As we begin watching these games, think about the thousands of people, from a number of various nations to include our own, that are working tirelessly around the clock to provide security for all the athletes from all over the world. Personally, I’m wishing each and every one of them a very successful Olympic Games, and an even more successful effort in keeping everyone safe. For me, the personal prayer is that “may they all return to their homes safe and sound, without anything ever happening, or anyone being harmed.” I’ve got my fingers crossed, and will sincerely hope for the best. ~ Michael S. Pauley
The Olympics are almost here, and along with most people, I enjoy the international competition and the athleticism from around the world. Whether it is a Jamaican Bobsled Team or the Russian Hockey team, for some reason, I love the atmosphere and the skill that many of these sports entail. This year makes for an even more interesting mix, since the location is rife with potential other or outside issues. Every Olympic game is subject to the potential disruption by a nut, and again, this is not new historically. Ask anyone that remembers Hitler’s use of the games for propaganda in Germany during the 1930s, or anyone that remembers Munich and the Israeli athletes who were kidnapped and brutally murdered, or even in Atlanta, where some misguided soul thought that blowing up people was a good idea. Such things are not uncommon at all, even though they should be non-existent, and they can happen anywhere. What has some people worried is that Sochi, in Russia, has the distinction of being set in an area that is accessible to a myriad of groups that have a clearly stated agenda of harming people. (If they can get to Boston to blow up a Marathon, what can they do here?)
As we begin watching these games, think about the thousands of people, from a number of various nations to include our own, that are working tirelessly around the clock to provide security for all the athletes from all over the world. Personally, I’m wishing each and every one of them a very successful Olympic Games, and an even more successful effort in keeping everyone safe. For me, the personal prayer is that “may they all return to their homes safe and sound, without anything ever happening, or anyone being harmed.” I’ve got my fingers crossed, and will sincerely hope for the best. ~ Michael S. Pauley
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The other day I was reading an article about a unit that was equipped with an older Stryker vehicle. The gist of the article was that the maintenance issues, after having been deployed to a war fighting insurgents, coupled with a significant shift in their mission, was creating “challenges” for the soldiers involved in the program. Reading a little closer, the article mentioned the poor state of the vehicles being used in an exercise, and the mission shift from fighting insurgents in Afghanistan to a newer, more large scale global type mission. In keeping with my last post about budget issues for the Defense Department, this seemed to me to drive home the point. You plan, equip, and train for one thing, and then wind up doing something completely different. Throughout history you will find only a few examples of any Army, or Navy, that was truly prepared for what actually hit them. Moreover, even the ones that appeared to be ready, (e.g. Japan in 1941), discovered that this only lasted over the short term.
The formula is actually pretty simple, especially in leaner times. Maintenance neglect is the real killer with older equipment, lower budgets, and shifting missions. Simply put, if you neglect maintenance, then what equipment you have definitely won’t work. If the wheels are flat, or the weapons won’t fire, then you have taken what little you have to work with completely out of the mix. Sadly, it has been my experience that when an operational tempo becomes too great, then basic things become less important to some rather short-sighted people. Sort of like the closer to the front you get in any war, the more likely you are to find that the rules have been ignored. Sometimes this is a matter of necessity, but in most cases, it is just being slack in the face of what you think must be accomplished, as opposed to what has to be done. Any good infantryman, who expects to live long enough to see another sundown in combat, knows you clean your weapon and keep it serviceable. Same with aviators, who know that if an aircraft isn’t properly maintained, it will ultimately serve as your tombstone somewhere in a remote area. Unfortunately, the soldiers in this article were far to quick to make excuses, and less likely to do something with what they had available. To me that is a “non-hunting dog!” Never blame the mission, when it is your own damn fault that a piece of equipment doesn’t work. That is like blaming the cookie jar when you get busted by your Mom for trying to steal the cookie. So instead of whining, get off your ass, grab the POL and the applicable “dash-10" and start making it serviceable. ~ Michael S. Pauley I am much further along in the book written by Robert Gates, our former Secretary of Defense, and there is nothing that changes my opinion from the previous posting. It is still an excellent work, and although many will be lost in the details of wrangling a defense budget, the point is more about the process. It also serves as a reminder that defense spending is really just the juggling of 100 glass balls while being blindfolded on bouncing on a pogo stick. The entire process requires more than a small dose of prescience about future issues, problems, and developments, and it is then fraught with political issues to further muddy the waters. The key is that to plan for the future, one must also figure out the threats of the future, and then come up with a plan to deal with those threats.
