005 - Stay CALM

It's always one of the first things I get told, other than why I'm so quiet.. Maybe it's because I disassociate, maybe it's because I'm too focused, or maybe it's because I'm confident. If I'm being honest, I'm not quite sure how I tend to say calm but here's my best guess.. you either take the bull by the horns or like a matador, you say oleee and get the fuck out of the way hahaha.

Story time.. (take notes). A good soldier of mine caught me off guard once saying that he really admired how I always found a way to stay positive and motivate others around me. That day I was actually really stressed, it was a very long day but I guess I wasn't showing it. After that compliment, I just laughed because I caught him in 4k confessing his love for me and maybe embarrassed him a little. I gave him a tired "thanks" and went to bed. The whole morning, leadership was all over my ass to ensure that everyone was engaged with the mission.. you already know how people act up when no one is watching.. soldiers thinking like individuals, wanting to do their own thing.. and personally I couldn't find a place to hide hahaha. So I did the old clipboard and running around looking busy thing and it worked. A little too well.. I was drained. Physically, mentally, emotionally..

I ended up getting an award for that training mission lmao but anyway back to my soldier. This was the guy that MOTIVATED MEEE. I was proud of the soldier he was becoming, quite literally an exemplary soldier high-speed, low-drag. Kind and smart. Very much like a little brother to me. So how is this possible to be looked up to by the person who is objectively better than you? Well, it's because I stayed calm. You gotta fake it till you make it. When shit hits the fan people fold and sometimes break. To me, I knew that the suffering wouldn't last forever. I was thinking long-term, he was on a daily sprint. Of course I wanted to be negative and take the shortcuts, of course. But the "faking being positive" made outcomes a little more bearable. The little act I was putting on (or the stress I was holding in), Jedi mind-tricked others that maybe our situation wasn't actually that bad. If SGT Z ain't tripping, why should I? Luckily everyone at the end of the mission had learned to grab the bull by the horns because truthfully, it had almost trampled me.

If you're not the type to play stupid games and win stupid prizes, then I suggest you move out of the way. Duhhh. But not in an uncalculated way. Rather in a "let me gauge this", an "Ole" kind of way. You don't always have to face your problems head-on. This bull is on your turf. Why not slay it? Stupid bull..

One of the best tips that I used to use all the time to stay calm is this.. remove yourself from the frame. Figuratively and literally. Like a shepherd in the field, you can't lead the sheep when you're in the middle of all the noise. Being a Platoon Sergeant was one of the greatest honors in my life but I don't think I could have kept my head on straight if I hadn't figured this out earlier. When you're in an organization with too many chiefs, and not enough Indians, things fall through the cracks and there's friction. The intent is lost in translation. When everyone is loosing their heads picking at the problem, step out of the frame.. literally!

The best personal example I have is a stupid one but I'll never forget it. How many soldiers does it take to transport a trailer? Apparently a whole company hahaha. We needed to get moving for a night convoy and were already on a time crunch. One of the trailer jacks had been damaged and bent so that it couldn't fold away. There were at least 20 flashlights pointed at the damn thing and no one would do or say anything to get it budged. My curiosity took the best of me and I went over to point my flashlight too hahaha. Everyone was standing around like cavemen staring at fire. What do we do SGT Z?.. bro how bout fix it?? as they used hammers and pry bars I thought about the situation a little and how panicked everyone was because we obviously wanted to go home. It was too crowded and people were breathing down my neck, so I stepped back to give the kids some room to hopefully bend the thing back into place. While I was in the cold dark background, removed from the situation, I thought to myself "Is that thing welded? Or how was it attached?" so I went back to get a second look and lo and behold it was BOLTED ONNN!!! I told my mechanics to work their magic and in 5 minutes we were gone.

The toughest part in implementing this trick is realizing that you're in the noise to begin with.. instead of searching for your answer, in the dark, with a flashlight, why not just hit the light switch?

Cool as a cucumber I like to say. Because if you don't who will? Sometimes we stress because the task at hand is a massive request. But instead of stressing, work at it, and break it down. I joke around that anything is possible but it's true. If someone else has done it why can't you? What makes them special? Remember your training!!! Not actually military training but let's think about this a little. If you know how to drive a car, why not translate that to a boat or bus? Reference your objective to other things that you've done in life. Baby steps. You don't have to be good at it from the get-go. Trust me. Failure is an option, as long as you panic and you don't quit. Remember, slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

*I didn't mean for this into a Platoon Daddy moment but what ever. heres a few pictures about back in the day..