Deployment #2 is pretty much in the bag now- as I wait here in Manas Airbase (kyrgyzstan), I am trying to reflect on the experience and bouncing ideas off of my peers to see what we may have collectively learned and what we got out of the deployment. For myself, seems like the first deployment was geared toward a self discovery/ testing of what I am capable of both mentally and physically. This deployment wasn't really oriented the way the first one was. For the most part, I saw it as a further honing of special skills and alot of growing off my base of knowledge rather than learning from scratch. I think I have become a wiser/ more informed individual as a result of this deployment/ experience. Much of it comes from the guidance and mentorship I received from my Battalion XO- probably the first real mentor I have had in the army. He is probably the first person who has truly defined mentorship for me... without having to define mentorship. Learning how to think/frame problems- that is where me make our money as officers and he is the first one to clearly articulate this and put a sense of urgency to the cause. If we are not able to do this as officers, we are pretty worthless. This was not a compelte revelation, but it has been made much more clear to me.
I think I might need some more time to think about it all. The year went by quick and in the next 6 months I will undergo some quick changes and I will be in a totally different environment, different country, and starting the learning all over again. With the time I will have in the next month, I am still trying to think of the bet way to spend the time while having plenty of peace and quiet. Still trying to find the answer. Thats all I have to say about that.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
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