. Have a seat.”
More than a little annoyed at having been invited, for the second time in the same day, to have a seat in his own office, Faith nonetheless did as he was instructed.
The stranger was dressed in workout gear, so Faith was not able to determine his rank or name. But he was older than Faith, probably middle-aged, and looked “officerly.” Faith decided to err on the side of caution and treat the stranger as if he were a superior officer.
“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t get your name?” Faith said.
“So, I hear that you’re not really happy here in 2nd Group,” the stranger said, ignoring Faith’s earlier comment.
“I never said that to anyone,” Faith responded, caught off guard.
“But is it true?”
Faith carefully considered his response. “There are some things I don’t like about the unit so far, but I’ve only been here two weeks, so it’s kind of hard to make a truly informed decision.”
“Do you like working for Major Dudley?”
Again, Faith thought about his words before he answered.
“There are things about the way that MAJ Dudley does business that differ from the way that I would do them, but he’s the Group S2 and my boss, so I give him my full support.”
“Did you know his nickname in the Group is “The Dud?”
“I have referred to him as such, yes sir,” Faith answered.
“Do you know why they call him that?” the stranger inquired.
“I think so, sir.”
“So I understand that you’re prior infantry, and that you commanded a company in Korea?”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“How did you do? In command, I mean.”
“I like to think I did pretty well, sir.”
“Who were your battalion commander and XO over there?”
Faith named them.
“Your battalion XO, Major Roberts, what did you think of him?”
This time, Faith did not hesitate. “Sir, I thought he was a blight on the officers’ corps, an oxygen thief, and a complete waste of skin. He was the single worst thing in an entire battalion full of badness.”
At this, the stranger smiled, and began bouncing the racquetball off the floor and wall again.
“I see. Did you know that MAJ Roberts used to work here in 2nd Group?”
“Yes sir, he talked about that quite frequently. Pretty much all the time, in fact.”
The stranger continued to bounce the ball. It was beginning to annoy Faith.
“Your father was Ray Faith, from B/2/2?”
“Roger, sir,” Faith responded.
At this, the stranger caught the racquetball and placed it firmly down on the desk. Releasing the ball, the stranger adopted a
pensive, distant look, as if he was carefully considering something. Faith noticed that the stranger was absentmindedly rubbing his hands together. Actually, Faith noticed, he was rubbing his right index finger with his left hand. Faith observed that the stranger was missing the last two joints of that digit. For some reason, it made Faith extremely uncomfortable.
“You know who was in B/2/2/?” the stranger asked, rhetorically. “Chief Michaels.”
“That’s it, I’m out of this clown factory,” Faith said out loud, although there was no one there to hear him.
Walking down the hallway back to his office, Faith noticed that the door to his office was ajar. This was strange, because Faith distinctly remembered closing it before he left. Emanating from the room was a strange yet vaguely familiar sound. As he got closer, he recognized the noise as a small ball being bounced against the floor and then a wall.
When Faith entered his office, he was surprised to see someone sitting behind his desk, in his chair, bouncing a racquetball absently against the floor, and then catching it as it rebounded against the far wall. Noticing Faith, the stranger caught the racquetball and turned to face Faith.
“Captain Faith,” the stranger said, “Good to meet you. Have a seat.”
More than a little annoyed at having been invited, for the second time in the same day, to have a seat in his own office, Faith nonetheless did as he was instructed.
The stranger was dressed in workout gear, so Faith was not able to determine his rank or name. But he was older than Faith, probably middle-aged, and looked “officerly.” Faith decided to err on the side of caution and treat the stranger as if he were a superior officer.
“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t get your name?” Faith said.
“So, I hear that you’re not really happy here in 2nd Group,” the stranger said, ignoring Faith’s earlier comment.
“I never said that to anyone,” Faith responded, caught off guard.
“But is it true?”
Faith carefully considered his response. “There are some things I don’t like about the unit so far, but I’ve only been here two weeks, so it’s kind of hard to make a truly informed decision.”
“Do you like working for Major Dudley?”
Again, Faith thought about his words before he answered.
“There are things about the way that MAJ Dudley does business that differ from the way that I would do them, but he’s the Group S2 and my boss, so I give him my full support.”
“Did you know his nickname in the Group is “The Dud?”
“I have referred to him as such, yes sir,” Faith answered.
