Not "An Army of One"
After my years of active duty in the Army I spent some time flying in the Army National Guard. Like every other assignment there were some interesting experiences. One year we were scheduled to do our Annual Training (AT) in late May which included Memorial Day weekend. The military had a great knack for scheduling things on holidays and weekends. I have learned that most ranges happen on the weekend and in the National Guard everything happens on the weekends and holidays. I was serving as an instructor pilot in the unit and looked forward to spending my time flying and having fun. We were scheduled to go to the range to shoot, to the flight simulator for training and fly overhead of a great number of Memorial Days parades. It should be a fun time!
About two days before the day AT was scheduled to start the two platoon leaders who were supposed to run the show got permission to not attend. Although I was not the ranking warrant officer I was called in and told I was going to be in charge. So much for my just having fun and flying at AT.
When I was given the assignment I asked what the specific plans were and if all arrangements were in place. At that point I was told that no arrangements had been made and that I would have to put all of the plans together. The range where we were supposed to shoot belonged to an active Army post. Getting to play on ranges took planning and permission. It was a serious game and they treated it as such. The flight simulator was hours away in the opposite direction and also took coordinating with the folks there. I spent the next two days coordinating with those two facilities and it took all the charm I had to get the okay! Of course they wanted to know why I had not coordinated sooner.
The day AT started I did not have a plan together on how I was going to have pilots in all the right places at the right times and doing the right things. And there was no plan on how to schedule the maintenance of the aircraft we would need. Everyone was arriving and what do I tell them?
I gathered all of the pilots together and told them we needed to develop a plan on how to meet the requirements ahead of us. Over the next two weeks we had to have flights going in many directions and meeting many requirements. Sometimes pilots had to be at places at five in the morning to be ready for their assignments and other times the requirements went to eleven at night. Most pilots don’t like to be the ones who made the five in the morning or eleven at night periods. When all of the pilots were gathered together I showed them the requirements and told them to put together a plan because I needed to go meet with the mechanics.
The platoon sergeant had gathered the mechanics together and was waiting for me. I went in and gave them the same information that I had just given the pilots. I told the sergeant the number of aircraft we needed and when we needed them and told him it was up to them to make it happen. At that point I took some time and took care of some of the lose ends I needed to handle.
Shortly I returned to the pilots and found that they had put together the very best plan possible and were all in agreement with it. They were all as happy as could be. From there I went to see the mechanics and see how they had made out. The platoon sergeant had a great plan. I was impressed.
Over the next two weeks we made every assignment we had been given. The pilots were on time every place every time even though it was a rigorous schedule. Mechanics had the aircraft ready for every launch and recovery. Things went as smooth as silk!
The only challenge we had was that I was counseled by one of our majors. He was unhappy that some of the mechanics did not come in until noon. He said it didn’t look good and that I should have them come in by six thirty or seven in the morning and have them work regular hours. Some days I needed mechanics on the job at four thirty in the morning and sometimes they were needed until midnight. I had given the platoon sergeant the authority to schedule his people when he needed to get the job done. I told the major what our needs were and that what we were doing made sense. I also told him that I didn’t want people putting in twenty-hour days and working on aircraft that I was going to fly in. The sergeant had split the group and some worked mornings and some worked nights and every thing was being covered. And I told him as long as I was in charge we would make no changes to our plan. No changes were made.
When we finished AT the pilots said it was the best one they had ever attended. The mechanics said they were the happiest they had ever been. They had all worked hard and met every requirement of the AT. It was their plan and thus they supported the plan. They knew their jobs and when they were allowed to plan how to do their work they were happy to do it!
Having not been given the time to put together a plan by myself had been a great thing. The plan put together by the groups was better than any plan that one person could have put together and even more important was that they had ownership in the plan. They wanted it to work because it was their plan. I was responsible for ensuring all the requirements of the AT were completed and in a safe manner but I didn’t have to dictate every movement. We worked as a team!
This happened before the saying “Be An Army Of One” was being advertised. I am not certain what that current slogan is supposed to mean, but I do know that a team is better than any individual. In the movies the “Rambo’s” may take on a nation and win but it isn’t real! Many times those in charge feel that they have to make all the plans and control every detail. In some ways it is nice for the people they work with because they really don’t feel like they have to support the plan and if it fails it is not their fault. They become innocent bystanders rather than participants. It is always best to work, as a team rather than a one man show supported by a robotic cast. Trust your people and they will do marvelous things.
About two days before the day AT was scheduled to start the two platoon leaders who were supposed to run the show got permission to not attend. Although I was not the ranking warrant officer I was called in and told I was going to be in charge. So much for my just having fun and flying at AT.
When I was given the assignment I asked what the specific plans were and if all arrangements were in place. At that point I was told that no arrangements had been made and that I would have to put all of the plans together. The range where we were supposed to shoot belonged to an active Army post. Getting to play on ranges took planning and permission. It was a serious game and they treated it as such. The flight simulator was hours away in the opposite direction and also took coordinating with the folks there. I spent the next two days coordinating with those two facilities and it took all the charm I had to get the okay! Of course they wanted to know why I had not coordinated sooner.
The day AT started I did not have a plan together on how I was going to have pilots in all the right places at the right times and doing the right things. And there was no plan on how to schedule the maintenance of the aircraft we would need. Everyone was arriving and what do I tell them?
I gathered all of the pilots together and told them we needed to develop a plan on how to meet the requirements ahead of us. Over the next two weeks we had to have flights going in many directions and meeting many requirements. Sometimes pilots had to be at places at five in the morning to be ready for their assignments and other times the requirements went to eleven at night. Most pilots don’t like to be the ones who made the five in the morning or eleven at night periods. When all of the pilots were gathered together I showed them the requirements and told them to put together a plan because I needed to go meet with the mechanics.
The platoon sergeant had gathered the mechanics together and was waiting for me. I went in and gave them the same information that I had just given the pilots. I told the sergeant the number of aircraft we needed and when we needed them and told him it was up to them to make it happen. At that point I took some time and took care of some of the lose ends I needed to handle.
Shortly I returned to the pilots and found that they had put together the very best plan possible and were all in agreement with it. They were all as happy as could be. From there I went to see the mechanics and see how they had made out. The platoon sergeant had a great plan. I was impressed.
Over the next two weeks we made every assignment we had been given. The pilots were on time every place every time even though it was a rigorous schedule. Mechanics had the aircraft ready for every launch and recovery. Things went as smooth as silk!
The only challenge we had was that I was counseled by one of our majors. He was unhappy that some of the mechanics did not come in until noon. He said it didn’t look good and that I should have them come in by six thirty or seven in the morning and have them work regular hours. Some days I needed mechanics on the job at four thirty in the morning and sometimes they were needed until midnight. I had given the platoon sergeant the authority to schedule his people when he needed to get the job done. I told the major what our needs were and that what we were doing made sense. I also told him that I didn’t want people putting in twenty-hour days and working on aircraft that I was going to fly in. The sergeant had split the group and some worked mornings and some worked nights and every thing was being covered. And I told him as long as I was in charge we would make no changes to our plan. No changes were made.
When we finished AT the pilots said it was the best one they had ever attended. The mechanics said they were the happiest they had ever been. They had all worked hard and met every requirement of the AT. It was their plan and thus they supported the plan. They knew their jobs and when they were allowed to plan how to do their work they were happy to do it!
Having not been given the time to put together a plan by myself had been a great thing. The plan put together by the groups was better than any plan that one person could have put together and even more important was that they had ownership in the plan. They wanted it to work because it was their plan. I was responsible for ensuring all the requirements of the AT were completed and in a safe manner but I didn’t have to dictate every movement. We worked as a team!
