Musings of a 30 Year Career.

COL Jon Thompson — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:20:20 -0500

Last month, I retired from the Army after serving 30 years as an officer. Over those three decades, I was able to experience things and see places that would not have been possible were it not for the Army. Along the way, I learned a lot based on what I experienced and observed, and I would like to share some of those key bits of wisdom.

1. Things do not always go according to plan, but that is not always a bad thing. My initial career goal was to retire from active duty. At my ten-year mark, I went before the Major promotion board. When the list was released, my boss called me into his office and told me that I was not selected. It was crushing news that took me years to get over. So, I left active duty in 1996 and joined an Army Reserve unit in 1998. As an Army Reserve officer, I was able to serve longer than I probably would have on active duty.

2. Have a back-up plan. Thinking that I was going to stay in for 20 years, I never had a back-up plan in case that did not happen. So when I found myself taking the long road home from Alaska to Illinois, I really did not know what the future was going to hold for me. Had I put more thought into it before it was that late in the game, I would have had a better plan instead of trying to figure out what I was going to do at the age of 33.

3. Be proactive in taking care of yourself. I made it through 30 years including five mobilizations and four deployments and never once had a significant pay issue. Yet some of my peers had issues that may not be resolved even today. What was different is that I was not going to wait for someone to do something for me when I could do it myself. I took responsibility for myself and it paid off.

4. No one is a perfect leader. My career was impacted by raters and senior raters that failed to do their duty. But I can also look back at times when I definitely failed as a leader. No one is perfect and we are not promised that life will be fair. People will sometimes make the wrong decisions but what matters is the subsequent actions we take. Some of the most valuable things I learned came from leadership failures, both my own and of those senior to me.

5. LDRSHIP is more than an acronym. I have heard and read discussions about the efficacy of the Army Values. Some have argued that they are too simplistic and we need a more professional ethic. I disagree with that. Throughout my career, I have tried to live these values, even before the Army formalized them in the late 1990’s. DUTY is why I volunteered for three of my mobilizations as a reserve officer, even though it would hurt my promotion potential by not staying in the same reserve unit. In my view, if all Soldiers truly lived by these words, many of the issues the Army faces these days would be less significant. They need to be more than a tag we hang on a chain next to our ID tags.

6. Improve the profession by writing. As an Infantry captain, I wrote five articles that were published by Infantry Magazine. In 2010, upon my return from Baghdad where I served as a Human Terrain Team leader, I wrote another article for Infantry and one for Military Review. I wrote for two reasons. Foremost, I wanted to share my experiences so that others could hopefully learn from them. I myself learned many TTPs from various magazine articles. Second, I wrote to keep my writing skills fresh. Written communication is important for a leader, and too many Army leaders, officers, and enlisted do a poor job of maintaining this skill. The more we write, the better we become, and the better the Army will be.

It truly has been a great three decades of service for me and I will always look back and know I was part of a great team. There is one more lesson that I learned as an ROTC cadet from a Vietnam Veteran Master Sergeant and Ranger Instructor. It really is the only thing I remember from ROTC. This final lesson is one that has paid off when I listened to it and caused me to pay a price when I did not. Simply stated, that lesson is this: “Never pass up an opportunity to use the latrine.”

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Dec 1 at 2015 2:23 PM

SSG Warren Swan — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:23:42 -0500

Congrats Sir on your "retirement"....you're never really retired until you're in your final foxhole, and even then you're subject to recall. Think of it as a really long TDY. Enjoy it! And don't forget to fill out the travel voucher in DTS.

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Dec 1 at 2015 2:33 PM

SSG Audwin Scott — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:33:51 -0500

Congrats on your retirement!

Response by CW3 Jim Norris made Dec 1 at 2015 2:55 PM

CW3 Jim Norris — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:55:58 -0500

Hear him, hear him as the Brits used to say. Well written Mr. Thompson, thank you for your service and leadership of many a fine younger solider (and some older ones who needed it)....Jim

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Dec 1 at 2015 3:08 PM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 15:08:09 -0500

COL Jon Thompson - Congratulations on your retirement and for your outstanding and selfless service to our country.

Your observations/bits of wisdom are right on target and should be shared with all new officers. Hopefully you will get them published in professional journals and on web sites frequented by our brothers and sisters in arms.

Best of luck to you in this new chapter of your life.

Response by MAJ Alvin B. made Dec 1 at 2015 3:21 PM

MAJ Alvin B. — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 15:21:25 -0500

Congratulations! Great post!

Response by SP5 Mark Kuzinski made Dec 1 at 2015 3:37 PM

SP5 Mark Kuzinski — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 15:37:37 -0500

Great post - A must read for all.

Response by MAJ David Vermillion made Dec 1 at 2015 4:37 PM

MAJ David Vermillion — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:37:13 -0500

Congratulations Colonel Jon Thompson! Great advice.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 1 at 2015 5:04 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 17:04:18 -0500

Congratulations on well earned retirement. You offer sage advice here for anyone prepared to learn.

Response by CAPT Tom Bersson made Dec 1 at 2015 6:09 PM

CAPT Tom Bersson — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 18:09:57 -0500

Superb post and congratulations on your well deserved retirement. You've earned it!

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Dec 1 at 2015 6:47 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 18:47:41 -0500

Ditto, although I went a touch longer at 32. For those who are still in but choose or are forced to shift to the reserves like Jon and I, take heart because you will live several lifetimes. You never know what roads will appear or you get pushed into. Make them good roads. One thing to take a hard look at is rolling over into Civil Service and buying CS retirement credit. No retirement penalty. If you work hard and work up, you'll have to retire to get a monthly pay raise. Not a bad place to be.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 1 at 2015 6:57 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 18:57:07 -0500

Congratulations sir, and great words of wisdom to pass along to a new generation of Soldiers! All the best in your new chapter of life.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Dec 1 at 2015 7:24 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 19:24:30 -0500

You are to be congratulated. I have met many people who have survived life and career without learning anything. I am reminded of a woman who called a talk radio psychologist and whined "Do you think he likes me. Do you think this relationship will work?" Although these questions seem ordinary enough, I was taken aback when the psychologist asked how old the caller was and she said "Seventy-two". I thought, "My God, if I'm going to be suffering teenage angst at 72, I'll shoot myself".

Response by LTC Eric Udouj made Dec 1 at 2015 7:49 PM

LTC Eric Udouj — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 19:49:43 -0500

Congrads for making it though such a hard period to serve. As of today - am a brother retiree!

Response by SSG Keven Lahde made Dec 1 at 2015 8:57 PM

SSG Keven Lahde — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 20:57:15 -0500

COL Jon Thompson Sir thank you for your dedicated service and enjoy your retirement!!!!

Response by MSG James Douglas made Dec 2 at 2015 3:43 PM

MSG James Douglas — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 15:43:16 -0500

I retire in 7 months and can relate to a lot of what you've written.......25 yrs, time to let it go!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Dec 2 at 2015 4:23 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 16:23:04 -0500

Congratulations on the retirement sir! Time to hang up the boots.

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 7 at 2015 9:58 PM

CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 21:58:17 -0500

Thank you for your service!