Re: The Kiss of Death

[David Dubin <David_Dubin -at- BESTSOFTWARE -dot- COM>]

Laurie Morgan, in her response to releasing military backgrounds in a job
search wrote, "On the other hand, a software development company (where
there is a cultural
emphasis on creativity and flexibility  in design of both product and
documentation) might be uneasy with someone with military background,
making
the assumption (rightly or wrongly) that someone with that background might
be
too rigid and inflexible to adapt to a rapidly changing environment."



I am a military retiree with 27 years of service and, while I honor your
viewpoint, I cannot agree with it on two levels.



First of all, I came up through the ranks, having enlisted after five
semesters of college. I went from private through to sergeant and was
recommended for a commission, which I received from the Officer Candidate
School program. From the time I was a private until I went through Command
and General Staff College, the Army trained me to assess the situation,
plan for the mission, and remain FLEXIBLE in the implementation.



Most civilians, like you, view military people as "too rigid and inflexible
to adapt to a rapidly changing environment". But let me ask you one
question, what environment can be more rapidly changing than a battlefield?
One of the first rules that a soldier learns is that, when the first bullet
is fired, the contingency plans become active and your training, instincts,
and skills kick in. That is one reason that the Army has always been
supportive of training, training, and training.



I spent two tours in Vietnam and helped plan portions of Desert Shield and
Desert Storm and I can tell you that if a commander at any level isn't
flexible and adaptable, he or she quickly becomes a liability to both the
mission and his or her troops. And it is not just the combat troops, but
the support troops that need that imagination, flexibility, and reactivity.
One of the keys in a modern battlefield is the integration of real-time
intelligence and telecommunications to know what is going on, where, and to
relay that information to the command and back to the supporting and
supported units. The term "fog of war" no longer has anything to do with
gunpowder, but with a lack of information and communication. How many
college grads with one TW or training job behind them have the same
training and experiences as a college grad with the same year military
experience? I know, because I've been there and done that.



The second reason that I disagree is based on my own experience. My former
employer was the IT department of the world's largest financial services
company and the company that I currently work for is a middle-market leader
in the software industry. They appreciated my military experience because
they knew that, when things got tough and stuff went FUBAR, I could be
counted on to stay calm, stay focused, and get the job done. They knew I
wouldn't bitch about long hours because I am both team and mission
oriented, and they knew that I would use all of my experience to teach
others to be better writers, developers, and trainers.


In my life, both civilian and military, I have not cared who or what a
person was, but what that person could bring to the table to enhance the
output of my team. By automatically writing military men and women off, an
employer is not only losing a great pool of skill, of talent, and of people
who truly understand the meaning of the concept of teamwork.



David Dubin

This has been one man's opinion, yours may vary with mileage or experience


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