As everyone knows by now, I hail
from the grand old city of Houston, Texas, where it behooves one to ruminate on
one’s words. As I learned rather discourteously, things just ain’t the same up here,
and certainly not in our great Detachment 415, but the change of pace has done
me a great deal of service.
I didn’t know what to expect the
first day of Lead Lab, but it certainly wasn’t what I got. Fresh cadets
scampered about, unsure of where to go or what to do, clinging to each other in
loose groups like orphaned monkeys; a humble start for the future leaders of
America! Somehow though, I felt comfortable, for a few lead labs. Taking direct
orders is a fairly basic activity to engage in; much better, I thought, than being
the poor sap up front, desperately trying to lead us around.
Then came my turn.
While the pace may not have changed
for those under my command (or may even have slowed down), the great effort of
formulating plans, be they marching movements or timehacks, was in stark
contrast to the relative ease of following those plans. Had it not been for one
area of prior experience in quick-thinking, I would have been completely lost.
The practice I’d had in the cockpit of an airplane talking on the radio granted
me a smidge of the fast-talking, fast-thinking skills transferrable to any
position of command; brevity in thought and word breeds credibility wherever
you go, be it as Flight Commander or Pilot in Command.
I think that my decision to come
all this way north for school was well-conceived, but I know that joining
AFROTC was one of the best decisions of my life. Aside from the outstanding
group of people I get to associate with (my second family), I’ve gained great
confidence in my own ability as a leader through the challenges presented. Hopefully
in a few years, that confidence and ability will earn me a flight suit.
