8
8
0
More from: "My Tme in Service:"
Perception. Funnily enough, perception can change reality. If you think someone is tough...well, then they are. At least to you. And so this story about my old Platoon Sergeant.
Everyone thought my old Platoon Sergeant was tough as nails. Mean as a snake. Hard ass from the tip of his head to the bottom of his feet. Mean, green, fighting machine - with no heart, a sharp brain, and stronger than steel.
He didn't talk much. He watched everything you did. And if he said: "Good job." Well, you smiled for a week.
He could break up a barracks fight by just coming in the Bay and staring at the trouble makers. If you messed up on an Inspection, or came out to formation with the wrong gear, well, you started quaking in your boots. Everyone was afraid of him. Rumors of his deeds ...well, they were legendary. Everyone believed him, because he never gave us any room to doubt them.
He rarely talked. He always backed up what he said he could do. Or couldn't do. One time we were on a 20 mile Hike. He had twisted his ankle at the halfway point...and man, the Medic said:
"Sarge, that is a High Ankle Sprain. Those are the worst. They take forever to heal. And you won't be able to put your boot back on, the swelling is just too much. So I am putting you on Profile, and you can ride in the jeep."
He didn't say a word. Just took the laces out of his boot. Put his sock back on, and finished the hike. Nobody said a word. But we all noticed.
So one day, a guy got in some serious trouble. And everyone thought our Platoon Sergeant was going to ask for a Summary Court Martial. Or at least an Article 15.
The guy went to our Platoon Sergeant and begged him not to put him in Jail, or bust him. He was married and his wife just had a baby.
"Sarge...I won't do it again. I promise."
Well, our Platoon Sergeant just stared at him. For a long time. Then he got up and said: "I 'll talk to the Old man. You wait here."
A few hours later he came back into the Platoon Office where the despondent Soldier was awaiting his fate.
"Here's how it is going to go. No Official Discipline. The Old Man left it up to me. So for the next three months, you are going to be the Best Soldier in the whole damn Army. If you aren't....(staring at the Soldier), then that means my word can't be trusted. I gave it to the Old Man. You make my word ...no good. Well, I will find you some dark night."
The guy almost cried.
"I won't let you down. I promise."
"I don't care about your promises. I care about what you do. Dismissed."
Well, that guy ended up winning Soldier of the Year. AND he got promoted to Spec 4 about five months after that "talk."
So just before our tough old Platoon Sgt, PCS"d, I took him to lunch. We had a good talk. Turns out...in his 17 years in the Army...he had never given out an Article 15. Not once. Not ever. Nada. Zip. Zero.
I said:
"How is that possible Sarge? Every one of us thought you gave them out like Candy.That you were the Hardest of all Hard Asses."
He smiled.
"Yeah. I know that's what YOU all thought. So all I had to do was keep my mouth shut, and let you all keep thinking. "
Yep .
Perception. It is half the battle.
Perception. Funnily enough, perception can change reality. If you think someone is tough...well, then they are. At least to you. And so this story about my old Platoon Sergeant.
Everyone thought my old Platoon Sergeant was tough as nails. Mean as a snake. Hard ass from the tip of his head to the bottom of his feet. Mean, green, fighting machine - with no heart, a sharp brain, and stronger than steel.
He didn't talk much. He watched everything you did. And if he said: "Good job." Well, you smiled for a week.
He could break up a barracks fight by just coming in the Bay and staring at the trouble makers. If you messed up on an Inspection, or came out to formation with the wrong gear, well, you started quaking in your boots. Everyone was afraid of him. Rumors of his deeds ...well, they were legendary. Everyone believed him, because he never gave us any room to doubt them.
He rarely talked. He always backed up what he said he could do. Or couldn't do. One time we were on a 20 mile Hike. He had twisted his ankle at the halfway point...and man, the Medic said:
"Sarge, that is a High Ankle Sprain. Those are the worst. They take forever to heal. And you won't be able to put your boot back on, the swelling is just too much. So I am putting you on Profile, and you can ride in the jeep."
He didn't say a word. Just took the laces out of his boot. Put his sock back on, and finished the hike. Nobody said a word. But we all noticed.
So one day, a guy got in some serious trouble. And everyone thought our Platoon Sergeant was going to ask for a Summary Court Martial. Or at least an Article 15.
