Have you ever used your military training to help others in a non traditional way?

CW3 Kevin Storm — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 12:38:20 -0400

We get a ton of training, some times we use it in a manner that it was never intended for. Here is a comical example of how I had to use my old Platoon Sergeant Voice to help a fellow airline passenger in need. A flight I was on was running late, and the woman sitting across from me was very anxious she was going to miss her flight. As we were coming in for landing she notified the Flight Attendant that she had a connection to catch and it was going to be close. Of course we were at the back of the plane so you know how that usually works out. The announcement was made when the plane stopped and asked for people to wait so other could get off, and of course everyone stood up. The poor woman was almost in tears, No one would move out of her way. I got kind of ticked off at the inconsideration of my fellow travelers and just went all Platoon Sergeant on them, told the woman to get behind me and just follow. "LETS GO, LETS GO, LETS GO, MAKE HOLE AND MAKE IT WIDE, FELLOW TRAVELR NEED TO GET THROUGH!!!!! A lot of people were stunned, and a few "MOVE IT, MOVE IT" later their butts were getting out of the way. I did this the whole way up the plane, till I got to first class, and some jack wad had his suitcase in the aisle and had no intention of moving it. So I asked him "What are you from the nation of Ignoramous? This woman needs to catch a flight, now you can move this or I can climb over it, your choice" He moved it. The flight antendentdets and Co-Pilot were up front, laughing their butts off, one of them asked me if I wanted a job.

The woman was grateful she got off the plane as quickly as she did. I don't know if she caught her flight or not. But on that day, she learned an old crusty redleg can move an airplane of people! So what things have you done with your military training that you never expected to do?

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 1 at 2015 12:39 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 12:39:12 -0400

Many times outside the military CW3 Kevin Storm
The way we are taught to evaluate a situation and think on our feet has helped countless times.
Reverse cycle planning starting with the endpoint and calculating backwards with some wiggle room.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 1 at 2015 3:27 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 15:27:06 -0400

I'm sometimes surprised when as my wife puts it, "the Commander" shows up...

But seriously; I do find that there are times when co-workers and peers haven't been trained to analyze a problem objectively. The civil sector focuses a lot on training folks to repeat procedures...but falls down (more than I expected) on training people to prioritize their decision making process.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Oct 1 at 2015 3:38 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 15:38:48 -0400

I've assitedat traffic accidents by directing traffic and rendering aid in a few emergency situations thanks to my medic training

Response by SPC James Seigars made Oct 1 at 2015 5:49 PM

SPC James Seigars — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 17:49:00 -0400

CW2 Kevin Storm between 1985-1988 I would go to the football field of my high school in the morning before class and have other young people that wanted to join do PT with me so they could see how good their shape really was and get better before joining. In the 90's after I came back from Germany I would help those having trouble with the ASVAB take practice tests so they could pass the real one. I have also helped people being abused and helped at accident scenes. So I have had plenty of practice using my training in non-traditional ways.

Response by Sgt Ken Prescott made Oct 2 at 2015 8:54 AM

Sgt Ken Prescott — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 08:54:25 -0400

I was a Navy contractor some years back, and they were running a security exercise. The rent-a-cop at the gate did a lousy job checking my briefcase because he was too busy trying to hit on the cute lady behind me.

I went to the security office and indicated that there was a problem. They blew me off.

So I used my command voice to go into their intellectual and moral deficiencies and how those related to their job performance.

The Navy two-star who ran the command heard me in the next building and had PTSD flashbacks to OCS...

Response by PO1 John Miller made Oct 6 at 2015 4:33 AM

PO1 John Miller — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 04:33:59 -0400

I've used my CPR training on more than one occasion. Once at a baseball game when a woman was having a seizure and the dumb ass security guys who responded didn't know what they were doing, so I triaged the lady and briefed the EMT's on her condition when they got there.
Another time in the parking lot of the VAMC when an elderly veteran shot himself. Unfortunately he did not make it.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 11 at 2019 2:27 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 11 May 2019 14:27:34 -0400

I help my kids with deep thinking due to their inexperiences. Sometimes all they see is right in front of them, so I have to paint the big picture for them.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made May 12 at 2019 6:56 AM

Lt Col Charlie Brown — Sun, 12 May 2019 06:56:11 -0400

The schedule needed to be done by hand since the computer system was down for maintenance. I did by myself in an hour and then did the ones for the other 3 school locations. I used the same technique we used to park and schedule planes...hey it worked!