What aspects of your organization’s legacy/history can you incorporate in your work?

I’d like to see us highlight and delve into agents of change and supporting players.  I think the Army does an admirable job of highlighting heroism and figures of renown – MoH winners, senior leaders, etc. – but we don’t do as good of a job bringing to the fore examples of the kind of quiet teamwork and people willing to buck the system that have helped us move forward.

At a previous unit we did an LPD highlighting the helicopter pilot and crew who helped stop parts of the Mai Lai massacre.  One of the most stirring passages in ‘A Bridge Too Far’ talks about the unheralded supply airplanes and crews continuing to airdrop supplies under fire – and in at least one case actually on fire.  ‘A Bright Shining Lie’ talks about John Paul Vann who, despite his many flaws, recognized and pushed for change in the strategy in Vietnam as a LTC.

Where I work now, in the Pentagon, I’d like to see us herald some of the stories supporting ‘Victory on the Potomac’ and the political battles the Pentagon waged with itself on Goldwater Nichols.  Legacy/history help us tell a story about ourselves – and I’d like to see our story push towards self-reflection and progress through constructive argument.