The Department of Defense is often criticized, just as the War Department and Navy Department were until the late 1940s, and in essence this boiled down to their monolithic lack of clairvoyant abilities. The tendency to plan for the last war is often pointed out as the real problem, but people forget that sometimes the only frame of reference is history. By necessity, anyone exposed to this process will realize that it will require a delicate balance between the needs of the “here and now” and the far more ethereal “tomorrow.” Sure, some things you know about the future, for example, a certain ship type or aircraft has a shelf life that will expire after a number of years. Even with extensions, and other magic applied to both a weapon system and a budget, there are just some things that wear out. Meanwhile, other things can’t be guessed at, such as advances in technology in communications, computers, missile systems, etc. These things change rapidly, and when they do, you need to be flexible enough to make those upgrades. Then there are the unexpected events, and in Secretary Gates’ book, you get a real feel for this process when we had to upgrade and develop things to protect individuals in combat from certain new threats in both Afghanistan and Iraq. For anyone ever involved in this process, you have my deepest respect, and a hearty “Thank GOD” that I never had to get involved in it personally. After all, I wouldn’t do well with either a pogo stick or a blindfold. ~ Michael S. Pauley Based on my available time to read and absorb a good book (which isn’t much right now), I am now slowly winding my way through the excellent tome written by Robert Gates, our former Secretary of Defense. It might seem strange to tout someone else’s work on a website about my own literary efforts, but I would highly recommend that everyone take a little time to actually read it. Regardless of your political bent, this insider’s peek into the inner workings of our Government, especially at the highest levels, is insightful and thought provoking. There are a ton of lessons to be learned from his writing, and much more to consider in their full context, as opposed to the media slanted coverage received from the various news outlets. I opined before that I would want to read the matters in context, and now that I’ve begun that process, there is no question that I was correct in the belief that the context is critical to the analysis. It is an excellent look at two Administrations and their approaches to the Defense Department. If you have any interest in how governmental “sausage” is made, then I would highly recommend it. As for the critics, well, I’ve learned from my own efforts that critics seldom bring a clean slate to the table. Do not fall into the trap of letting someone else and their “hidden” agenda keep you from forming your own opinions. Read and decide for yourself, because there is no question that this one is well worth the time it requires. ~ Michael S. Pauley
The amount of time required to keep up these days is becoming a little overwhelming. News is at a fast pace, the course of events is moving like a storm, and the amount of pure raw information is staggering. Through the years I’ve learned to keep a “to do” list so that I don’t forget anything, but these days the list is well over three pages long. This doesn’t sound too daunting, until you realize that the list is typed, single spaced, and with very narrow margins. In other words, “Damn!” As a result, I apologize now for posting much shorter blog updates, which look like they just might get even shorter. It is just that I’ve realized that they will either get shorter, or I will have my head implode sometime within the next week. An unnamed source in the Army once circulated the even older, and quite plaintive axiom, “Sometimes it is hard to remember that the initial objective was to drain the swamp, when your up to your ass in alligators.” Well, I’m in the swamp, and . . . well you get the idea. ~ Michael S. Pauley
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr., day, which to someone like myself, is a special day for remembering the integration of the Military. I can recall that even after Vietnam, the Army was still suffering from “growing” pains, but for me as a young soldier, the real pain had nothing to do with color. It was our collective fear of the drill sergeant. From our melting pot of all races, creeds, religious bents, and city versus country backgrounds, we learned some valuable lessons. We worked together, ate together, lived together, sweated together, and sometimes were killed together. Color meant absolutely nothing, because we were all just one color, “green,” and you didn’t care a damn about the race of the man beside you. I think that this experience, along with the untiring efforts of those like the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., have allowed us to move forward, and to embrace our multi-ethnic force. Social change is never easy, but when you are all facing adversity together, it does have a way of changing the social dynamic more rapidly. I will promise you, when bullets are flying, the last thing on your mind is whether the man next to you is of a particular race or religion. Instead, you think about him as a brother in arms, and brothers don’t see color. Instead, they see a brother for whom they would lay down their lives! For all those who went before us, and paved the way for people of all races, creeds, religions, and backgrounds to serve together in the military, I simply say “thank you for showing the way.” It wasn’t easy, and there are still things that could be fixed, but at least, with their efforts, we’ve collectively found the right road on which to travel. ~ Michael S. Pauley
“When in doubt, run and shout, go in circles all about. . ..” This famous little ditty is often sung by someone under a great deal of professional stress. Oh, they don’t know they are singing it, but you do, or at least you can figure it out pretty quickly. Next time you see the loud guy in line, or the person who is obviously looking like the perpetually late “White Rabbit” from “Alice in Wonderland,” then think of this poem. Trust me, it will fit like a tight shirt. What is interesting, we have a similar problem in the legal profession. While it is a similar axiom, naturally, lawyers have to use a lot more words. Regardless, I have discovered that this version is equally true, and you might learn to spot this in any local news story about something happening in your local court system.
