So after weeks and weeks of up and down in temperature the weather finally made a decision. And for the month of May that decision was hot and dry. So with the temperature stabilized we got to work turning beds and planting seed. I also had a huge flashback to my years as a young soldier. One of the days while I was turning soil and hoeing rows I could…
As a leader and trainer of soldiers one of the greatest pleasures is seeing the first budding of new ideas and synergy. That moment when confusion and uncertainty leaves and understanding and excitement becomes apparent. Whether is how to use a weapon or hope to apply an intelligence method the look is almost always the same. And for that brief moment all the work seems to have paid for itself.…
One of the things I frequently miss about being active duty military is the timing. The consistency of the Hard and Soft timelines, the right place, right time, right uniform mindset. Even the “Hurry up and wait” became a predictable part of everyday life. These absolute whens and wheres give us daily and easy successes that keep us focused, calm and accountable. In response to these timelines, one develops rules…
The deployment finally happened, the exercise finally started, the school finally started or as in this case, after what seemed like months we finally got to begin planting outside. First placed plants in the raised beds, then our potatoes in the nightshade plot and lastly two varieties of corn in hills for our three sisters experiment. We also transferred peppers and tomatoes from our general trays to individual pots for…
As a child I remember loving to camp regardless of the cold or heat or wet. I mean I remembered the weather, I remember complaining to my Dad or Scoutmaster about it and then running around in it until it got dark or we were forced to get in the car and go home. I also remember the day the Army took all the fun out of sleeping outside. I…
For those that don’t know I served in the US Army as an All-Source Intelligence Analyst which is a fancy way of saying I have been the S2/ Intelligence Section for all of my military career. I have spent dozens of field exercises sitting in a tent waiting for the S6 (Communication and Electronics), S4 (Supply) or the motor pool so I can do my job. I even spent 2…
With every passing week it is feeling more like an impending deployment. You keep packing your and then unpacking, because your name wasn’t on the flight list this time. In the same vein the weather keeps warming up, I keep measuring and prepping the beds while my wife brings the transplants out to harden. Then we get another frost warning and 4 days later we are trying to get ready…
As a kid I as often told that failure is the not getting you when you fall, that losing is part of the process to finding success. I found that to be true through much of my life whether it wrestling, running, vocal training, basic training, or just standing in front of my first NCO board and just sucking the big one. Each fall was a learning experience to demonstrate…
Once the waiting is over the busy work begins. Over the last week we have spent quite a bit of time on the road. I traveled to Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Kansas for personnel exchanges with other Rabbit breeders as a breeder not a rep of LFV. I also spent time fulfilling my duties to the Ohio National Guard. Thankfully I made it home from these adventures before the…
In preparation for my first deployment, we spent days planning, reading, packing, and waiting, and waiting. All of my experienced NCOs told me before hand about hurry up and wait and how to prepare for it. That saving our strength for the work ahead would be critical and that patience would be the better part of valor in these cases. What they didn’t tell me was once the waiting was…
