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magician · 12-26-2004, 09:02

brother, I am sorry that you are being subjected to such parochial, short-sighted pressures. We are all in the Army. Perhaps you ought to remind your chain-of-command of that fact. To perceive what you are daring to do as disloyal is bullshit.

fuck it. Rise above it. Take refuge in professionalism, and focus on silence, and grimness, and extreme competence. You are in a hard profession. It requires hard men. Take solace in the fact that you will soon be surrounded by others like you.

that said, you transit the pipeline as an individual. Yes, you attend the various components of the course as a member of a group, and you are tested on your ability to work with others, and integrate yourself with others and function effectively as a member of a unit. But your evaluations are individual, your test scores are your own, and your graduation will be an individual triumph, though you will never survive the course as a solo agent, without the help of others, or without helping others.

it is a schizoid thing, in a way, but never lose sight of the fact that you alone are responsible for what happens to you, and for how you adapt and overcome the various challenges ahead of you. You will have to lead, and you will have to follow. You will be observed, every step of the way, and you will be stunned at the things that your instructors and evaluators document about you as you go.

consider what is happening now as part of the deal.

you are getting ready to step through a gateway, and there will be many of them, and each one will be different, with different challenges on the other side. Many soldiers that you start this journey with will not finish it with you, or finish it at all. You will learn much about yourself, and I tell you now that regardless of whether you survive the pipeline or not, if you walk through each gateway with an open heart, you can learn incredible lessons, and come out of this process enriched beyond belief.

I wish you much luck.

In some ways, I wish that I were a young man, yet again, and could do it all over again.

12-26-2004, 09:02	#28
magician Quiet Professional Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangkok Posts: 856	brother, I am sorry that you are being subjected to such parochial, short-sighted pressures. We are all in the Army. Perhaps you ought to remind your chain-of-command of that fact. To perceive what you are daring to do as disloyal is bullshit. fuck it. Rise above it. Take refuge in professionalism, and focus on silence, and grimness, and extreme competence. You are in a hard profession. It requires hard men. Take solace in the fact that you will soon be surrounded by others like you. that said, you transit the pipeline as an individual. Yes, you attend the various components of the course as a member of a group, and you are tested on your ability to work with others, and integrate yourself with others and function effectively as a member of a unit. But your evaluations are individual, your test scores are your own, and your graduation will be an individual triumph, though you will never survive the course as a solo agent, without the help of others, or without helping others. it is a schizoid thing, in a way, but never lose sight of the fact that you alone are responsible for what happens to you, and for how you adapt and overcome the various challenges ahead of you. You will have to lead, and you will have to follow. You will be observed, every step of the way, and you will be stunned at the things that your instructors and evaluators document about you as you go. consider what is happening now as part of the deal. you are getting ready to step through a gateway, and there will be many of them, and each one will be different, with different challenges on the other side. Many soldiers that you start this journey with will not finish it with you, or finish it at all. You will learn much about yourself, and I tell you now that regardless of whether you survive the pipeline or not, if you walk through each gateway with an open heart, you can learn incredible lessons, and come out of this process enriched beyond belief. I wish you much luck. In some ways, I wish that I were a young man, yet again, and could do it all over again.
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