Gunny's Request~
I have more opinion about the organization I am a part of than I know what to do with, but the following paper is the best generalization of those opinions I can conjure. Please dont think my opinions are limited to the following. This is MY space and I am going to vent my anger and frusteration for the stupidity I am forced by contract to tolerate if I want to!
My Gunnery Sergeant ordered me to have an minimum 1,000 word essay written and on her desk by 0730 the next morning as punishment. I am not positive what I had done wrong, but I believe it was for approaching her desk "looking unmotivated". Whatever it was it was obviously pointless (I will probably have many more stories about this woman as time proceeds). After my college class that night I stayed up late writing this essay. It is far from perfect due to the circumstances I wrote it in, but it gets the point across. The essay had to include all of the following topics: 1.A brief bio about my life 2. My take on being a Marine 3. My job as a disburser (that is the Marine Corps name for the clerks that work pay and travel claims) and why teamwork is important to it. 4. What do I want to do to improve myself.
Essay:
In the many aspects involving my daily life, who I am as a Marine and a person, my job as a Disbursing Technician, and my perception of my standing with the criteria of a United States Marine as it has been presented to me, are all pertinent issues I consider every day. Most of the time, I stop myself from thinking of such issues to avoid dwelling on disappointment.
I, *my name*, was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, but grew up in the hills of southern New York. My nearest neighbor was almost a mile from my house, so I generally depended upon my imagination and my younger twin brothers for entertainment. When I was almost thirteen my parents moved my family to Utah. We had only lived in Utah for seven months before we moved again to a little town in northern California. Although we moved a number of times around the local area, this is where we continue to call "home". The large high school in California presented a plethora of opportunities in contrast to New York or Utah. I took full advantage of these opportunities. My motivation to work with people, and do something the average teenage society would never have the dedication, talent, and initiative to do became the foundation on my reputable positions and responsibilities in an exhausting number of organizations. Unfortunately, I found myself overloaded with all the responsibilities and, my academics suffered. I had never let my responsibilities falter, but my grades continued to decline. My high test scores were the only savior from the fear of a fifth year. The Army found my name when I was applying for music scholarships online. They tried to persuade me to join their band, but I decided if I was to consider music in the military I would only participate in the most prestigious. The Marine Corps and the Army battled for my signature into their organization for weeks after I passed the field audition. In the end, I chose the Marine Corps Band.
Becoming a Marine was endeavoring, to say the least, but I had never been prouder in my life. My expectations were ignorant and pure. Marines were honorable and carried a similar virtue to that of superheroes in my mind. Although my physical fitness was lacking, I thought I would be a superlative Marine. I had the motivation, the dedication, the support of my family and the disciplined disposition. To my surprise, the Marine Corps did not prove it's prestige to my optimistic opinion. In boot camp, effort and motivation were renowned in merit, but in the Corps presented to me today such is not reflected. The incompetent lead aggregations because they serve longer, run faster, and aim better. While I agree all of the latter characteristics are imperative to the Corps, I do not believe they should be the sole requirements of a leader of Marines. The lack of required critical thinking, moral integrity, job proficiency, and strategic skills of the Marines that are, or could be, in my chain of command is not in cohesion with the standards I will place on myself. Such Marines, or "leaders", are permitted to make decisions that influence my life and my family's life both in war and in garrison. In the other side of the debate, not all leaders fall into this category. Those that truly abide by the "band of brothers" concept and make decisions based upon common sense and not upon the adrenaline of one's self-appointed pedestal are respected and noted for such. Why don't more Marines try to gain the confidence, trust, and respect of their juniors vice finding their opinions irrelevant? Being trusted and respected by their Marines wouldn't mean they were too lenient. They could still apply the appropriate sternness to disciplinary situations. Why don't they want their Marines to generally trust what they decide for them or explain their decision so they may learn from it? Why don't they want their Marines to truly wish them a good morning instead of regurgitating a redundant order? These are all questions I have not yet been able to answer, but I have two years left to do so.
In my job as a clerk, teamwork is key. Teamwork is more efficient than overall proficiency. As long as clerks help one another, they are always learning from one another. Work output will become more efficient and fluent if each clerk can expand their knowledge. As a section it is important to be able to depend on those involved so the section can be successful through any task.
With the gauges of a United States Marine, as they have displayed over the short time I have served in the Corps, I believe I have four considerable areas to tend. The first would be my physical fitness. The appropriate actions to such would be an extensive amount of the obvious physical training, particularly running. Second, I need more remediation with an M16A2 rifle in preparation for qualification. Third, my body language is profound, but misleading. I often do not say what I wish to, and instead I dare to say a slight portion of my thought. Such attempt is abandoned whenI realize that my words will probably be considered unimportant or inappropriate; therefore, my body language, although often deceiving, does the communicating. Last and most important, I wish I had the motivation and morale I once had. My own demoralized perception is often exasperating. I find myself thinking about it more often than I should and such thoughts only fester making the subject avoidable. As much as I yearn to love the Corps, I strive and struggle to find reasons anymore, but I consistently try through the trials and tribulations simply because it is how I was raised. As for the rest of my self-evaluation as a Marine, I will continue to value character, integrity, intuitiveness, effort, and intelligence. These aspects I value I believe I have met and will continue to meet. As a Marine I know I am lacking. I will always strive to do better than I did the day before. I do not desire to hold myself to the same expectations as most of my fellow Marines. I have more than the average one-dimensional standards I feel I need to meet. Despite my aggravation, I understand the prestige that lies in the Corps' tradition, reputation, and intent and for that I will continue to be proud.
