the things worth believing in

I’m in the process of setting up a new vest/plate carrier and part of it includes assembling a “blow out” or first aid kit. One of the first components I have received is an “Israeli Bandage”.

Developed by a former IDF combat medic named Bernard Nar-Natan, and brought to the market in 1998, these bandages are a leap from the old fabric bandages the Army issued to soldiers back when I went through basic training.

Cover via Amazon

I’m currently in the last third of Steven Pressfield’s The Virtues of War, which tells the story of Alexander the Great’s campaigns across Persia from the first-person perspective of Alexander himself.

I’ve written about Pressfield before and first became aware of him when I read The Gates of Fire, the historical fiction retelling of the Spartan stand against the Persians at Thermopylae. Pressfield, a former US Marine, has become sort of an authority on classic military history, the warrior, and leadership on the battlefield. His books routinely address the role of the leader, the human dynamic on the battlefield and what it is about combat that has captivated humans..mainly men..throughout our history. Since I’m reading it on a Kindle, I have been highlighting passages I find interesting with the intent of discussing some of them here. For example…

On decision making:

How is one to command? By consensus of his subordinates? Listen indeed. Weigh and evaluate. Then decide yourself. Are you stumped at the crossroads? Pick one way and don’t look back. Nothing is worse than indecision. Be wrong, but be wrong decisively. Can you please your constituents?  never let me hear that word! The men are never happy with anything. The march is always too long, the ways too rough. What works with them? Hardship. Give your men something that can’t be done, not something that can. Then place yourself at first hazard.

…

This sentiment is nothing new and I have heard/read similar in various places. I have to say that while I agree with it in general ( it IS the leaders job to make decisions), there are varying degrees of “damn the torpedoes full speed ahead!!” leadership.

I understand that in the context  of the book the decisions mentioned are battlefield decisions. The question is “How is one to COMMAND?” When lives are at stake and you are the leader, yes, indecision kills.

But to take the lesson from the war-room to the board-room, so to speak, the spirit of the passage, while still important, can be taken too far and turn you into a little Napoleon. Not every decision has to be a “Because I’m in charge and I say so” affair.  As anyone who has ever experienced a Second Lieutenant fresh out of ROTC can attest to, the pressures of leadership combined with inexperience can lead to interesting situations with the senior NCO’s who posses the experience but not the rank.

Personally, being in a leadership/supervisory role, I sometimes ask myself if I am being decisive enough, is this a situation where I need to take COMMAND, or would doing so only be because I feel like I should SHOW that I’m in charge vs actually accomplishing a goal? Sometimes the inner talk, self-expectations and wondering what others think are a greater leadership burden than the actual requirements of the job.

I think that the nack lies in knowing your mission first and foremost and doing what’s required to see that its accomplished. Sometimes that means knowing the difference between the decisions that need to be made immediately (take that pillbox or pass it?) and those that you can table and think over for a while.

Image via Wikipedia

“And this was the covenant of their Knighthood of the Round Table:

That they would be gentle unto the weak; that they would be courageous unto the strong; that they would be terrible unto the wicked and the evil-doer; that they would defend the helpless who should call upon them for aid; that all women should be held unto them sacred; that they would stand unto the defence of one another whensoever such defence should be required; that they would be merciful unto all men; that they would be gentle of deed, true in friendship, and faithful in love.

This was their covenant, and unto it each knight sware upon the cross of his sword, and in witness thereof did kiss the hilt thereof.”

- Howard Pyle; ”King Arthur and the knights of The Round Table”

I may very well be getting one of these after the holiday’s when I get one of my checks from work.

The folks over at TacStrike make some nice steel target systems. I’ve been itching to put up some permanent targets instead of hauling them in and out every time I go shooting.

Maybe you will catch some video of me shooting one up of these soon.

“Be aware of yourself and know yourself. No matter how much you have learned and how much you know, if you don’t know yourself you don’t know anything. Indeed, if you don’t know yourself you cannot know anything else. People who don’t know themselves criticize others from the point of view of their own ignorant selves. They consider whatever agrees with them to be good, and hate whatever doesn’t go their way. They become irritated about everything, causing themselves to suffer by themselves, bothering themselves solely because of their own prejudices. If you know that not everyone will be agreeable to you, know that you won’t be agreeable to everyone either. Those who have no prejudices in themselves do not reject people, and therefore people do not reject them.”

– Suzuki Shosan (1579-1655)

Even though this is a year old, Im still impressed with the performance.

Image via Wikipedia

From the beginning it’s best to do zazen in the midst of strife and confusion. A samurai, in particular, must be able to do zazen while uttering his battle cry. Guns are firing, lances are flying, and amidst the confusion , you send up a battle cry. It’s here that you can clearly make good use of your practice. What use can there be for a zazen requiring a quiet place? However appealing Buddhist teachings may be, the samurai should throw away anything he can’t use when the moment for his battle cry arrives.

-Suzuki Shosan

I have seen, practiced and even operationally utilized some two man movement techniques similar to these but they sometimes left me thinking about the wisdom of them.

I can see the utility in “nuts to butts drills” when used doing building clearing and other situations where you need to maneuver in tight quarters and keep a 360 deg security. Similarly I can see their advantages as immediate reaction drills where you make contact while in a stack or while approaching a scene/suspect with a partner close by.

However, once the bullets start flying I can’t see an advantage in standing close together and slugging it out. One, you present a big target and two, you fail to present the opponent with the attention dividing distraction two people can present. I would think that it would be better to split up and find cover that would allow you to mutually support each other with fire.