Re: addendum to attitude IS everything

[Anonymous]

"&#65279" -- sorry I'm not sure how that got in there...?

zuma50@hotmail.com

[Anonymous]

ok, can't find the main post but i'm replying to it anyway! As for biting words that get us into trouble, well I was reading a book called Patton on Leadership. Chesty Puller also comes to mind, as well as Col. Hackworth. In my humble opinion just a mere few of our great military minds who posess(ed) character, spunk, and the courage to lead and lead to win. Do/did they offend people left and right? With words sharp as spokes in an unsuspecting eyeball? You can be damn straight.

I've put my foot into this mouth more than i have cared to count, and I've learned lessons. I also haven't won all the popularity contests for my expressed views in certain groups at times, but it is our birthright to express that which is alive and kicking within us and if we can't be loyal to who we inherently are by our actions, then i would question the character of the person considering the Corps as a goal.

I reflect on the courage of spirit great leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King bestowed upon the countless many, risking flak, risking being unpopular, risking swimming upstream... It's much easier to go with the flow at all costs. I'll bet he was the type of man who gave a real handshake, you know? Not the kind of wimpy dead-fish handshakes some people pawn off as valid greetings and expressions of enthusiasm. Now, if there is something to be said about attitude and spunk it's that yes, you eventually learn caution and prudence. But being overly cautious and overly prudent can be traced back also to some who didn't have enough moral oomph to stick their damn head out of the hey and make their move.

3 of the 6 spearing that American flag into the ground at Iwo Jima were shot in process...correct me if i'm wrong. Sometimes being bold costs you your life, yet the boldness of these men shall not stand in the light of criticism because they did what they believed, with all of the strength and sincerity thier hearts could hold. It is men like these who provided the universal Marine symbol of loyalty to country and Corps, a symbol of undying dedication of human spirit, of risking safety and breath for the final statement of the values they upheld.

You live, you learn. Prudence and caution will be learned. What can not be faked or manufactured when it does not exist is SPIRIT and COURAGE. These 2 qualities win battles. It is always safer to be meek, to keep your mouth shut, to never risk an inch. It is safer yet to stay on the couch. It is better to have attitude a mile wide with spirit and determination, and confidence, than a million ideas you learned about how you should watch what you say and do, lest you express a small portion of the fire in your heart. Everyone knows their weaknesses or I should say more or less suspects them, and those undiscovered i suspect will be uncovered in boot camp and throughout life.

However, it takes a leader of moral courage to cultivate that fire, under duress, that is effective enough to awaken steel spirit in troops where before there was none. So if I may put my 2 cents in here I would say put your best foot forward Monika, do your best, and believe in your best. By egging on the spirit that overcomes difficulty in the darkest, muddiest hour, you have your secret to succeeding at that which you set your mind to. So attitude goes right up there with risk.

Will it get you into trouble down the road where you'll wish you could retreat faster than a CD skips back to tune #1? You can bet your marbles on that one. You will never please everybody all of the time, so what finally counts is doing the right thing for the greatest number involved, effectively, without the hesitation of a fearful heart, and in standing by your convictions with a stance sturdier than the Rock of Gibraltar. If you keep your nature under a bucket, you'll be safe and boring, but to take bold risks is to have rubbed elbows with greatness.

Obeying a DI's every order is one thing... a means to an end in the building of the backbone of this nation's elite force...in building obedience, trust, efficiency, teamwork, absolute cooperation, resembling none other than perfection. Yet if there is such a thing as being overly enthusiastic about a future trip to bootcamp, someone tell me...too enthusiastic for what? It takes a heck of a lot of enthusiasm for life and war mates to keep slugging at the enemy when your compadres are falling, left and right. Correct me if I'm wrong, it takes a super-human enthusiasm...

There will always be character weaknesses to put people down over, because i have yet to meet an individual devoid of character weakness of one sort or the other. But it's funny...encouragement has the unbelievable effect of leaning the very encouraged AWAY from their doubts of character, thereby enabling them to surmount their weaknesses.