The legal version goes something like this: “If the law is on your side, then pound the law. If the facts are on your side, then pound the facts. If you have neither, then pound the table, and point at the other lawyer.” This is so true, especially when you read in the local press about how someone is holding information from someone else, or about the evil actions of, say, one of the prosecutors or judges that inhabit the system. Not all of them are vile, and not everything is a conspiracy. I know for a fact, from several decades of governmental service, that most governmental activities aren’t organized enough to enter into a conspiracy of any kind, much less some grand scheme that cuts across multiple agencies, at multiple levels of government. ~ Michael S. Pauley Someone I admire, both professionally and personally, has now published a book. You may have heard about it. Duty by Robert Gates, the former Secretary of Defense. While I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, (like when would I have time for that until the weekend), the news media has it covered in massive proportions. Now, despite all the criticism from both liberal and conservative voices (for different reasons as they twist it their way), I have decided to reserve all judgment until I’ve actually read the book. After all, most things require context, and if you think you’re going to get context from the news media, then you might believe that you will also find virginity in the employees of a “house of ill repute.” While it might not be impossible, it sure “ain’t” likely. As for anyone being tossed under the bus, I think that currently serving officers and professionals should hold their tongue. I’ve said it before, and I still believe it. It is also equally notable that those who are no longer serving have no such constraints. As a result, I’m truly looking forward to seeing for myself what was said, and what was written, as opposed to having somebody else tell me without any clue as to context. ~ Michael S. Pauley
This new year has gotten off to a real bang! Most everyone I know is scrambling around, and apparently doing their level best to get monumental things accomplished on an immediate basis. This certainly sounds great and productive, but this is pure illusion. Watching things unfold in my corner of the legal world, I’m struck that most times the reverse is quite true. Many of my colleagues are spinning their wheels, and with each spin of that wheel, it seems that things are slipping further behind. What amazes me is that most people never really consider the option of “pacing themselves,” as opposed to trying to get a year’s worth of work accomplished in the first two weeks of a new year. My Dad used to call it “killing snakes,” I prefer to think of it as just “insanity.” In either instance, the sheer volume of contrived emergencies always has a way of working itself out. Therefore, in my latest effort to maintain one “New Year's Resolution” (keeping it simple), I have now decided that, “someone’s lack of prior planning will no longer constitute an emergency on my part.” I have a feeling this one will last all of about .0003 nanoseconds, or until the phone rings, whichever comes first. ~ Michael S. Pauley
While I’m still scaling the steep slopes of the mountain of paper that grew in my chair, at least I got to see the seat today. It was only a brief view, but there it was, the cheap noxious Naugahide that adorns the office chair. Now, maybe sometime in a few months, there will be enough room for me to put my ever expanding tuchuss in it. I wasn’t really kidding in the last posting, please buy the book before the mountain of paper consumes me. I almost thought I saw a mythical creature as I flipped through a memorandum of things “to do.” If it wasn’t a troll, it missed a very good bet, and to think, until I read the memo, I was convinced they only existed on the internet! ~ Michael S. Pauley
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AuthorMichael S. Pauley is a Navy brat and an old soldier who served in all three components of the United States Army. Living in Lexington, South Carolina, Michael is now a practicing attorney and member of the United States Naval Institute and the American Legion, Post 154, Tybee Island, Georgia. Archives
June 2021
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