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Defining Balance as a Military Professional

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Balance – it’s a concept many military professionals embrace philosophically but fail to employ in their day-to-day lives. We are committed to our profession, and with that commitment comes significant responsibility. We carry the organization’s weight on our shoulders all day, every day, knowing our performance impacts Soldiers’ lives and their ability to accomplish mission. Further, we know that most jobs are “make or break” for our military careers. If you want to be a battalion commander, you have to excel in key and developmental positions. We know our personal lives are important, but that often importance gets lost in the grind of our daily duties: emails, meetings, last-minute tasks, serious incident reports; the list goes on and on. This article isn’t intended to solve balance, providing a simple equation to calculate how much time you need to spend at the office today. Unfortunately, it just isn’t that simple. The purpose of this essay is to provide a better definition of balance for the military professional.

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Achieving and Maintaining Balance

A Guest Post by Stephen Ford

 

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U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Roberto Di Giovine

“Discover what it is that makes you passionate then grab a firm hold. Cherish it proudly and guard it with great DetermiNation.” -Linda Henson

It is Friday afternoon in the office and you can barely hear yourself think. People are talking, phones are ringing, keyboards are clicking, and meetings are being called. You find yourself wondering, where was this energy on Monday? On Tuesday? Why does the noise-level steadily increase throughout the week until it becomes a deafening roar on Friday afternoon? Just as you prepare to leave for an anniversary dinner with your spouse, the brigade executive officer calls a meeting with all the staff primaries to discuss the operations order he just received from division. Regretfully, you call your spouse with the news that you’ll have to reschedule the dinner – again.

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Is Balance Truly Possible as an Army Leader?

A Guest Post by Charles H. O'Neal

 

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Photo by Staff Sgt. Joe Armas

Senior leaders throughout my career have always told me to live a balanced life. “The Army will get you when it wants you,” they would say. “Take advantage of family time now.”

I once asked a panel of senior leaders – a former member of the National Security Council, a former Service secretary, and a retired commanding general of a combatant command – how they found balance. Without hesitation, they smirked and replied, “At this level, it’s just about impossible.”

In a high operational tempo, high demand, high responsibility career in the military, how do career professionals best find balance?

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Work-Life Integration

A Guest Post by Dan Hodermarsky

 

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Photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

As officers (both commissioned and non-commissioned) our personal and professional lives are bound together, trying to split them apart is an exercise in futility. The real question isn’t how to achieve a nirvana-like balance between personal and professional time – it’s determining WHY we feel the need to work the hours that we do. Once we answer that question for ourselves, we own it as grown men and women. I offer a few points to my fellow officers: the Army is a profession, but not an excuse to neglect yourself or your family; bottom line, it’s about how much you get done, not the hours spent at work; ensure you aren’t wasting your own time or that of your unit; do the routine things, routinely; make time to think about the next set of objectives; trust and invest in systems; and lastly, know your red lines.

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Work-Life Balance is not an Equal Distribution

A Guest Post by Dave Wright

You are probably expecting me to offer advice on how to achieve a state of bliss between service to the Army and time with your family. Sadly, I believe that achieving perfect balance between work and family is impossible. Balance, by its very definition, implies an equal distribution of weight. However, in my opinion, any implication that a service member can achieve a perfect balance is a lie. Instead, as Army Leaders we find ourselves in a state of constant internal conflict, an emotional struggle between the duality of our obligations to duty and to our loved ones. On one hand, we have the obligations to our oaths, our Soldiers, our unit, and a desire to accomplish the mission. In direct opposition, but no less important, are the commitments we have made to our loved ones and family. In more simplistic terms, you love two families; one of brothers and sisters in arms and equally important, your family. You will struggle to give both families the time, energy, focus, and love they both deserve and require. Nevertheless, it will never be an equal distribution, the gravity of this profession and the sincerity of love prevent this. If we try, seeking perfect balance becomes an unwinnable zero-sum game where a relationship will collapse.

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Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Christopher M. Blanton

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Why a Lack of Prioritization Leads to Imbalance

A Guest Post by James McCarthy

 

An Airman assigned to the 14th Weapons Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kevin Tanenbaum

Successful leaders understand the value of command guidance and task prioritization. Through 17 years of war, sequestration, and military force reductions, our armed forces are consistently asked to “do more with less.” It is the job of commanders and supervisors at all levels to separate the mission essential from the extraneous in order to give both themselves and their subordinates ample time to rest and recover.

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The SAMS Graduate Field Grade Experience

Know the Expectations

U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin D. Biven

Major James Bithorn recently wrote an excellent post with the goal of preparing new graduates from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) for their next few years following graduation (check it out here). My goal is to complement his well-written article with a description of the expectations that newly minted SAMS planners will encounter, particularly at that first assignment – the post-SAMS utilization as planners at two or three-star headquarters.

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Professional Travel, Like a Pro

I’m typing this post from row 34, seat F, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, at about 31,000 feet. I’ve been on and off of the military travel circuit for about eight years now, averaging between four and twenty-four weeks TDY annually. I’ve had some great experiences over the years, from the jungles of Malaysia to the trains in Tokyo, but these experiences have come at a cost. Each hour on the ground in Malaysia requires days of travel, impacting the military professional, their organization, and their family. This post serves as a guide for those professionals on the TDY circuit and focuses on methods to reduce the stress associated with travel, maintain a healthy lifestyle while away, and maintain proper contact, both personally and professionally. Though I provide a bunch of links to useful products, I am in no way affiliated with or receiving compensation for endorsing them.

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The SAMS Graduate Field Grade Experience

A Guest Post by Major James C. Bithorn

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You have spent the last nine months working hard – reading 300-400 pages per night, writing, and revising your monograph repeatedly, studying for oral comprehensive exams – and now you are finally ready.  Having walked the stage at Marshall Auditorium and the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) in your rearview mirror, you can now focus on the next three years of your life as a Field Grade (FG) Officer.  Given that the Army has made an investment in your ability to solve complex, ill-structured problems, how do you take this knowledge and apply it as a Corps or Division planner and later as an S3 or XO?  The following is a compilation of lessons learned – some easy and others a bit tougher – that I have gathered during my tenure in a Division.  This essay traces the path of a maneuver Field Grade, from utilization as a planner to Battalion and finally Brigade FG time.  Though the paper follows my perspective as an infantryman in a BCT, my aim is to provide a resource useful for any SAMS graduate, regardless of branch.

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Congratulations to the Graduates of CGSC Class of 2018

A Guest Post by Brigadier General Ross Coffman

Stay Positive

Congratulations to the graduates of the 2017-18 GCSC class. In a few weeks, you will depart Fort Leavenworth and starburst outward to new assignments across the world. But before you move to the next part of your career, I would like to offer you one piece of advice. Almost two decades ago, I was in your shoes and I dealt with many of the same struggles that you are about to face. Since that time, I have witnessed the annual arrival of new Majors to our Army units. Through these experiences, I have come to believe that there is one leadership quality that separates a Major who makes a positive difference and those that fall victim to what I call the Angry Iron Major Syndrome. The pattern begins early, with your experience in prior units or during your year at Fort Leavenworth. The symptoms start with seemingly innocent conversations, such as when peers gather and every conversation devolves into raging against the ‘Army’ machine. Some of this venting and discussion is cathartic, but much of it becomes poisonous. Be mindful that, when you introduce and perpetuate this perspective, negativity can lead to cynicism and emotional frustration. If not controlled, this pessimism can become your defining characteristic. I believe that the attitude that you bring to your next series of assignments will determine your effectiveness and your legacy.