Cover Me while I Move!

I did basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia.

Summer heat and red sand, HOOAH.

Every moment was a moment to train.

When we would march to chow we were taught little bits of training in the form of call and respond.

The drill would march us to chow and every time the word "right" came up during the cadence step count we would all scream.....

"shoot, move, communicate, kill"

I didn't think much about it at the time. Cool statement. Sounded hardcore. But what I learned later on is a lesson I still value today.

Inertia.

A soldier in motion wants to stay in motion. A soldier at rest wants to stay a rest. A good leader knows this and adjusts his orders accordingly.

You see, in war, there is only one objective. Kill the Enemy.

I know the way things are now is all about nation building and more complicated stuff like that, but there are still Smbrs on the ground moving on an objective with the sole intent of blowing that objectives head clean off.

HOOAH! GET SOME!

I remember being kinda nervous during this training because there were some guys in my Basic who were not working with a full deck if you know what I mean.

Drill sergeant H was just as nervous. That morning he laid into us more than usual.

Anyway, those were the early steps of learning how to shoot, move, communicate and kill the enemy.

Simple and straight forward.

Now, why such a big emphasis on movement?

Think World War I.

Those poor souls in the trenches would just get zeroed in on and shelled all day, every day for months. They would take an inch of ground a week and lose 2,000 guys in the process.

Can you image how terrible that must have been?

You move because it changes your perspective. You move because it takes you into a better position. You move because when you don't--you die.

The only thing different as a civilian is the objective.

I think that the reason I liked war so much growing up was the immediacy of it.

To make a mistake meant death. Death being ever present made every moment more precious. Combat is never boring, HOOAH?

When I got back this feeling of immediacy, the preciousness of the moment, wasn't there. Well, not quite.

The first days back were pretty sweet because everything in the world was new and fun, but after a while I stagnated. I stopped growing. I didn't need to train to maintain my warriors edge, so I stopped growing.

I didn't understand that I simply needed to change my objective. I didn't understand that all of my military training could be reapplied to a different kind of growth. I didn't understand that certain types of growth were better for me than others.

It took me a while to learn these things. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found the Art of Peace as a guide for my future growth.

You see, no one ever told me that war is unsustainable. By that I mean, if your growth is directed towards war, you will burn out.

I used war as my guide for growth for a while. Preparing for societal collapse, zombie apocalypse, you know the kinda stuff that would put my training to use.

But it was a short game.

I have often come back to a statement in the Bible: Matthew 5:5.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth".

I've often thought that statement was contrary to strength.

I don't think that any more.

I think what Jesus was getting at is the fact the the most powerful people on earth are the ones that don't need power to be happy. Peace of mind and love are enough.

It's pretty simple folks.

Follow the teachings of the Art of War for training up to fight and
Follow the teachings of the Art of Peace when you are done.

The past seven weeks have been a lead up to specific techniques for creating sustainable growth for the rest of your life.

Do you know what you are supposed to yell back if a battle buddy yells "Cover Me While I Move"?

"I've Got You Covered!"

The 8th Stanza of the Art of Peace is:

On a side note. This is the new Logo. Thanks for the help.

HOOAH.