GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER - AGAIN
We have another VIP visit, and associated dinner, this week.
AMC (my MACOM) changed leadership in November, and the new CG, a 4-star General, is coming through for a site visit and high-level meetings. She also works in time for the perfunctory meal with the staff followed by a short speech and Q&A.It’s always fun to see a general officer, and the more stars the better so long as you’re not asked to brief them. I briefed the former CG once and it was made very clear to me beforehand that I’d better be completely squared away - I hadn’t actually needed that advice, as I’d seen him tear into some guys before. I practiced my brief for hours beforehand and it went well.
This time all I’m asked to do is eat and listen. I am among the world’s best at those two things.
The dinner is held in a room off the side of the main dining room at the DFAC, and the food is the same as it always is for these events: steak, macaroni and cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, bread, salad.
The visiting contingent is actually quite a bit larger than usual, with the CG bringing a BG (1-star), an MG (2-star), her CSM, and an acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (a post which is normally a presidential appointment though was not in this case, thus the “acting”).
The dinner goes off without incident, and it’s interesting to hear the ASA and CG speak about their experiences in Afghanistan - what strikes them as needing work, etc. The ASA answers some logistical questions about moving equipment through Pakistan (often hairy) and there are the common and expected questions about housing - there is never enough housing.
After the Q&A, a select few of the BDE staff are presented awards for their service in country as they prepare to return home. Generally the BDE CDR will pin the medals, but they try to take advantage of the CG’s presence and she’s obviously amenable to taking part in the ceremony.A brief statement is read with everyone standing at attention, and the CG pins a medal on the lapel of the honoree. A handshake with each of the CG and ASA complete the ceremony, and then the honored says a few words of appreciation.
The crowd dissipates fairly quickly after the awards, though the CG and ASA stick around for a few minutes to take pictures with some of the pack. I’m chatting with a colleague near the back of the room when the CG comes by to pick up her cover. She smiles at me and we shake hands.
“Thanks for your service,” she says.
“Thank YOU, ma’am.”
AMC = Army Materiel Command
MACOM = Major Command
CG = Commanding General
DFAC = Dining Facility
BG = Brigadier General
MG = Major General
CSM = Command Sergeant Major
BDE CDR = Brigade Commander
***
TRAILBLAZERS
One of the persons receiving an award for service well done, just prior to her redeployment* is my friend and colleague Dianne.
Dianne has always been one of the more squared-away persons I work with at the BDE, and iss helpful and friendly to boot. I have a chance to catch up with her after the dinner and she indicates that it is a particular honor to be presented her civilian service award by GEN Dunwoody, our CG.
The reason for this is that GEN Dunwoody, in addition to being our CG, was the first woman to reach the rank of 4-Star General (or equivalent) in any branch of the US military - an advancement rightly earned by all accounts. It was a big deal when she pinned on the 4th star last November, and it made it more of an honor to meet her, listen to her speak, and to shake her hand.
My friend Ken, a SFC, was serving at FT BELVOIR, VA, last November when she was promoted, and was asked to be a security escort during the ceremony - one of a large team. Aware of the historicity of the event, he gladly served, and also asked his wife to bring their two young daughters.
Dianne is genuinely moved by the experience, and tells me a little about her own experiences in the military. I hadn’t known that Dianne served, but not only had she been an officer, she went to West Point in 1976 as a member of the first class to admit women cadets.
We unfortunately don’t get a chance to speak at length about her experiences during that time, but I am duly impressed. It seems even more appropriate, now, that she had the opportunity to meet and be honored by another trailblazer, and put into perspective for me the strides that have been made by and for women in the military.Not that we’re done advancing, of course.
BDE = Brigade
CG = Commanding General
SFC = Sergeant First Class
* Redeployment = going home. It sounds more like you’re deploying again, and for this reasonI have long argued for the use of “undeploying” but it hasn’t caught on.
***
HE CALLS HIMSELF “A RELIC”
Though I didn’t get a chance to speak to him (aside from a “Hi, how are you?” - “Good, sir”) the AMC CSM, CSM Mellinger, is actually the last active duty draftee in the US military.
Drafted in 1972 during the Nixon administration for service during the Vietnam War, CSM Mellinger is still serving after almost 27 years and is the highest-ranking NCO in my command.
AMC = Army Materiel Command
CSM = Command Sergeant Major
NCO = Non-Commissioned Officer
***
YOU THINK I’M SOMEONE ELSE, DON’T YOU?
I’m certain this COL has me confused with someone else.
I see him once a week at a VTC held at the BDE, and occasionally out and about the post. Every time I see him, he gets a big smile and shakes my hand, pats me on the back, and animatedly asks how I am. I respond in kind, but with a fair amount of confusion tinging the whole experience from my end.
I thought at first that he’s just a very friendly guy, and by all appearances he does seem particularly nice, especially for an O-6. But I can be sitting in a row of people, all of whom he sees as often as he sees me, and he picks me out to greet, happily.
A few months ago I had a request from home that I chased up a chain to a MAJ who stonewalled me. She was downright rude, and refused to help, which baffled me because I wasn’t asking for much. This MAJ ultimately worked for the abovementioned COL (though there are some folks in between), and I considered going over her head to him for help.
I worried about that, though, because I was afraid if I actually explained what it is I do, he’d realize I’m not whoever he thinks I am. It’s not that I wanted the attention, but I was afraid it would embarrass him, and therefore me, when it dawned on him that I hadn’t said anything earlier.
Luckily, the request was pulled back from the home office and I walked away from the problem, letting the MAJ think she won (which rankled me).
Before the 4-star dinner, I see this COL and he walks by me, smiling. I have grown a beard and probably need to trim it up; the COL actually pulls on my beard for a second and says “Gettin’ pretty scruffy!” and keeps walking.
I can only imagine he has me confused with someone else.
COL = Colonel
VTC = Video Teleconference
BDE = Brigade
O-6 = the rank of COL in Army
MAJ = Major
