Right On!

Seasoned veterans of the military chuckle at the mention of a “Second Lieutenant”. The lowest rank among commissioned officers, the 2Lt. is, more often than not, new to the Armed Forces, let alone to leadership. The humor, at the Lieutenant’s expense, is well deserved.

Been there, done that!

As an eager, gung-ho 2^nd Lt. assigned to the role of a Platoon Leader in Cold War Germany, I was energetic in my quest to become competent and “all that I could be.” Raised in a Midwestern environment of family who were hard-working, self-reliant, church-going Illinoisans, there was always the thought that we weren’t better than anyone, and neither were others better than us.

Accordingly, I took my first job after high-school as the night shift janitor at Edwards hospital in neighboring Naperville. During the Summer I poured concrete and worked at Cerro Copper in Sauget as a United Steel Worker. I did my own tune-ups, changed my own water pump, rebuilt carburetors, and kept my ’69 Mustang running (with no heat) within the constraints of a young man’s budget. (Car heat was a luxury, the water pump a necessity).

Initially I approached being an Officer of our damn fine Army with the same values.  I considered myself a working stiff who merely happened to be a 2^nd Lt.  In some sense I was embarrassed by my new class distinction.  During my first months, I noticed one day the office floor needed to be swept. Wanting to show soldiers that I wasn’t afraid of work, that there was no work beneath me and that I was willing to do what I expected them to do, I grabbed the broom and began to sweep.

Not a few minutes later my Platoon Sergeant, a Green Beret Viet Nam veteran, came into the office, took me out into the hallway and said: “Sir, what are YOU doing?” I answered: “Sergeant Lutz, I’m doing what needs to be done, and setting the example. No one can say I am ‘too good to sweep.’”  He nodded, knew my intent, but said: “Sir, you’re an officer. Soldiers expect you to do officer work, and to tell them to do soldier work. Sweeping is not officer work.” Trusting his experience, I relinquished the broom and he made sure the floor was swept.  I never touched a broom in uniform again.

The story made me think of our President.  He’s not from a wealthy family, didn’t grow up in a life of privilege, but is already in a world class leadership position as a young man.  I see traces that indicate he isn’t quite yet comfortable being the world’s most powerful man.  From “regular Joe” to leader is not an easy transition. Imagine how much more difficult the adjustment to President is!

It takes time.

I hope he has people like SFC Lutz, who have the nation’s best interest at heart, to help him. 

We'll see.