This happened before the saying “Be An Army Of One” was being advertised. I am not certain what that current slogan is supposed to mean, but I do know that a team is better than any individual. In the movies the “Rambo’s” may take on a nation and win but it isn’t real! Many times those in charge feel that they have to make all the plans and control every detail. In some ways it is nice for the people they work with because they really don’t feel like they have to support the plan and if it fails it is not their fault. They become innocent bystanders rather than participants. It is always best to work, as a team rather than a one man show supported by a robotic cast. Trust your people and they will do marvelous things.
posted by Bruce | 10:44 PM
1 Comments:
Bro. Karn...Certainly there is no room for Rambo's in today's military, although the movies, think it makes great viewing. In the air force, I remember one guy who thought he could do it by himself as the story below shows:
No One Knew They Were Coming
It was in the early 1960's, back in the days when Robert McNamera was Secretary of Defense. His inspection teams would land at various air force bases, without warning and check for regulation violations, safety hazards, unnecessary expenditures and ineffective leadership. If any of these conditions were found by his team, it might become necessary to fire or transfer commanders, call for further investigation or even, in extreme cases, close down the air force base. McNamera's no notice inspection teams were about as welcome as the news that you needed a root canal.
Having mentioned the above, you can probably guess that the folks at a stateside air force base, which shall remain anonymous, were less than enthusiastic at the thought that their base might well be inspected by this team in the near future. Still, it accomplished nothing worrying about it so...on a beautiful, clear, spring day, in the above mentioned time frame, one each KC-135 refueling tanker landed and pulled up to it's parking spot and shut down. It had been a long flight. The crew grabbed their bags and headed for the base hotel for some much needed rest.
The flight crew had hardly left when next on the scene emerged a slightly rotund, inexperienced and yet overconfident aircraft maintenance crew chief. He was there, primarily, to service the aircraft with fuel and check for any mechanical discrepancies. The large, cargo aircraft was parked on PSP material, which was a temporary runway metal surface. It was pliable and had uniformly spaced holes drilled inside, making it flexible and easy to install in areas where concrete had not yet been poured.
When the young crew chief prepared to attach the refueling hose from the massive KC-135 to the JP-4 fuel bladder, he discovered that the hose would not quite reach, being about two feet short. The aircraft would have to be towed slightly so that refueling could be accomplished. Or would it? After all, he reasoned, towing the aircraft would require several people to help. Surely he could figure a way to move the aircraft himself without bothering anyone.
Our hero thought it thru and devised a plan. "The tanker is parked on a slight incline," he thought. "Perhaps I can remove the wooden wheel chocks that block the huge tires and then place them about three feet forward, so I'll know where to stop the aircraft. Then I can go upstairs and release the parking brake and reapply it when the tires hit the wheel chocks. Think of all the manhours I'll save the air force," he pondered. With visions of self admiration dancing in his head, he unfolded the plan, but after releasing the brake he could not get the aircraft to budge. Perhaps a little push on the tire from a tow tug would get things in motion. Sure enough, the aircraft started to move.
Quickly our mental giant shut off the tug and ran upstairs to the pilot's seat to man the brakes. The bulky aircraft lumbered forward at a very slow pace while mankind's gift to the air force yawned. Upon finally reaching the wheel chocks, the tires, instead of stopping, pushed the chocks down into the flexible PSP and continued on. Our hero, sensing something was amiss, applied the brakes, but to no effect. He was later to discover that the aircraft must be running to generate hydraulic pressure to the brakes. The gigantic aircraft, loaded with one frantic passenger, and the help of gravity, began to pick up speed. Not only that, but the gravity of the situation began to sink deep into Einstein's brain bone.
To make matters even more hysterical, while our valued air force asset was pounding with remarkable force on the brakes in a futile attempt to get them to apply and while he was screaming great obscenities in the upper decible ranges, he was also heading, by now, at break neck speed, toward the active runway. In front of him was a recently landed and taxiing B-52 behind an air force "Follow Me" truck, being led to a parking spot. When the B-52 was unable to reach the careening KC-135 on the radio, it slammed on it's brakes just in time for the KC to plow between the B-52 and the "Follow Me" truck.
By this time the world's smartest crew chief was feeling like he was in the latter stages of a massive cardiac arrest. He was heading straight for the nose of a parked, with power on, KC-97 aircraft. The 97 crew chief spied the KC-135 coming straight for him and saw our mentally gifted hero bail out, just in time to bail out himself. The two aircraft, then collided headlong amidst fire and explosion. Emergency vehicles were rallied to the scene and as our nimble footed and bruised hero lay in a wretched heap, mouth agape, promising career melting before his eyes, who should he see approaching the parking area? You guessed it and as usual, no one knew they were coming.
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