Conference repair::reserve_forces

Was Wayne the engineer in "The Fighting Seabees" - I'd probably follow that
character, but not the rest.

Unfortunately what makes a character attractive in a movie makes them horribly
dangerous in real life. As my father once said "brave officers are dangerous
to their men".

/. Ian .\

    A good leader has to evoke a feeling of trust and confidence in
    their troops. Patton was a dynamic and forceful leader, but he
    wasn't 'loved' by his troops. Respected and feared, but not loved.
    Bradley and Eisenhower were known as caring and competent. All three
    were succesful on the battlefield. I think the difference would be
    in how you felt about the leader. Patton and Bradley would probably
    say the same/similar things before a tough mission. Patton in a
    stern and unflinching manner. Bradley in a quiet and empathetic
    way. You would have the feeling that Bradley would care deeply if
    those 50 men lost their lives in the assault, but Patton would
    stand there and say "Those bas_____ failed". You wouldn't hesitate
    to follow either one, but you'd feel better about following Bradley.
    Some might say that they'd rather follow a 'mean SOB' because war
    is a business for mean SOBs. Myself, I'd rather think that the guy
    that was sending me to my (possible) death, cared for more than just
    himself.
    
    Charisma is hard to define. I had a commander in the reserves that
    was easy to like. He exuded the feelings of competence and trust.
    His civilian job kept him on the road frequently. We could never
    reach him and very often weren't sure that he would show up for
    the drill. During the Thursday night planning session, everyone
    would be cursing him for lack of contact. Fifteen minutes after
    he arrived on Saturday morning, those same folks would be smiling
    and joking. I never fully understood it, except that you KNEW that
    whatever problems came up, he would handle it.
    
    Ian, what dad said is true. Somebody else said "A good officer uses
    his chain of command". To which a wag promptly replied "Yes, but
    have you ever tried to push a chain?".
    
    Bob Mc

    Re .0:
    
    My last two Navy Reserve skippers were the kind of individuals you'd
    do anything for - they were great. They also taught me two rules which
    I still try and follow whenever possible:
    
    1. If you have a goal in mind, do whatever you need to do to achieve
    the goal until somebody tells you not to do it any more.
    
    2. If you get chewed out for doing something, remember those that
    play it safe may not get chewed out but they don't get anything
    done either.
    
    The rule I tried to pass on to my First and Second Class PO's was
    do not order somebody to do something you wouldn't or couldn't do
    yourself. If it's cold, rainy, and wet and you order your section
    aloft to perform antenna maintenance, by God you best be up there
    with them even if all you do is just stay out of the way.
    
    Re .1:
    
    The US Navy Seabees (or at least the Reserve Seabees I knew)
    practically made "Fighting Seabees" a required movie for all hands
    - I'm serious, they showed it to all hands once a year. Once I made the
    mistake during a commo class my unit was conducting for the Bees (you
    know, "This is a TA-312 Field Phone, guys. One battery goes up and the
    other goes down. Then it works.") of castigating the "Fighting Seabees"
    as a cornball, hokey WWII movie. Wow, I never heard the end of that! :)
    :) :) I might as well have criticized Mom, Apple Pie, and the Girl
    Next Door. Needless to say, no more wisecracks about the movie or John
    Wayne!!!
    
    Mark
    RMC USNR

    ( Been a bit quiet recently hasn't it...)
    
    On the subject of leaders etc, let's look at from the other side
    of the fence. How do you motivate the others in your unit? Do you
    have to gee-up those with more senior rank as well?
        
    I heard that in a unit in the Regular army for bayonet practise
    all of the troop bar 3 run on the spot shouting  "KILL, KILL". One
    of the 3 will be practicing next with the second man right up his
    proverbial hurling abuse at him. The third man has to tidy-up ready
    for the next run.     Hmmmmmmmmm
    
    What about applying military motivating techniques at work, any
    success/failures?
    
    Dave
    

    
    The last time I stood behind our secretary yelling 'KILL KILL KILL'
    I spent two weeks in the hospital.  
    
    Doesn't seem to work here.
    
    :-) :-) Roger