We need Leadership, not Likership

Field X-ray machine at Troop Medical Clinic, Camp Beuhring

I think the Army and the Marine Corps is the gayest (in a happy way) when it comes to leadership practices. They put up dumb signs to remind people of ridiculous things. If you ever go to Kuwait, the sign "We Need Leadership, Not Likership" is posted where it is most visible at almost every camp. So does that mean, that people should be assholes to each other? If they're going to post signs, they should post signs like, "Leadership is about inspiring people to do things, not because you tell them, but because they want to." Well, that's my definition of leadership. Leadership is all about inspiring. Being able to make people WANT to work hard for you, is a true force multiplier. If you inspire people to do things, they'll do a better job in the end and they'll be proud of what they did. Leading by example is key. When I see a Lieutenant sweeping the floor, I'm more than happy to take that broom away from him, rather than watching him make a mess and asking me to clean it up. If you work hard for your people, your people will work hard for you. Simple as that.

Lately, I got asked about how female servicemembers get treated at Camp Arifjan. I think they get treated fairly. Everyone here gets treated the same and everybody lives in the same crappy place with cold shower water. The Army uses the "Buddy System" and in Zone 6, the statistics say that one person (male and female) gets raped a week. Well, that is alarming, but that is what the buddy system is in place for. To stop that kind of crap.

Good news, I'll be moving out of a top rack and will be moving to a bottom rack. To whoever is fortunate enough to be living in a nice and cozy bed, be thankful. The mattresses here aren't the greatest and I wake up with an achy back. To ease the pain, I try to sleep on my side until my arm falls asleep and then I flip back over. But now, I don't have to worry about falling off and breaking my leg everytime I try to get out of bed. Bunk beds should be outlawed. They're safety hazards. Here I go again, preaching safety to everybody. I've been the safety officer almost everywhere I've been... sorry. Well, me and my buddy went to a Chinese restaurant on base. It was called the, "Oriental Restaurant". If I had to compare it to real Chinese food, it was mediocre, but compared to the DFAC, it was delicious! I'm starting to get sick of the DFAC and I noticed that my plate is starting to look like, "mashed potatoes and peas". I'm also starting to worry about getting cavities because people donated so much candy and cookies. I can't help but eat up all those boxes of cookies! They're so addicting. Especially those Girl Scout cookies. YUM!