Monika, when your face is in the mud and that DI is screaming at you for the good of the Corps, it is that inner spark that will get you through. I believe in your spark. Just don't burn the damn forest down...PI's got some nice trees out there...haha;)

Semper Fi;)

Nat

nataliet@ccess.net

[Anonymous]

: "&#65279" -- sorry I'm not sure how that got in there...? Throughout my military career I have heard the same words you are all familiar with "be flexible" to this I have replied many times nature has proven those creatures with the most flexibility are those lacking the most backbone. Throughout your careers you will be called on time and time again to make a decision, hopefully a well informed intelligent one. This is what it means to lead make a decision, go with that decision and being man (excuse me woman) enough to take the heat for making the wrong decision. Today to many wishy washy decisions are made because leaders refuse to take the heat for those decisions. A few good examples come to mind the refusal to send armor to Somalia resulting in 18 Ranger deaths, the decision not to use ground forces in Kosovo, the decision not to invade Baghdad, unfortunately death and destruction is what the end game to all of this is about. If your decision costs lives but achieves the desired goal then your objective is met. If your decision costs needless lives then you will be ostracized. Usually what occurs is just a matter of luck more than strategy. However whatever the decision we must hold ourselves to the ultimate blame. It does no good like Robert McNamara to come back and say "I thought the Vietnam War was Wrong" if you are too big a chicken---- to do something to end it when it is in your power to do so. This is leadership in my mind. Make a decision you believe to be right, go with it damn the consequences and never ever have second thoughts because if you do then obviously you are not ready to make that decision at that time.


PSlpritchett@aol.com

[Anonymous]

Nat,

Well my friend, I'll explain to you over the phone this weekend the impact your enthusiasm and motivation for life and the Corps has had on me--I think collectively we'd use up the entire internet with this mutual admiration society we've got going on here.

I deeply thank you for your wisdom. Unlike some people who try to stomp out that fire with negativity and jealousy ? you are the kind of person who nurtures it with care. When we get to OCS together someday, I hope, I will be proud to run right on your tail...LOL

I'll be around but quiet, in case any one cares. I have a short while left here in the civilian world and want to spend time with the hubby, not the computer.

Merry Christmas All & to All a Good Nite!

