(It has been tough uploading or writing from Kuwait. I wrote the next two on the plane over and will update more when I get a place to sit and write in comfort.)
“Sir, I just have to tell you that you have been a blessing to me these past weeks!” Wow! Me? I wouldn’t have thought it since I am just being myself; relaxed, solving problems, wearing my hair long (relatively) putting my hands in my pockets and finding the humor in everything that is happening around me. What a compliment.
I suspected that Major Dee Brown was a little more competent than most when I sent her a couple of emails while I was still back in California working through details on our arrival. Nothing of real importance (bus schedules, housing, air field repairs and how to feed everybody) or difficulty. So take notes on how to impress me; respond to all emails immediately either with an answer, an acknowledgment of receipt or a clarification email. That isn’t too hard, so let me follow it up with one more step; determine the real question and identify whether you can or can’t solve the problem with your resources or contacts.
Major Deeshaun Marie Brown is an activated reservist serving at Ft. Hood assisting with Division West (First Army) in making sure that the units coming through get what they need to train. She is the S4 and is my complement. She is a graduate of USC.
“Aviators are normally the worst, you know? Especially the active duty ones! You all are so much easier to work with. Your Aviators are so laid back. But the active duty ones are just a pain; you know what I’m saying?”
Yes. I know what you are saying.
She stands about 5’ 8” with cherubic cheeks, a firm stocky figure with large expressive eyes showing the laughter and the anger of her soul and the joy in her heart. She works for Paccar in Texas, around Dallas and has some multiple interests but is unmarried with no pets.
Our conversation goes to the African American thing because I always struggle just a little with people who identify themselves so strongly by their race. I see green (okay, now I see computer generated ACU patterns, but it used to be green…) when I look at Soldiers. I prize competence without excessive pride; coolness under pressure without being lazy and a deep caring for Soldiers and other people. I value leadership traits. The more you have them the more I value you and race and gender really don’t play a part in that.
“I’m black. I don’t go in for that whole, African American thing, you know. I am just black” she says as I ask her about that racial naming convention (a naming convention is what you name stuff; for roads it might be States, phase lines it might be colors and for checkpoints it might be birds. This way when you are on Georgia heading for purple and will notify when crossing bluebird everybody knows how different items will be named when planning. It is a big help. And if they say call when crossing Virginia you know it will be a road and not a phase line or a checkpoint.
What about that “sister, hands on the hips thing?”
“Ooooh! You mean like this?” as she puts one foot forward, places her hands on her hips and gives an exaggerated neck roll and then that stare that black women can give you. Finally she finishes with a hand gesture up above her head and across her body and back across snapping her fingers at each change of direction.
Yeah. That is it! I try it myself and over the weeks we have some back and forth. We seem to hit it off and she seems to enjoy coming around the first week or so as we worked out the logistical issues that would crop up. She would sit close and confide about this issue and that related to the multiple agencies that work and control the North Fort Hood complex.
I would walk her out to her car at the Boondocks and give her a small hug. I learned to hug in the military from my Battalion commander LTC (now COL) Brandweiss. When she came on board she was a hugging machine and eventually I learned to hug her. She was a great commander and she was followed by another female commander (LTC Flencer) who was NOT a hugger, but just as nice and friendly as the first. I don’t hug my own Soldiers as it isn’t appropriate but with some people it is just the right thing to do.
Begin an Aside
As an aside, I think it is seven and counting. The latest is the Troop Medical Clinic at NFH. They have a policy that there are no weapons allowed in their clinic. NFH encourages all units to have all Soldiers carry their weapons at all times to practice being miserable simulate what it could be like in Iraq, but it isn’t (for us). That information of course isn’t listed in the TMC guidelines for sick call. Somebody has to hold your weapon outside or you need to get it secured (properly; locking it in your locker isn’t “secure”) and it is a hassle.
If they actually allowed our medical section to do any medical work (they didn’t) maybe we wouldn’t need to do that. We could have our own rule, but our medics sat around and made coffee and putzed around while our Physician’s Assistants and the Doc were relegated to reviewing some paperwork and hanging out because they weren’t credentialed by the Fort Hood medical establishment. Fortunately upon arrival in Iraq they can start doing immediately what they were forbidden from doing at NFH. Bureaucracy exists everywhere doesn’t it?
End Aside
She was friendly and happy to see everybody on the staff. “Hey! Where is Sexy Jake! I gotta say hi to Sexy Jake” she would say as she came up to our open area overlooking the main classroom. (Sexy Jake deserves his own post, but he is my other assistant who was sashaying down the hall to the showers and I commented about how he was acting all sexy. And of course, with a little effort, the nickname stuck. In professional company we refer to him as “SJ” so we maintain that level of professionalism, but I think he likes the moniker.)
When she got into evaluator mode for our MRE she came in with fire and speed. She was on a mission. “Okay, so let s go over this because the Colonel needs to have it and I want to get it done.”
As the new acting XO she had a lot of other responsibilities and sometimes the people she is working with “...are helpless. They really are. I mean look at this email. Have you invited this officer to this party and the invitation clearly states that he is invited?! So what am I doing for these invitations, like I need to hold these people's hands? I mean I love them, I really do, but sometimes…and it took a little while to adjust for some. My Master Sergeant, he is infantry you know. That mentality! Like, “Why can’t he just sign the memo!” and we know there is a process. The Colonel deserves to have a memo that has already been reviewed and is error free, you know? But it has taken awhile for him to become a little more garrison. I love my people I really do, but oh gracious!” and she smiles and laughs and shakes her head.
“They don’t really like me, but they like that I get things done. And if they want me to help them I just ask that they are all in. If they are all in I will stick with it to get it done, but if they waffle and don’t know what they I have to tell them to leave. I don’t have time for it.”
How about that other fellow? Did he make you angry? “Him? I tell you what I just want to go all "Sister" on him you know? I really do sometimes. He just doesn’t get it. I mean, really, who came up with that FARP idea? Just him. Did he pass it by the TSB folks? Ask me? And OH! They all were like how are we going to do this and they don’t have a convoy clearance and I am saying, you are just asking NOW for a convoy clearance? Did it catch you by surprise when you (the TSB) are responsible for helping them plan this and the TSB knew for weeks that they were going to do this? They want to have a FARP at an airport? Are you kidding me? We can do that ANYWHERE at Ft. Hood, but no! We have to go 90 miles and not even at our training area there but a Public airport? What were they thinking?”
So she takes us through the ringer in a five minute stand up so she can make some good notes to give to the evaluating Colonel (whichever on that is) and off she goes not to be seen for another three days. Taking care of business and doing the important work of her battalion.
Can you tell she is a USC graduate? I am a Trojan myself…She from University of South Carolina and me from Troy University. But we both get a great reaction when we just tell the half-truth. Our secret; please don’t tell!
Before I left we had lunch together and we talked some more. “Six Sigma? These guys could use some of that. Oh my gosh, at Paccar we are all Six Sigma and process improvement all the time”. Is there hope for NFH? “They don’t know the meaning of process improvement. There are seven different agencies or more involved in every little thing here and nobody is actually in charge. It just won’t get better.”
As we parted I walked her to her car (which is a polite gesture for everybody to emulate I believe) and gave her another hug.
Major “Downtown” Deeshaun Marie Brown deserved her own post just for being fun and a pleasure to work with and now she has it. Thanks and may you help all those who follow us.
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