I have more opinion about the organization I am a part of than I know what to do with, but the following paper is the best generalization of those opinions I can conjure. Please dont think my opinions are limited to the following. This is MY space and I am going to vent my anger and frusteration for the stupidity I am forced by contract to tolerate if I want to!
My Gunnery Sergeant ordered me to have an minimum 1,000 word essay written and on her desk by 0730 the next morning as punishment. I am not positive what I had done wrong, but I believe it was for approaching her desk "looking unmotivated". Whatever it was it was obviously pointless (I will probably have many more stories about this woman as time proceeds). After my college class that night I stayed up late writing this essay. It is far from perfect due to the circumstances I wrote it in, but it gets the point across. The essay had to include all of the following topics: 1.A brief bio about my life 2. My take on being a Marine 3. My job as a disburser (that is the Marine Corps name for the clerks that work pay and travel claims) and why teamwork is important to it. 4. What do I want to do to improve myself.
Essay:
In the many aspects involving my daily life, who I am as a Marine and a person, my job as a Disbursing Technician, and my perception of my standing with the criteria of a United States Marine as it has been presented to me, are all pertinent issues I consider every day. Most of the time, I stop myself from thinking of such issues to avoid dwelling on disappointment.
I, *my name*, was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, but grew up in the hills of southern New York. My nearest neighbor was almost a mile from my house, so I generally depended upon my imagination and my younger twin brothers for entertainment. When I was almost thirteen my parents moved my family to Utah. We had only lived in Utah for seven months before we moved again to a little town in northern California. Although we moved a number of times around the local area, this is where we continue to call "home". The large high school in California presented a plethora of opportunities in contrast to New York or Utah. I took full advantage of these opportunities. My motivation to work with people, and do something the average teenage society would never have the dedication, talent, and initiative to do became the foundation on my reputable positions and responsibilities in an exhausting number of organizations. Unfortunately, I found myself overloaded with all the responsibilities and, my academics suffered. I had never let my responsibilities falter, but my grades continued to decline. My high test scores were the only savior from the fear of a fifth year. The Army found my name when I was applying for music scholarships online. They tried to persuade me to join their band, but I decided if I was to consider music in the military I would only participate in the most prestigious. The Marine Corps and the Army battled for my signature into their organization for weeks after I passed the field audition. In the end, I chose the Marine Corps Band.
Becoming a Marine was endeavoring, to say the least, but I had never been prouder in my life. My expectations were ignorant and pure. Marines were honorable and carried a similar virtue to that of superheroes in my mind. Although my physical fitness was lacking, I thought I would be a superlative Marine. I had the motivation, the dedication, the support of my family and the disciplined disposition. To my surprise, the Marine Corps did not prove it's prestige to my optimistic opinion. In boot camp, effort and motivation were renowned in merit, but in the Corps presented to me today such is not reflected. The incompetent lead aggregations because they serve longer, run faster, and aim better. While I agree all of the latter characteristics are imperative to the Corps, I do not believe they should be the sole requirements of a leader of Marines. The lack of required critical thinking, moral integrity, job proficiency, and strategic skills of the Marines that are, or could be, in my chain of command is not in cohesion with the standards I will place on myself. Such Marines, or "leaders", are permitted to make decisions that influence my life and my family's life both in war and in garrison. In the other side of the debate, not all leaders fall into this category. Those that truly abide by the "band of brothers" concept and make decisions based upon common sense and not upon the adrenaline of one's self-appointed pedestal are respected and noted for such. Why don't more Marines try to gain the confidence, trust, and respect of their juniors vice finding their opinions irrelevant? Being trusted and respected by their Marines wouldn't mean they were too lenient. They could still apply the appropriate sternness to disciplinary situations. Why don't they want their Marines to generally trust what they decide for them or explain their decision so they may learn from it? Why don't they want their Marines to truly wish them a good morning instead of regurgitating a redundant order? These are all questions I have not yet been able to answer, but I have two years left to do so.
In my job as a clerk, teamwork is key. Teamwork is more efficient than overall proficiency. As long as clerks help one another, they are always learning from one another. Work output will become more efficient and fluent if each clerk can expand their knowledge. As a section it is important to be able to depend on those involved so the section can be successful through any task.
With the gauges of a United States Marine, as they have displayed over the short time I have served in the Corps, I believe I have four considerable areas to tend. The first would be my physical fitness. The appropriate actions to such would be an extensive amount of the obvious physical training, particularly running. Second, I need more remediation with an M16A2 rifle in preparation for qualification. Third, my body language is profound, but misleading. I often do not say what I wish to, and instead I dare to say a slight portion of my thought. Such attempt is abandoned whenI realize that my words will probably be considered unimportant or inappropriate; therefore, my body language, although often deceiving, does the communicating. Last and most important, I wish I had the motivation and morale I once had. My own demoralized perception is often exasperating. I find myself thinking about it more often than I should and such thoughts only fester making the subject avoidable. As much as I yearn to love the Corps, I strive and struggle to find reasons anymore, but I consistently try through the trials and tribulations simply because it is how I was raised. As for the rest of my self-evaluation as a Marine, I will continue to value character, integrity, intuitiveness, effort, and intelligence. These aspects I value I believe I have met and will continue to meet. As a Marine I know I am lacking. I will always strive to do better than I did the day before. I do not desire to hold myself to the same expectations as most of my fellow Marines. I have more than the average one-dimensional standards I feel I need to meet. Despite my aggravation, I understand the prestige that lies in the Corps' tradition, reputation, and intent and for that I will continue to be proud.
posted by Kaiya Simons | 5:29 PM
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