“Do you know why they call him that?” the stranger inquired.
“I think so, sir.”
“So I understand that you’re prior infantry, and that you commanded a company in Korea?”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“How did you do? In command, I mean.”
“I like to think I did pretty well, sir.”
“Who were your battalion commander and XO over there?”
Faith named them.
“Your battalion XO, Major Roberts, what did you think of him?”
This time, Faith did not hesitate. “Sir, I thought he was a blight on the officers’ corps, an oxygen thief, and a complete waste of skin. He was the single worst thing in an entire battalion full of badness.”
At this, the stranger smiled, and began bouncing the racquetball off the floor and wall again.
“I see. Did you know that MAJ Roberts used to work here in 2nd Group?”
“Yes sir, he talked about that quite frequently. Pretty much all the time, in fact.”
The stranger continued to bounce the ball. It was beginning to annoy Faith.
“Your father was Ray Faith, from B/2/2?”
“Roger, sir,” Faith responded.
At this, the stranger caught the racquetball and placed it firmly down on the desk. Releasing the ball, the stranger adopted a
pensive, distant look, as if he was carefully considering something. Faith noticed that the stranger was absentmindedly rubbing his hands together. Actually, Faith noticed, he was rubbing his right index finger with his left hand. Faith observed that the stranger was missing the last two joints of that digit. For some reason, it made Faith extremely uncomfortable.
“You know who was in B/2/2/?” the stranger asked, rhetorically. “Chief Michaels.”
Ah, CPT Faith's first meeting with the DCO. I think Chief Michaels and CPT Faith's father have some kind of bonding history, perhaps like the DCO and Al James later on. I think the Chief was interviewing Faith to see what kind of guy he was. He knew Faith was pissed about a lot of things with the S2 shop and wanted to see how he would handle the opportunity to either go on a rant bashing everyone and everything in 2nd Group, or do what he did which is downplay it and acknowledge he hasn't been there all that long and it's not really his place. I'm guessing this initial conversation with the DCO is going to lead to the offer of command. The DCO may even know about Faith's contemplation of leaving for Division and wants to try and persuade him to stay. I would guess the DCO is well aware of how fucked up the S2 shop is, but without good officers like Faith around to start to change things, change will never happen.
Agree with what CDG said. As a leader, if you realize your shop (or whatever else) is fucked up you also have to realize it might take someone who's willing to come in and SAY, "hey this is fucked up" to start cleaning house. While it might be a jab at your shop by a new guy, that might also be what it takes to start seeing some of the much needed changes.
I hope Warchief doesn't kill me or correct me too badly for this.... I'll try to be as clear as I can...
An SF WO is an odder beast than any you will meet, a fine soldier initially he then volunteered to be Airborne, then SF, probably Ranger School, Scuba, MFF, a few dozen courses not on paper, has deployed a few times, got to be an E-7 with O&I and some staff Intel time... THEN he goes to SFWOC, that nebulous land where he is magically placed between the NCO and O ranks, with great influence, little perceived power (a lie), more knowledge (book, practical, street and 'oh shit do you remember when LT/CPT/SP4/SGT xxxx did.... in [name the place]) than is good for those around him, more training in intel, ops, and logistics than is good for any one person... and then let him loose under the nominal control of those on a team to truly hone those skills for a few years.... next stop Bn HQ to learn the ins and outs of the middle steps... then Group, more knowledge, then into the vaporous land that only SF CW5's know... then back to a Bn/Grp Intel or Plans section.... they know everybody, everything and have the power to read minds... (and in the case of Warchief, who I knew as a stellar NCO and medic) and are personable because of the fluidity of their rank... but do not be fooled, they can kill you with a look.... Generals listen to SF CW5's because they have done it, have been there, and probaly know what that General did as a stupid 2LT....
If this SF CW5 is in the INTEL/COMMS/S3 area... he knows it all, and probably helped plan and build the damn stuff, and is watching to see the guys who let it fail either well and truly fuck themselves, or gladly watch them unfuck themselves... to him it doesn't matter, if it were crucial, it would have been fixed in 3 minutes.
Sorry. EKMS is electronic key management system. From what I understand, they handle SIPR/JWICS networking equipment for a particular unit and the associated crypto. Like CIK keys and such.
Classified Material Control Center (CMCC) accounts for the unit's classified material (outside of crypto gear, I believe).
Okay, the senior command is well aware of how shitty the Dud is. They were aware of it years ago, as evidenced by this flashback. But we all know that he still has the -2 job in the present day (at least, in the fictional story's present day setting). How in the hell does he keep it? This sounds like the story of Faith becoming the super rockstar officer that single-handedly turns 2nd Group around from the clown factory that it currently is. Im betting this is accomplished by getting a bunch of female officers and CWOs to work in the deuce!
Almost on cue, Chief Michaels appeared at the door. “Ah, CPT Faith, I see you have met the Group DCO,” he said, indicating the stranger in Faith’s office. “Sir, are you ready to go?” he asked, holding up two racquetball rackets.
“Yep,” the DCO said, taking one of the rackets.
“So, what do you think?” Michaels asked of the DCO.
“He’ll do,” the DCO growled as he exited the office.
“So, CPT Faith,” Michaels said with one of his trademark smiles, “How long have you wanted to be in command of a Special Forces Group MI detachment?” He was gone before a stunned Faith could respond.
Faith sat down behind his desk and mulled over what had just happened. Then he picked up the phone and dialed Mike at Division.
“So, Mike,” Faith began, “You know that job I asked you for?...”
/////
OK, so Faith has been offered the Group MID job for 2nd Group. Maybe. He can't really be sure what just happened. But let's assume for a minute that the job is his if he wants it. Should he take it? It's a chance to get out from under The Dud, and it's a second command, which is something almost unheard-of for an intel guy. But, it still means he's stuck in a decaying, ill-disciplined Group, with no immediate deployment on the horizon. The Dud is still there, as are all the rest of the people and problems that the Group has. Should he accept the new job, or head down the street to Division?
“Yep,” the DCO said, taking one of the rackets.
“So, what do you think?” Michaels asked of the DCO.
“He’ll do,” the DCO growled as he exited the office.
“So, CPT Faith,” Michaels said with one of his trademark smiles, “How long have you wanted to be in command of a Special Forces Group MI detachment?” He was gone before a stunned Faith could respond.
Faith sat down behind his desk and mulled over what had just happened. Then he picked up the phone and dialed Mike at Division.
“So, Mike,” Faith began, “You know that job I asked you for?...”
/////
OK, so Faith has been offered the Group MID job for 2nd Group. Maybe. He can't really be sure what just happened. But let's assume for a minute that the job is his if he wants it. Should he take it? It's a chance to get out from under The Dud, and it's a second command, which is something almost unheard-of for an intel guy. But, it still means he's stuck in a decaying, ill-disciplined Group, with no immediate deployment on the horizon. The Dud is still there, as are all the rest of the people and problems that the Group has. Should he accept the new job, or head down the street to Division?
What kind of sway does the MID commander have? Does he finally have a seat at the big staff table? If so, this could be just the venue Faith needs to start suggesting improvements to the people who will actually listen.
The other question is how does the MID deploy? Would this be his chance to get to the fight sooner rather than later? Even if it doesnt get him to the box in a timely fashion, I imagine that it would still help his promotion chances (since that seems to be his thing). Therefore, he ought to take it.
The other question is how does the MID deploy? Would this be his chance to get to the fight sooner rather than later? Even if it doesnt get him to the box in a timely fashion, I imagine that it would still help his promotion chances (since that seems to be his thing). Therefore, he ought to take it.
Sounds to me as though there was not a lot of coincidence in this situation. Capt. Faith appears to have been hand picked for this position by Chief Michaels (be it based on previous merits or the relationship of Michaels and Faith's father). I don't see Faith leaving the opportunity as he appears to be a "can-do" kind of officer that wants to do the right thing. I also get the feeling that The Dud is working himself into a transfer out of his position due to his lack of true leadership. Group appears to be a blank canvas that Capt. Faith can use to prove his value to the higher ups. I have a feeling the family ties will lead Faith to take the task on personally as to not let down the family name.
Sounds like he's on the verge of being volun-told to take the job...
My experience in SOF has been that "influence" is largely a matter of individual personality. However, as a support guy in an SF Group, Faith's influence is likely to be marginal in terms of what he can affect in the Group overall. But, he will likely have near-complete autonomy in the MID, so where he takes it is largely up to him. Faith doesn't know yet what the deployment situation is like for the MID... but at least he won't be hanging out with The Dud any longer.
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