Posted 02 May 2014 - 12:23 AM
"Give me the thunder of a thousand guns, to the fanfare of just one trumpet. Or something like that." - Victor Ian-Steiner-Davion, the Lethal Heritage series.
The best part about this quote is that Prince Victor doesn't even know if it is a quote, or something he made up. The Prince is a leader that troops can really get behind. He doesn't want to be a leader, but when he has to be one, he leads from the front. Unlike the rest of the noble leaders, he genuinely cares about his troops.
Granted, he is a fictional character, but troops in real life will follow such a man to their deaths if they have to. So many officers and state officials just assume that since they have authority, troops will listen to them. They don't. No matter how much military discipline you plan to inflict on soldiers, they always disobey. They're like children, because they are people being trained to obey. Does that surprise anyone? Even my beloved USMC abides by this rule. We are disciplined to death, but we have our own form of rebellion in fake motivation. We take it to extremes. Changing the toilet-paper roll in the head is a priority mission. Nobody can stop you when you're on a mission. One way or another, come hell or high-water, that toilet-paper roll is getting replaced.
And officers love this crap. They have a different perspective from enlisted personnel. So long as we do what they want, when they want, they don't ask questions. But that doesn't mean that we trust our officers. Enlisted personnel in any branch generally do not trust officers. They are collectively referred to as " the dark side" and the only officers that enlisted personnel respect are "Mustang" officers. That is, officers who were enlisted before they became officers.
It makes perfect sense when you think about it. How can you lead when you don't first know how to follow? You don't know what your troops go through, so how can you be expected to command them effectively in battle? The simple fact that you didn't go through the same training they did is pretty offensive. Remember, combat arms are exposed to the most dangerous things the world has to offer. Such troops are taught to believe that they are better, harder, faster, more disciplined than other troops. If they weren't, they'd be afraid of the terrifying circumstances of war, and they often are, if the people who brought them there don't step up.
One leader, one man or woman with the courage to lead from the front is all the motivation troops need. They won't ever abandon an officer who takes the same risks they do, or even a non-commissioned officer. My platoon once got disciplined because a lance corporal was asleep on firewatch. It was a useless watch, maintained for the sake formality. The lance corporals were getting screwed on this deal. There is supposed to be a Corporal of the Guard, but somehow, our leadership forgot that.
When the Lance Corporal in question was caught, he was assigned to fill thousands of sandbags. Frak that, one screw up by the platoon is a blight on all of us. I disobeyed the orders to not help him and started filing my share of sandbags. Everyone told me not to do it, but I did it anyway. And Y'know what? Pretty soon the NCOs were out there helping me. The first Sergeant to arrive told me that he'd be damned if he'd let me lead by the front. Then the officers showed up. Digging in the dirt with the rest of us, and on that day, we were a unit.
Prince Victor exemplifies that kind of commitment to a unit, and my ideal of leadership. It's not even really about respect, it's about doing what is right. So give me the thunder of a thousand guns to the fanfare of just one trumpet. Or something like that.
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Thom Frankfurt, on 18 February 2014 - 05:40 PM, said:
