Change is the only constant in life. The problem, both experienced directly as a long-toothed old fart that I realize that I’ve become, as well as that when I was still bushy-tailed and bright-eyed when I viewed the sage wisdom being passed down from my predecessors, is that we observe and experience the world through our own senses. Wherever we go, we are there as ourselves. That is as true in the 3 dimensions of this world and the 4th dimension of time. When I view 9-11…I still have very real manifestations of the emotional rage recipe that I had on that fateful day. I’d imagine it was the same as when my Grandfather told me of Pearl Harbor. Yet, as I saw Pearl as a historical artifact, 9-11 is rapidly becoming the same reference…more disturbing is that it is for those that lived as adults that day!

Now, looking through both experiences (long tooth and bushy tailed), I now believe that it is incumbent upon the institutional champions to maintain the standard / hold the line. Pass down the analog lessons like map reading, terrain association, navigation by sound, setting up hooches, patrol base operations, and making field expedient antennas. Understand that there was no “right” answer…just a bunch of wrong ones to be steered away from: and that due to that, if it worked, it wasn’t stupid.

For the younger ones, both listen to the analog methods, and philosophically wrestle with how to apply those lessons to the new digital frontier of 1s and 0s. There are right and wrong answers – even when those arbitrating right and wrong are limited in their own depth of application. Grow from beyond the binary to see the world of exception. Harvest the lessons of the old farts…

Paramount to this is, as in most things, constant and respectful dialogue. My experiences do not define yours, but yours do not invalidate mine. So long as we both understand that, as professionals looking toward solutions, we have a chance.

More concretely, I am never going to understand the millennial mind. I accept that. However, the millennial mind has not grown broadly from being truly stretched in jungle environments or PKO or MSCA, where nested intent and decentralized execution regularly took place. My requirement, therefore, is to coach, teach, mentor, and train them to be able to be more agile…worthy of that inherent trust…and then to actually TRUST them to exercise that judgement. Trust is vital to the dialogue.

Oh…and as always: Beat Navy.