April 17, 2007

• I realized that as much as I hate being in the Corps right now, I still have a sort of a fanatical loyalty to my junior Marines.  Most of this I learned from my Gunny, who was my first boss ever since I checked into my reserve unit five years ago.  He was loyal to his troops, always looking out for us, and wasn't afraid to speak his mind-- a common trait that we both shared.

  
  

  The one thing about leadership that I learned from him was not only to stand up for what you believe is right for yourself or your junior Marines-- but most importantly, have giant balls of steel.  Not only do you need some massive cojones, but an equally large mouth to back up those figurative genitalia of yours-- it doesn't matter if you're a man or woman.

  
  

  A leader cannot hide behind his title or rank and expect to be respected by anyone-- those that we call "rank pullers" that demand respect will never recieve any.  To gain respect, one has to EARN it, and the best way to earn so is to gain the trust of your own junior peers.  Never be afraid to stand up for their faults, or take the blame if one of them is in danger-- most likely they'll blame you anyway, just because you're his/her supervisor.  And when you think someone is out of line in the way they treat your juniors-- you go and tell them to go fuck themselves.  Thats right, even if the person you're confronting outranks you, don't let their rank or position ever scare you.

  
  

  Historically, I always had problems with authority.... MAJOR problems.  I'm also the type that speaks my mind, and especially I'll call you out if you made a dick move or just plain dumb.  I always knew the military is not for me, but I stuck with my principles and never betrayed the trust of my junior Marines-- simply by watching their backs-- which mysteriously got me promoted to the rank that I hold now.  Trust me, I have NO IDEA how or why I pinned on my Sergeant stripes, but they sure come in handy sometimes.

  
  

  Yes, I've gotten into my fair share of troubles, and even an NJP one time... but that's never stopped me from speaking out to what I believe was right.  In the time I've been in Corps, I have seen poor leadership, very poor leadership, and leaderhip that makes you wonder why nobody has repeatedly stabbed them with a rusty fork.  Then once in a while, if you're lucky, you get to see what GOOD leadership is like.  And in my interpretations, a good leader is always wathching the backs of his men, and will always stand up for them and whatever he believes is right.  A good leader isn't afraid ot speak his mind and ask questions-- those questions might save the lives of your people someday.  And most of all, a good leader is fearless (or stupid, however you want to view it).  He isn't afraid to walk up to that 1st Lieutenant that issued some ridiculous orders, call him out, and tell him he's full of shit and he'll get everyone killed.

  
  

  Most of all--- never, EVER pull rank.  I would threaten to snap a junior Marine's neck than pull rank on him or her.  Your rank should be whats backing up your big mouth and bigger balls, but not used as an offensive tool.

  
  

  But that's just my style of leadership that I learned from my own supervisor, and so far he has garnered the respect of many..... I'm only following in his footsteps.  Then again, I am disillusioned by the bull I've dealt with over the years, and quite frankly, I'm quite fed up with the Corps.

  
  

  To any junior Marine/Sailor/Airman/Soldier that will one day become a leader, just remember:  don't take shit from no one, and set an example so your junior troops won't take shit from no one either.  Hopefully this little itty bit of knowlege could be useful to anyone who wishes to become someone to look up to.  Look, I'm not trying to be all self-righteous or anything, but believe me when I say I have enough common sense to differentiate between good, bad, and terrible leadership.  Thats my story, and I'm sticking to it.

  • 9:15 pm
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