Mon


:
: ok, can't find the main post but i'm replying to it anyway! As for biting
: words that get us into trouble, well I was reading a book called Patton on
: Leadership. Chesty Puller also comes to mind, as well as Col. Hackworth.
: In my humble opinion just a mere few of our great military minds who
: posess(ed) character, spunk, and the courage to lead and lead to win.
: Do/did they offend people left and right? With words sharp as spokes in an
: unsuspecting eyeball? You can be damn straight.
:
: I've put my foot into this mouth more than i have cared to count, and I've
: learned lessons. I also haven't won all the popularity contests for my
: expressed views in certain groups at times, but it is our birthright to
: express that which is alive and kicking within us and if we can't be loyal
: to who we inherently are by our actions, then i would question the
: character of the person considering the Corps as a goal.
:
: I reflect on the courage of spirit great leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King
: bestowed upon the countless many, risking flak, risking being unpopular,
: risking swimming upstream... It's much easier to go with the flow at all
: costs. I'll bet he was the type of man who gave a real handshake, you
: know? Not the kind of wimpy dead-fish handshakes some people pawn off as
: valid greetings and expressions of enthusiasm. Now, if there is something
: to be said about attitude and spunk it's that yes, you eventually learn
: caution and prudence. But being overly cautious and overly prudent can be
: traced back also to some who didn't have enough moral oomph to stick their
: damn head out of the hey and make their move.
:
: 3 of the 6 spearing that American flag into the ground at Iwo Jima were shot
: in process...correct me if i'm wrong. Sometimes being bold costs you your
: life, yet the boldness of these men shall not stand in the light of
: criticism because they did what they believed, with all of the strength
: and sincerity thier hearts could hold. It is men like these who provided
: the universal Marine symbol of loyalty to country and Corps, a symbol of
: undying dedication of human spirit, of risking safety and breath for the
: final statement of the values they upheld.
:
: You live, you learn. Prudence and caution will be learned. What can not be
: faked or manufactured when it does not exist is SPIRIT and COURAGE. These
: 2 qualities win battles. It is always safer to be meek, to keep your mouth
: shut, to never risk an inch. It is safer yet to stay on the couch. It is
: better to have attitude a mile wide with spirit and determination, and
: confidence, than a million ideas you learned about how you should watch
: what you say and do, lest you express a small portion of the fire in your
: heart. Everyone knows their weaknesses or I should say more or less
: suspects them, and those undiscovered i suspect will be uncovered in boot
: camp and throughout life.
:
: However, it takes a leader of moral courage to cultivate that fire, under
: duress, that is effective enough to awaken steel spirit in troops where
: before there was none. So if I may put my 2 cents in here I would say put
: your best foot forward Monika, do your best, and believe in your best. By
: egging on the spirit that overcomes difficulty in the darkest, muddiest
: hour, you have your secret to succeeding at that which you set your mind
: to. So attitude goes right up there with risk.
:
: Will it get you into trouble down the road where you'll wish you could
: retreat faster than a CD skips back to tune #1? You can bet your marbles
: on that one. You will never please everybody all of the time, so what
: finally counts is doing the right thing for the greatest number involved,
: effectively, without the hesitation of a fearful heart, and in standing by
: your convictions with a stance sturdier than the Rock of Gibraltar. If you
: keep your nature under a bucket, you'll be safe and boring, but to take
: bold risks is to have rubbed elbows with greatness.
:
: Obeying a DI's every order is one thing... a means to an end in the building
: of the backbone of this nation's elite force...in building obedience,
: trust, efficiency, teamwork, absolute cooperation, resembling none other
: than perfection. Yet if there is such a thing as being overly enthusiastic
: about a future trip to bootcamp, someone tell me...too enthusiastic for
: what? It takes a heck of a lot of enthusiasm for life and war mates to
: keep slugging at the enemy when your compadres are falling, left and
: right. Correct me if I'm wrong, it takes a super-human enthusiasm...
:
: There will always be character weaknesses to put people down over, because i
: have yet to meet an individual devoid of character weakness of one sort or
: the other. But it's funny...encouragement has the unbelievable effect of
: leaning the very encouraged AWAY from their doubts of character, thereby
: enabling them to surmount their weaknesses.
:
: Monika, when your face is in the mud and that DI is screaming at you for the
: good of the Corps, it is that inner spark that will get you through. I
: believe in your spark. Just don't burn the damn forest down...PI's got
: some nice trees out there...haha;)
:
: Semper Fi;)
:
: Nat


zuma50@hotmail.com

[Anonymous]

Rats, where the hell is that message I just wrote out and duplicate posted 9 million times on the preview your post option? Is that even possible? LOL. Another post lost to 'puter heaven. Let's see, how can I best repeat myself! Appreciate the kind words Mon, and tho i'll be offline 'til Jan 3rd I will catch ya old fashioned style (brrrrrrrriing! One ringy-dingy...) Thanks for all the humor and motivation from the start. Get ready for lots of snail mail (ok, postcards, not like you'll have time to kick back and read miss novelist over here;). I know how important this is to you, so give it your best and forget all the rest. I have kept a simple little sentence of reassurance you sent my way on a day where for some reason my world was falling apart sideways. It's on my 'puter: "Malanka Natalka, vsho bydy dobpe, ny zhyrysha" (Best I can do for lack of cyrillics!) (For onlookers...basically 'don't worry, everything will be ok,' but English dilutes the impact) I guess it really hit home because my older brother used to tell me that when we were very little and I got yelled at over spilled milk or some such nonsense and would cry. It always got me through the rough times back when our parents were fumbling with parenthood, and I'm going to keep these words in my mind for the future. Thanks for your friendship. This (boot) isn't something you can't do, so I'm going to keep telling you that. Na Zdorovya!

Semper Fi,

Talya:)

nataliet@ccess.net