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Foxmeister
Guest
Let me explain each one of these because they each have a story.
Doubt - On the other side of the fence from our base we would see the same guy every day with his sheep. If you look closely you will see him saluting us. He would do this every day. Who really wants to be a sheep herder in Iraq? I'm sure he probably wanted to be something else.
Failure - They were digging a trench to run our fiber optics to the main line when the backhoe struck a water line. That trench filled up with water very quickly. We were supposed to have connectivity that day so we could use the internet to send our intelligence products out. Needless to say, that didn't happen. It was another week before everything was well.
Compromise - On the left is LTC Hale with me on the right. He was the task force commander and I was his Sergeant Major. As the Sergeant Major, I served as his executive adviser on personnel and mission issues. I was also his subject matter expert on our intel products. The Sergeant Major is also responsible for the guide on (unit flag). I had one made before we went to Iraq, but he didn't know it. I got there after he did and this picture is me presenting it to him. Needless to say, there are a lot of compromises made between the commander and the Sergeant Major.
Mistakes - The guy in the picture was a senior NCO. How he ever became one, beat the heck out of me and everyone else in leadership positions to include the commander. I had a stack of counseling statements I gave the guy because he could never complete any task unless he was constantly supervised to do sue. This guy received the worst rating I had ever given any NCO in my 25 years of service. When are mission was extended another 30 days, we did not extend his orders. We sent him home on his original orders because we would be a lot better without him.
Arrogance - That's me in the picture. I was an easy going Sergeant Major, but if someone didn't do what I told them to do, it was another matter entirely. All our pilots, analysts and aviation maintenance personnel were contractors. The pilots and the analysts were the biggest bunch of babies I had ever seen. Needless to say, I was in their crap all the time and had no patience for their whining. The pilots made $25K a month and the analysts $15K. When the would come in and whine about something, I'd tell them if they didn't stop, I would send them to pack their bags and get them on the next flight out of the country. Eventually, they all stopped whining.
Futility - The guy in the picture was one of my favorite soldiers, but he couldn't hit crap with that weapon.
Demotivation - Those two Captains are really great guys and were very good at their jobs. The element from our task force who went in advance had to go to Kuwait first before arriving in Iraq. They were stuck there a week longer than what was on the itinerary. Needless to say, "hurry up and wait," is not a fun time.
Insanity - This guy was a top notch NCO and intel analyst. In fact, he was serving in a position a Captain would normally fill. We were short staffed and he stepped up to the plate and did a fantastic job. This guy has a genius level IQ and really had an unusual sense of humor. Whenever I asked him, "What's up" he would respond with something about gravity. I never did understand it.
All my military personnel assigned to the task force (with the one exception) did an outstanding job on this mission. Many across DA and DoD didn't think we would be successful, but we made the program work. We conducted the operational evaluation of the first successful aerial surveillance IED defeat mission. Now this platform and sensor fly all over Iraq and Afghanistan.
Doubt - On the other side of the fence from our base we would see the same guy every day with his sheep. If you look closely you will see him saluting us. He would do this every day. Who really wants to be a sheep herder in Iraq? I'm sure he probably wanted to be something else.
Failure - They were digging a trench to run our fiber optics to the main line when the backhoe struck a water line. That trench filled up with water very quickly. We were supposed to have connectivity that day so we could use the internet to send our intelligence products out. Needless to say, that didn't happen. It was another week before everything was well.
Compromise - On the left is LTC Hale with me on the right. He was the task force commander and I was his Sergeant Major. As the Sergeant Major, I served as his executive adviser on personnel and mission issues. I was also his subject matter expert on our intel products. The Sergeant Major is also responsible for the guide on (unit flag). I had one made before we went to Iraq, but he didn't know it. I got there after he did and this picture is me presenting it to him. Needless to say, there are a lot of compromises made between the commander and the Sergeant Major.
Mistakes - The guy in the picture was a senior NCO. How he ever became one, beat the heck out of me and everyone else in leadership positions to include the commander. I had a stack of counseling statements I gave the guy because he could never complete any task unless he was constantly supervised to do sue. This guy received the worst rating I had ever given any NCO in my 25 years of service. When are mission was extended another 30 days, we did not extend his orders. We sent him home on his original orders because we would be a lot better without him.
Arrogance - That's me in the picture. I was an easy going Sergeant Major, but if someone didn't do what I told them to do, it was another matter entirely. All our pilots, analysts and aviation maintenance personnel were contractors. The pilots and the analysts were the biggest bunch of babies I had ever seen. Needless to say, I was in their crap all the time and had no patience for their whining. The pilots made $25K a month and the analysts $15K. When the would come in and whine about something, I'd tell them if they didn't stop, I would send them to pack their bags and get them on the next flight out of the country. Eventually, they all stopped whining.
Futility - The guy in the picture was one of my favorite soldiers, but he couldn't hit crap with that weapon.
Demotivation - Those two Captains are really great guys and were very good at their jobs. The element from our task force who went in advance had to go to Kuwait first before arriving in Iraq. They were stuck there a week longer than what was on the itinerary. Needless to say, "hurry up and wait," is not a fun time.
Insanity - This guy was a top notch NCO and intel analyst. In fact, he was serving in a position a Captain would normally fill. We were short staffed and he stepped up to the plate and did a fantastic job. This guy has a genius level IQ and really had an unusual sense of humor. Whenever I asked him, "What's up" he would respond with something about gravity. I never did understand it.
All my military personnel assigned to the task force (with the one exception) did an outstanding job on this mission. Many across DA and DoD didn't think we would be successful, but we made the program work. We conducted the operational evaluation of the first successful aerial surveillance IED defeat mission. Now this platform and sensor fly all over Iraq and Afghanistan.
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BeatBoxinGranny47
Guest
The senior NCO just looks like a moronic screw up. Poor fella.
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Foxmeister
Guest
BeatBoxinGranny47 said:
I think he was a real screw up because he was way too the left politically. No joke, this guy was far left in his politics.