I don’t know if the Soldiers are getting a hot breakfast or not.
I was running a range and our HHT Commander, CPT Francis “NO SLACK” Andrews, drove up. A Ranger. We were using some of his equipment and personnel, and he came to check on them. It was late morning on a hot August day. He walked over to a lister bag (a canvas water bag that is hung up) and thumped it. He called me over.
“Lieutenant, there’s no ice in this lister bag”
I thumped the bag.
“Well, Sir, it’s hot and I guess the ice has melted.”
He looked at me.
“Lieutenant, there’s no ice in this lister bag.”
I thought that maybe he had misunderstood me.
“Yes, Sir, it’s a warm day and I guess the ice has melted”.
He looked me right in the eyes.
“Lieutenant, I told you that there is no ice in this lister bag.”
OK, I saw what he was getting at.
“Well, Sir, they are Soldiers and they’re expected to put up with a little hardship.”
The bomb went off.
“LIEUTENANT! GET THOSE HEELS TOGETHER! YOU ARE EITHER STUPID OR LAZY AND PROBABLY BOTH! WE ASK THESE MEN TO RISK THEIR LIVES FOR US AND THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS GIVE THEM COLD WATER TO DRINK! NOW YOU WILL GET IN THAT JEEP AND BRING BACK SOME ICE FOR THE LISTER BAGS AND I MEAN NOW!!!”
My feet didn’t even touch the ground as I dove into the jeep. A lot of people would have been angry and hurt. I am eternally grateful to NO SLACK. He took the time to teach a young Lieutenant about caring for Soldiers. It’s too bad Obama didn’t have a Captain Andrews to teach him. He’d be a much better President.
Meals - soldiers should always have the best meals the tactical situation allows. Soldiers ate first, NCOs second, officers last. If there wasn't enough it was a planning problem, and the soldiers were not the ones to blame.
Money - when a soldier has a pay issue, every swingin' richard in the chain of command needs to move heaven and earth to get it fixed last week.
Mail - perhaps not such a big deal now with email, but back in the day, mail call needed to be handled just like the meals: as prompt and often as the tactical situation allowed.
Mrs./s - NEVER, under any circumstances mess with a soldier's wife or girlfriend. Not just in the obvious manner, but never demean them or embarass a soldier because of them. This doesn't mean you don't get a soldier's attention to maintain good order and discipline if his wife is causing a problem, you just do it tactfully and confidentially.
You were a little slow to catch on there. LOL
I loved your story and only disagree with the part at the end
about Obama learning something. He honestly believes the media hype about how smart he is and would never have read the situation with the insight you did. Thank you for your service to our country.