thanks, Jamal...
I thought I might share an anecdote about Norman Schwarzkopf. I served in
his command for a couple of years, just prior to Desert Storm.
He was a great believer in "inculcating the culture" of service to
country. One of his most notable interests was in celebrating May 1st
(Law Day in the US, and celebrated for other reasons in Warsaw Pact
countries at that time).
Schwarzkopf led his garrison of soldiers (about 20,000+ of us) in swearing
our oath of support and defense to the constitution of the United States
every May 1st at about 6 a.m. The purpose was to remind us that our oath
was to the law of the land--not people or personalities, or positions or
titles. The law is above all people and must be loved and solemnly
defended.
There were many people for whom I had to stand at godforsaken times to
hear them vent their ego--but I always appreciated this one event. To
stand with over 20,000 people and say, "I do solemnly swear to support and
defend the constitution of the United States of America" is one of the
most important pledges I have ever taken. It was a great reminder to each
and all of us what we were doing together--what our primary purpose was.
Being organized around a purpose--the invisible leader--made it that much
easier to follow General Schwarzkopf. After all, we were both on the same
sheet of music.
Thanks for the notes--it reminded me of the culture I was raised in for
more than 20 years.
regards,
Doc
-- "We cannot do great things in life; we can only do small things with great love." -Mother TeresaThresholds--developing critical skills for living organizations Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Olympia, WA ICQ# 10849650 Please visit our new website, still at <http://www.thresholds.com/> <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com>
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