Morning Study and Breakfast

One of the things that Fort Leavenworth is known for across the Army is that it is home for the Command and General Staff College (CGSC), or Intermediate Level Education (ILE).  It is the location where most field grade officers, mostly brand-new majors, go to receive their mid-level education which prepares them to lead staffs as operations officers, executive officers, and strategic planners.

This school is an intensive, year-long course that exposes officers to upper level military thought at the strategic and operational levels.  Officers from the sister services can attend the course for their own professional credit requirements, and each year hundreds of foreign officers from our partner nations attend and graduate the course.  The atmosphere here is academic and serious.

One thing that makes this different from life down in an operational unit is that for the first time in many years of service, officers get the chance to unwind, think big thoughts about their profession, and rebalance their time with family, friends, and activities.  The days are structured with predictability in mind, so the officers can manage their time and priorities.  When you're in a unit, your time is not your own--the demands of the job can easily cause you to lose balance and focus in your personal life--so time at Ft. Leavenworth is good in a variety of ways.

This morning I attended an Officer Christian Fellowship Bible study/ breakfast.  The guest speaker was Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, the outgoing commander of Ft. Leavenworth and the Combined Arms Center, and my former boss.  He led us in a great discussion on maintaining perspective and creating balance in your life while continuing to serve the Nation as an officer.

I asked him for his thoughts on how to maintain your Christian walk while serving in an environment that is undergoing so many changes and challenges.  The repeal of DADT, new Soldiers coming in who are more frequently from broken homes, and a culture that is growing increasingly more hostile towards the Christian faith were some of the challenges that I offered.

His advice was as simple as it was wise.  He suggested that a leader does not have to be too "in your face" (my words) with his faith to make an impact; the way you live your life will show that something is different.  We are here to follow Christ's example by serving others: the Nation, our citizens, other Soldiers, each other...our works will be an example to others and cause them to wonder what makes us different. 

His message was simple: Trust in the Lord, and He will take care of the rest.  Don't worry about the promotions or the jobs--trust in him and he will take care of all that. 

One of the OCF leaders offered this verse:

1 Samuel 2:30

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

³⁰ Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.

I appreciate men like Lt. Gen. Caslen serving in such a humble way, and sharing their hard-won experiences with the rest of us in uniform. I hope and pray for his continued success as he departs Kansas and continues to serve, God willing.

Heart Of The Rock from 3rd Infantry Division on Vimeo.

You can tell the public affairs team at Fort Stewart really put some effort into this production.  Great graphics, great storyline, good feature interviews with the combatives team...everything is top notch.  I wish I could have been a part of it, but I'm glad to see they took hold of an interesting concept and ran with it.  I'm sure Marne Soldiers at Fort Stewart and Fort Benning will enjoy watching this show--if nothing else it will draw more attention to combatives in the 3rd ID and help them attract the talent they need to win the All-Army tournament next year.  Rock of the Marne!!

Being With Family

There's not much better than being with family.  Spending time with your parents, siblings and their children should be a joy for everyone, but for me it's especially enjoyable.  We simply don't get together enough, and when we do it's always fun to catch up and spend time laughing with each other.

I also enjoy being with my church family.  We've been around the world, and have Christian brothers and sisters from all over the U.S., but no one is closer to us than the members of Gateway Christian Church in Clarksville, TN.  Scott and Lynn Witt are the leaders of the flock, so to speak, and we love them dearly.  They have fed us with spiritual "meat" over and over again. 

We are now PCSing (Permanent Change of Station) to our next Army adventure at Fort Leavenworth.  We look forward to the opportunity to meet new people, find new friends, serve in a new church home, and do great work for the Nation.  The family is doing well as we make this adjustment.

Awarded for Service in the Marne Division



Friday afternoon, six of the division staff members, including me, were awarded Meritoriuos Service Medals for our time in the 3rd Inf. Div.  The six of us who were awarded represented about 20 combined years of duty as "Marne Men".  Each of us are moving on to new assignments, and I for one am grateful for the opportunity to be on the division staff to work with such fine officers and under such capable commanders.  It's been a good developmental experience for me.  COL Roger Cloutier, the current Chief of Staff, gave out the honors.  He's a great officer and a very good man--it was an honor to have worked with him this past year.  He will make a great general officer and DCG-M for the division. Rock of the Marne!

L to R: LTC Steve Aiton-G1, me, LTC Paul Heinlein-PMO, LTC Mike Marti-G2/DCoS, LTC Dana Smith-G-3Air, MAJ Jesse Pooler- DPMO







2011 Marne Combatives Tournament

What is "Combatives" you ask?  Plainly speaking, it is the latest version of the Army's hand-to-hand combat technique.  It is based on Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, and other techniques and adapated to the needs of Soldiers while they are unarmed or require less-than-lethal force options.

This was a cool opportunity for me to do something new, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I hope you enjoy it too.


Marne Combatives Tournament 2011 from 3rd Infantry Division on Vimeo.

Girls Are Pretty

This video is over a year old now, but man, it makes me laugh. It has so many memorable lines, like, "How much do they cost, like, 3000 yen?" and "Dude, you're a wizard!"

I wish I could take credit for all of the talent displayed in this work of master craftsmen, but alas, I am responsible for none.

Check out all of SALL Studio's work on YouTube.

Josh Thompson - Way Out Here

I just heard this song today. It really speaks to me. I must be turning redneck...I'm OK with that.