The guy went to our Platoon Sergeant and begged him not to put him in Jail, or bust him. He was married and his wife just had a baby.
"Sarge...I won't do it again. I promise."
Well, our Platoon Sergeant just stared at him. For a long time. Then he got up and said: "I 'll talk to the Old man. You wait here."
A few hours later he came back into the Platoon Office where the despondent Soldier was awaiting his fate.
"Here's how it is going to go. No Official Discipline. The Old Man left it up to me. So for the next three months, you are going to be the Best Soldier in the whole damn Army. If you aren't....(staring at the Soldier), then that means my word can't be trusted. I gave it to the Old Man. You make my word ...no good. Well, I will find you some dark night."
The guy almost cried.
"I won't let you down. I promise."
"I don't care about your promises. I care about what you do. Dismissed."
Well, that guy ended up winning Soldier of the Year. AND he got promoted to Spec 4 about five months after that "talk."
So just before our tough old Platoon Sgt, PCS"d, I took him to lunch. We had a good talk. Turns out...in his 17 years in the Army...he had never given out an Article 15. Not once. Not ever. Nada. Zip. Zero.
I said:
"How is that possible Sarge? Every one of us thought you gave them out like Candy.That you were the Hardest of all Hard Asses."
He smiled.
"Yeah. I know that's what YOU all thought. So all I had to do was keep my mouth shut, and let you all keep thinking. "
Yep .
Perception. It is half the battle.
Platoon Sergeant
Training
Article 15
Discipline
Future Soldier Leader
Edited 23 d ago
Posted 23 d ago
Responses: 2
3
3
0
SGT Kevin Hughes
"Ah, the Art of War..." I remember reading him and Marcus Aurelius - back to back. Of course it was old Zeno who started Stoic Philosophy but Marcus embodied it. My favorite old General though was Belesarius...made famous by the Conservative Author : Victor Davis Hansen. I think it was called : "The Five Savior Generals"...or something. But when David Drake brought Belesarius to Life in his Fiction books...I really like how he fleshed him out. I am not conservative by any stretch of the imagination- but I do read widely just to keep perspective. See how I wound that back to the point of my post. LOL
(0)
(0)
2
2
0
SGT Kevin Hughes
Now Platoon Sergeants are a subject that I have some experiences with,namely SFC Aubrey Smith,the first impression getting off the bus that rainy night at Ft.Lewis was memorable to a bunch of street kids from the Northeast,our contingent had been flown out of Ft.Dix NJ reception center so many New York,New Jersey,Massachusetts,Maine,this will be important later as a definite language conversion would be necessary,SFC Smith was from the South and having a bunch of “Yankees” in “His Company “ would prove to be challenging and sometimes hilarious,remember the “Popcorn Fart” I relayed in an earlier post,now we would become the reactivated 4th Infantry Division originally slated for Germany,and then that pesky little fracas in Southeast Asia came up,and it was SFC Smith’s mission to get us trained,this was important to him personally since he would be accompanying us on this journey,thank god for him,I remember him shaking my hand and telling me to get to the LZ ,they would be popping smoke for my early departure from the boonies,one of the finest men I ever met and NEVER forgotten, Welcome Home Brothers.
Now Platoon Sergeants are a subject that I have some experiences with,namely SFC Aubrey Smith,the first impression getting off the bus that rainy night at Ft.Lewis was memorable to a bunch of street kids from the Northeast,our contingent had been flown out of Ft.Dix NJ reception center so many New York,New Jersey,Massachusetts,Maine,this will be important later as a definite language conversion would be necessary,SFC Smith was from the South and having a bunch of “Yankees” in “His Company “ would prove to be challenging and sometimes hilarious,remember the “Popcorn Fart” I relayed in an earlier post,now we would become the reactivated 4th Infantry Division originally slated for Germany,and then that pesky little fracas in Southeast Asia came up,and it was SFC Smith’s mission to get us trained,this was important to him personally since he would be accompanying us on this journey,thank god for him,I remember him shaking my hand and telling me to get to the LZ ,they would be popping smoke for my early departure from the boonies,one of the finest men I ever met and NEVER forgotten, Welcome Home Brothers.
(2)
(0)
SGT Kevin Hughes
Thanks for sharing that with us. Yep...those guys did more than they ever realized...and that, my friend, includes you! Welcome Home Brother!
(2)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google