Motivation
"When a warrior fights not for himself, but for his brothers, when his most passionately sought goal is neither glory nor his own life's preservation, but to spend his substance for them, his comrades, not to abandon them, not to prove unworthy of them, then his heart truly has achieved contempt for death, and with that he transcends himself and his actions touch the sublime."
- Excerpt from Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
My Path
When I last left you the Marine Corps had just turned 237 years old, I was the Platoon Sergeant, and we had just finished FEX II. Thanksgiving has come and gone. Thankfully, I was able to spend some time with friends and family over the holiday and my travels were safe. As soon as we returned from leave, it was back into the field. We went straight into FEX III as though we had never left. We conducted more platoon level operations such as Platoon in the Defense, Platoon Day Attacks, Platoon Night Attacks, and Movement to Contact. As are most FEXs, FEX III drained each of us. There was little time for sleep and we were constantly operating. 6th Platoon struggled with some of the day and night attacks and the movement to contact, but our platoon defense was done extremely well. Regardless of how good or bad we performed, what I took away from FEX III was something a Sergeant shared with the platoon. "Good decisions are made with experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions." Sometimes you have to do something wrong in order to figure out how to do it correctly.
Last week, as I had alluded to in my last post, Echo Company conducted MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain). This was a four day exercise that took place in MOUT Town and the UTC (Urban Training Center), where we learned about the three dimensional threats present in urban operations. Topics that were covered ranged from IED Indicator recognition to room/building clearing and urban patrolling to COC (Combat Operations Center) Coordination. We conducted squad and platoon level attacks, as well as squad level defenses. As was warned, urban operations is extremely daunting. While operating you are constantly moving and looking around, trying your best to avoid making yourself an easy, soft target. You may not have as much weight as when humping a pack, but the mental stress exponentially increases the physical stresses you encounter. At the end of MOUT we returned to R-15 to conduct the Platoon Fire and Maneuver Live Fire Exercise we had to reschedule from FEX III. It was an awesome experience seeing the effects of live rounds in front of you and your Marines, providing you the cover by fire needed to maneuver, close with and destroy the enemy. I was not given any rounds to fire as I held a Squad Leader billet for the range, but it was still a great learning experience as I had to fight and drive my squad into the proper positions. All-in-all, you couldn't ask for a better week of training.
Being that Echo Co is winding down in the POI, we have had the privilege of listening to a couple amazing guest speakers. We were first visited by the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps SgtMaj Barrett. He addressed many of the concerns he and the Commandant of the Marine Corps have pertaining to issues within the Corps. Many of which we have had for decades, not just as a Corps, but as a Country. He conveyed to us the responsibilities we will have and the expectations our Marines and the American People hold for us and Marine Corps Officers. He gave a couple platitudes such as, "There's never a wrong time to do the right thing" and "It's not about what you know, but what you do." But what really resounded for me, and I believe for many of the Marines who were present, was when he said, "Every single Marine deserves to be in a good unit led morally, ethically, and professionally." I believe this statement clearly defines what is expected of us as Marine Corps Officers.
The second guest speaker we had the pleasure of listening to was LtGen Christmas. LtGen Christmas came in to speak to us about urban operations. He was the Company Commander or Hotel Co during the Vietnam War and led his company through the Battle of Hue City and received the Navy Cross for actions of "extraordinary heroism." Earlier in the week in which LtGen Christmas spoke to us, we had worked on a Tactical Decision Game (TDG) to help us understand the difficulties of urban operations. TDGs are not always about coming to the right answer, but more about learning how to make decisions in a timely manner when given minimal information. Little did we know the TDG we had completed earlier in the week as a scenario LtGen Christmas had faced during the Battle of Hue City. He shared his story of Hue City and also told us what he believed was expected of us as Marine Officers: confidence, candidness, courage, compassion, commitment, and consistency. Between the General and the Sergeant Major, there isn't much more a student at TBS could ask for in regards to speakers on leadership. These men have been there and done things others could never imagine and have learned hard lessons from decisions they have made. But, fortunately, they are still here today to share with us what they have learned so that we do not repeat their mistakes and we can be more successful leaders.
I want to close this post with what its title pertains to. I'm not sure if I will be able to express my feelings on the subject very well as I am still trying to figure out what exactly I am feeling, but I will do my best to articulate them here. Maybe in a few months I will be better able to share my thoughts, or maybe a few years. Regardless, this is where I stand now.
Between the weeks of FEX III and MOUT the students of TBS Class 5-12 received their MOSs. Keep in mind that Echo Co consists of about 280 students, 45% of which are aviation contracts and about seven Marines have law contracts. That leaves about 120 students that are ground contracts. To my knowledge, that is a low number of ground contracts for any TBS class. The great part about this fact was that no one received an MOS outside of their top seven of twenty-two (for males) and seventeen (for females, I believe) MOS preferences. With that being said, I received the MOS of 0302, Infantry Officer (technically 0301, Basically Trained Infantry Officer, until I graduate from the Infantry Officer Course, or IOC). What I find interesting about this situation was that our class originally received thirty-three infantry slots, was bumped up to fifty-one, and on the night of MOS selection was slated sixty-one Infantry Officers. Much of this, I believe, is due to the high attrition rate of IOC (about 50% per class). The Marine Corps is making an effort to reduce the attrition rate by not only sending more lieutenants through the course, but by sending those who really want to be there. We received word about a month ago that those who had infantry as their number one preference were exempt from the 1/3 rule of how officers are placed into their MOS (each third broken down into another third, receiving X number of slots per MOS, in efforts to fill each MOS with a wide variety of officers). This isn't to say that those who received an 0302 designation did not earn their spot. Each SPC was asked, "Can he make it?" It came down to the word of each SPC and their judgement of each lieutenant. I'm extremely honored to have the backing of Captain Yurkovich and Major Warfield, that they have the confidence that I will succeed at IOC.
The reason it's all still sinking in for me is due to the circumstances that led up to this moment. The day that I decided to pursue a career in the Marine Corps, almost three years ago, before I ever contacted an OSO to begin the screening process, I wanted to be in the infantry. As I have shared before, when I hear the word "Marine," the image of a grunt under fighting load fills my mind. That is not to say that a Marine is only an infantryman, but simply that that is what I think envision. It's what I have wanted from the start and there have been so many changes to my route to where I am now that, I believe, have allowed me opportunity to accomplish my goal. I may not have mentioned this before, but I was originally supposed to check in with Charlie Co, class 3-12, in February. Charlie Co had substantially fewer infantry slots for their class, and I was pushed into Echo Co in order to allow Marines approaching ineligibility to attend TBS. Next came the increase in infantry slots for Echo Co. But even then, had the 1/3 rule still been in play for my class, I may not have received infantry, regardless of my performance, due to my lineal standing. With all the twists and turns along my path, I believe that I was ment to be in this position. I'm one step closer to having my goal come to fruition. I haven't gotten there yet as I still have to succeed at IOC, and there is not a single doubt in my mind that I will not only succeed, but excel. My brain is still trying to wrap itself around how I got here and what it means for my future. I'm truly blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love and serve my country in the way I think I will be best suited, and I will never take that for granted.
Semper Fidelis
WODs
It's been difficult to get WODs in regularly with the training schedule. Most PT has consisted of basic weight lifting, olympic lifts, runs, hikes, and body weight exercises. Hopefully I will be able to get back into a regular routine in the next couple of months.