Allow me to preface this with a disclaimer, I was never in the military so I cannot speak about the military model of doing things. I can and will speak from a 30-year career in law enforcement. My career has afforded me to work with a wide variety of role models and leaders, both good and bad, and it has garnered me the opportunity to teach and interact with countless members of the profession across this great nation.
In 1993 when I first stepped into a uniform, I was naïve to put it mildly. As a wide-eyed young man, I was overwhelmed with what I had signed up for. I was quickly exposed to some larger-than-life personalities. The men I saw were the post-Vietnam War era of police work. Those veterans that became cops were harder than petrified woodpecker lips. Their rank was irrelevant, the experience and how they carried themselves overshadowed their rank one thousand-fold. Their command presence was the stuff books and movies were made about. With this came their expectations and their standards. Their expectations were simple, work hard and do your job well. They expected competent and hard work from you. They expected you to be courageous under the direst of circumstances. To quote one of my mentors, Walt Madison, you needed to be able to “Whip your weight in wildcats”. Walt always had the most colorful way of describing things.
As far as the standard is concerned, it was simple. It was not a line in the sand, rather it was a line chiseled in granite. It did not move; it did not fluctuate based on friendships or personal preference. You either met it or you didn’t, end of discussion. Don’t get me wrong, there were those that fell short of the standard. Those people stood out like sore thumbs, and they were told, with no uncertainty, that they were substandard. Now, for those of you that may be saying, “Wow, that’s pretty harsh”, I offer the following for you to consider.
Unless you come from a background of military or public service, you may not have a true understanding on what these folks have signed up for. But as a family member whose loved one has chosen to put on a uniform and carry a gun every day, you expect them to be working with and for competent people. What if your most precious person told you they were going to work for a law enforcement agency where their fellow cops were out of shape, could not make decisions, and when it came to firearms proficiency, they couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat? To add to it, these same cops were lazy and lacked any semblance of morality? What if they were completely selfish and only did things that benefitted their own careers? Would you want your loved one working for this agency? I hope not. So why are we creating these environments? To move away from the “paramilitary” style, to meet staffing requirements, to be a kindler and gentler profession? None of these reasons are bad, but within the left and right lateral limits of reality. When the Superbowl of all incidents happens do you want your loved one stepping onto the field with a bunch of one-armed, one-legged athletes on their team? Probably not.
I am fully aware that I am a dinosaur, and the meteor is coming. I am not on the same wavelength as most younger folks but that is just the evolution of this journey called life. By no means am I saying that my way of thinking is THE way or even correct, it’s just A way. My circle is small, and it transcends age, upbringing, or anything else. I surround myself with people that have high standards, clear expectations and are positive role models striving for excellence, not just in those around them but in themselves. They do not accept “Good enough” as a metric for performance. I get it, this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and that is quite okay. But anyone who has lived that top tier life, anyone who has walked through the fire repeatedly, they do not fear death. Do you know what they truly fear down to every fiber of their being? They fear failing their teammates, physically, mentally, and emotionally. They fear not meeting the standard and disappointing their teammates. These are the expectations, standards, and role models we need. I will end it with this question. Who do you want fighting side by side with your loved one, better yet, who do you want showing up to rescue you in the middle of the night?
There is a balance between absolute self-destruction and constant improvement. Everything is relative to the individual. There are plenty of people comfortable with poor performance. Don’t be one of them.
Cheers mates,
Jon
