I wrote this entry almost expecting other people to read it...
Every morning I wake up I try to remind myself of a scene from Generation Kill.
Lt. Fick is briefing the team leaders on their next course of action. One of the team leaders, Sgt. Colbert, interjects with the Marine equivalent of an emotional outburst. The previous hamlet they had been observing was occupied by women and children and one of the grunts from the regimental combat team opened fire. “All it took was one shot,” Colbert says. “That was just an undisciplined grunt from RCT 1. Everybody opened up and shwacked it over nothing.”
Sgt. Espera gives his own opinion. “Hey, we can only keep our own on the clean dawg. What these other motherfuckers do in this big wide AO (area of operations) ain’t on us.”
Sgt. Colbert persists, “Now I know you all saw our own commanding officer fire off a two-oh-three round in the middle of all that.”
Regardless of whether or not Lt. Fick agrees with either of them is irrelevant. He finally breaks up the argument. “Look, Brad. (He addresses Sgt. Colbert by his first name.) You can’t be living in the past. You need to snap-to. We got a lot of shit ahead of us.”
Sgt. Colbert doesn’t continue to argue, not because he is giving up, not because he has to bow down to his superior, but because he knows the Lieutenant is right. He simply nods, and without a note of dissent, says “Roger that sir.”
The only thing we have control over is our own behavior. At the end of the day it is what we are held accountable for. Sgt Colbert says “roger that” instead of furthering the argument because even though he is a Marine and the behavior of other Marines can reflect poorly upon him, ultimately it is his own behavior he must answer to. So instead of complaining about things that are beyond his control, it is better to say “roger that,” and be ready to deal with whatever else is coming.
If you are sitting in a life boat and its taking in water and all you have with you is a Dixi cup, what are you going to do?
Are you going to sit there and wail about how unfair and hopeless the situation is?
Or are you going to grab the cup and start bailing out the water?
Every morning as I get out of bed, I try to remember those words… “You need to snap-to. We got a lot of shit ahead of us.” …and most importantly, the response. “Roger that sir.”