Officers With PhDs Advising War Effort

[marct]

Hi George,

Marc:

More small humor from "the old coot" kibitzer.

Not at all! It is "the sharing of relevant experience". Besides that, I'm an Anthropologist and one of the things that we know is that stories are the basis of "learning" because they combine both emotion and logic .

Unique thinking, and different experiences can all help solve problems, including war and civil affairs issues, if one has an open mind and can relate the pieces of the puzzle in an understandable and practical outcome manner.

I totally agree with that. I remember, during the 2nd year of my Ph.D. fieldwork, I was asked to give a "critique" seminar to the career counsellors I was studying. Within 20 minutes, we got into an intense discussion of how to construct their seminars using a model from the study of ritual (actually, a variant of Victor Turner's work). The discussion moved through all sorts of different religious traditions and, by about 25 minutes int it, we were arguing the relative merits of ecstatic rituals vs contemplative ones in training people how to write resumes. There was something surreal about discussing Divine Pomander and The Gospel of Norea in a business boardroom, but the changes made in their seminars reflected that conversation and, in the end, proved much more effective in getting people to write good resumes.

Marc

[George L. Singleton]

Hi George,



Not at all! It is "the sharing of relevant experience". Besides that, I'm an Anthropologist and one of the things that we know is that stories are the basis of "learning" because they combine both emotion and logic .



I totally agree with that. I remember, during the 2nd year of my Ph.D. fieldwork, I was asked to give a "critique" seminar to the career counsellors I was studying. Within 20 minutes, we got into an intense discussion of how to construct their seminars using a model from the study of ritual (actually, a variant of Victor Turner's work). The discussion moved through all sorts of different religious traditions and, by about 25 minutes int it, we were arguing the relative merits of ecstatic rituals vs contemplative ones in training people how to write resumes. There was something surreal about discussing Divine Pomander and The Gospel of Norea in a business boardroom, but the changes made in their seminars reflected that conversation and, in the end, proved much more effective in getting people to write good resumes.

Marc

As a co-founder and past Alabama State Chairman of the Chuck Colson Prison Ministry, there are some (not vast numbers, but some) one-time, non-violent, higher IQ ex-offenders (ex-cons) who could make good enlisted men and women for any/all branches of our services. IN the process they would find a niche in life and could become military "lifers." These men and women are not of any one ethnic or racial background in my experience, but of all colors and backgrounds, bascially all from in the main poorer homes or lack of homes, and in need of remedial reading courses and such.

From experience of 6 years on the Board of the Alabama Department of Youth Services (our juvenile, under age 18 jail system) we found the same thing, young teenage boys and girls, few but some in number there who could benefit the military if remedial reading and a stable environment were available, such as the military.

In the middle of a hot war may seem an odd time to address this topic. But, some small subset of these do not need remedial reading, are actually well educated and just made stupid/dumb one time mistakes, and could be of use and easily/readily trained at the grunt use level right now.

Please don't stop the war to deal with these side issues, but someone in military manpower should be gleaning these inputs and talking to the various service recruiting commanding generals to get something done to get and use the virtually ready to go now teenagers and younger adult ex-cons who made a one time, non-violent huge mistake. They are salvagable and I believe in the main would make good enlisted personnel.

George Singleton

[marct]

Hi George,

Please don't stop the war to deal with these side issues, but someone in military manpower should be gleaning these inputs and talking to the various service recruiting commanding generals to get something done to get and use the virtually read to go now teenagers and younger adult ex-cons who made a one time, non-violent huge mistake. They are salvagable and I believe in the main would make good enlisted personnel.

And, quite possibly, excellent officers .


Historically, military organizations have been an excellent way of allowing "troubled youth" (I think that's the current PC phrase) to get a good swift kick in the fundament and give them a chance to get both a future and a sense of meaning. And, given the nature of the current conflict, it's not a side issue - it is a fundamental problem.

Marc

[Steve Blair]

Hi George,



And, quite possibly, excellent officers .


Historically, military organizations have been an excellent way of allowing "troubled youth" (I think that's the current PC phrase) to get a good swift kick in the fundament and give them a chance to get both a future and a sense of meaning. And, given the nature of the current conflict, it's not a side issue - it is a fundamental problem.

Marc

Actually I think it's "challenged youth" or "youth at risk" these days. Or possibly "alternate behavioral lifestyle-oriented persons of pre-adult status"....

[slapout9]

Hi George, I don't know for sure but several years ago Marion Military academy was having tremendous financial problems. How and if that was resolved I don't know but they were trying to get major funding to remain open without drastic increases in tuition. PS- I will be in B'Ham next Thursday and Friday maybe we could meet up for lunch? Hey, you no where Duck town,Tenn, is? My parents are from there. Also you married an Auburn girl? Which side do you sit on when you go to the Iron Bowl

[George L. Singleton]

Hi George, I don't know for sure but several years ago Marion Military academy was having tremendous financial problems. How and if that was resolved I don't know but they were trying to get major funding to remain open without drastic increases in tuition. PS- I will be in B'Ham next Thursday and Friday maybe we could meet up for lunch? Hey, you no where Duck town,Tenn, is? My parents are from there. Also you married an Auburn girl? Which side do you sit on when you go to the Iron Bowl

Thanks for your note. Send me your cell phone number by e-mail with date and time of day you may be reachable here in Bham and we can have lunch, fine with me.

1. MMI went broke and the State of Alabama took over the two year junior college program, from which in the past Second Lieutenant's flowed in goodly numbers.

2. The prep or grades 6-12 private school of MMI remains just that, private, and also remains "broke." That issue, grades 6-12 is still being "discussed."

3. The President of MMI is retired Marine Colonel James H. Benson, who has his PhD about completed from George Washington University in DC.

4. My wife is a Yankee, a graduate of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Our oldest of three daughters has two architecture degrees from Auburn. Except for the Iron Bowl we sit with Auburn at Auburn games; with Alabama at Alabama games; and I sit with Alabama at the Iron Bowl, Alice switches, sometimes sits with our Auburn graduate daughter, sometimes with me, the Bama grad.

5. Yes, I know Duck town, great place and area. Tennessee is a great state. Two of our three daughters chose to live and work in TN, one did two degees on scholarships at Vanderbilt, in fact. I sure couldn't afford VU with three children overlapping 3.5 years out of the 5 years (architecture is a 5 year degree) they were all three at Auburn, Vanderbilt and Furman (VU & Furman = our twin daughters).

6. My late Dad did his college during the very early 1920s in the night division of Pace University in NYC, then named Pace & Pace Institute, where he studied accounting and auditing. He later did extra coursework at Auburn University in accounting and auditing when/while he was Chief Examiner of Public Accounts, Alabama's equivalent of other states Auditor's job. *Dad was #7 of 8 children.

REGARDING MARION MILITARY INSTITUTE:

In 2005 I donated to MMI's military museum my late Uncle Alex Singleton's WW I Sgt's wood tunic, with three wound stripes on the sleeve (that would be three Purple Hearts) together with his metalic thread sewn on Sgt's stripes. My late Dad, Bennett Powell Singleton of Union Springs, Bullock Co., Alabama, was Alex Singleton's younger brother. Dad (bps) was America's youngest veteran of WWI, ran away from home and enlisted in the Alabama Army Guard at age 14; two weeks later his Troy, AL ANG Company was called up with President Wilson's Declaration of War against Germany that kicked off US involvement in WW I. Dad was a Corporal, a Squad Leader. He was wounded in a trench in France when a German shell burst in the air over them. All his squad, four men on either side of Dad, were killed outright by the shell burst. Shrapnel blew off the left side/brim of Dad's pie-hat helmet, knocking him out. When Dad came to, all his squad dead, his Lt. was blowing the whiste to go over the top and attack the German lines. Dad did this, alone! He captured 25 Germans who simply "gave up" when this lone, skinny Corporal approached with a rifle mounted with his long bayonet!

Dad mustered out of WWI, then in Germany in the Allied Army of Occupation, at age 16, was returned to an Army post in South Carolina, where he was given a train ticket home to Alabama.

My Grandfather Singleton, who died 5 years before I was born, was a real "hard ass" lay Methodist minister, Probate Judge, and local businessman, general store, etc, etc. He welcomed my father, now with two Purple Hearts (wound stripes) home by blessing him out for running away from home. Dad's "punishment" was to be sent to Marion Military Institute, where he was "jump started" as a junior, having only completed the 8th grade before WW I!

Since Dad's WWI uniform/gear were stolen by the movers when we moved from Alabama to Tennessee in the late 1940s. I used my inherited from my first cousin, his Dad was my Uncle Alex, WW I uniform blouse (NCO) to donate to the MMI military museum. This in 2005 really made my old Karachi Army friend, now a retired 08, furious, as he wanted me to give that wool WW I NCO tunic to some newly being formed Army Museum in Pittsburgh, PA where I never lost anything!

Uncle Alex during WW I was also a brevit Lieutenant for six months or so, his Lt. having been killed in action in the Muse Argon. I also inherited from my first cousin his Dads, my late Uncle's WW I wool officer's tunic. In 2005 I donated that to the Textile Museum at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, via my College of A&S.

As Paul Harvey says: "Now you know the whole story that you didn't need to know so much about to begin with!"

Dad died in 1984 at age 81 of heart disease. He chain smoked from age 14, in the trenches in France, WW I, until our family Dr., the late Dr. Thomas Frist, Sr. who was Dad's doc, talked Dad into quitting smoking together with him. Dad was age 53 when he quit smoking. Dr. Frist went on in Nashville, where I grew up, to found and chair Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).

What a digression! Excuse me for taking too much space and time.

George Singleton

[slapout9]

George,I am retired Law Enforcement and I am now a security manager at a hospital in Montgomery that we bought from HCA?? Small World. I will email you contact information later. I am at my day job and I am about to get busy.

[sullygoarmy]

Jimbo - good to see you up on the net. I've been pretty busy the past month on TDY trips to Iraq, Germany and recently, Fort Riley. Headed out to work with the marines in Cali next week.

Reference 1st BDE, 1st ID training the transition teams, all the current teams now go through an indepth training program at Fort Riley under 1-1 ID. I was out there last week with my boss pitching a fundamentals of Advisor work to the OC-Ts. On our tour through Iraq, alot of the feedback from the current advisors indicated they would have liked to had more advisor training prior to getting in theater. We gave classes to the 1-1 ID OC-Ts to "plant the seed" in the minds of our future advisors on what their roles, functions and challenges are and will be.

[Jimbo]

Sully,

Damn, you guys have been busy. Dave and I are freezing our butts off here in D.C. It is weird wearing a suit to work everyday. The interagency issue is like banging my head against the wall on cetain days. Tomorow is a uniform day as I am over at the Pentagon all day. All I got to say is parking is easier at Leavenworth than around here, glad I take the metro in the morning.


Jim