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To the incoming Intermediate Level Education class 2012-02 — let me start by congratulating you on your career thus far and welcoming you to ILE.
Next, let me dispel any rumors you may have heard that Army ILE is a two-month course taught over a 10-month period.
The best year of your life is what you make of it.
As my small group instructors keep saying: “Words have meaning.” However, the meaning of the word “best” is defined only by the person saying it. Best could be defined as getting all As in each class, mending a stretched relationship, or improving your golf score. You will have to develop that definition as you start your classwork because it will determine how you balance your year at ILE.
I completed my definition on Aug. 18, 2011. After lunch that day, the director asked that all of the roughly 1,200 students go outside and line both shoulders of Grant Avenue. We were to pay honors to a fallen Soldier who was to be buried on Fort Leavenworth that afternoon.
The lead car was a black four-door Cadillac carrying the family of the fallen Soldier. As the car passed by me, I saw a woman in the rear driver’s side window, whom I can only assume to be the Soldier’s mother. Her entire upper body was facing toward the window. Her left hand was placed softly against the glass. It was as if she was touching the face of each saluting Soldier as the car passed down the street. Her right hand held a cloth that she was using to wipe the tears away from her eyes.
My stomach began to knot up as I watched the remaining cars pass by and I fought to hold the tears back.
We stood there for several minutes watching the vehicles and Patriot Guard riders pass. My mind began to wonder what would happen if I met the mother later that day. What would I say to her if she asked me why I was at Fort Leavenworth? Could I honestly tell her I was here taking a knee and enjoying a well-earned 10-month break from military life? Of course, I could not say that, but what then could I say? How would I define my best year to this mother? Why did the Army send me here to school and not back on another combat tour? Answering this question first would be the foundation of my definition.
Like any profession, an expert must continue to learn and study his or her field in order to improve. Doctors must study the latest techniques in medicine, lawyers must study any new changes in law, and professors must learn and publish articles in their fields yearly. Such is the case in the profession of arms. Senior level leaders must have a greater understanding of the military and its role in national strategy. My definition of the best year includes gaining a better understanding of the service our military performs for the nation.
ILE is like anything you do in the Army — you can meet the minimum standard with some minimum level of effort and time or let it consume each waking hour.
Doing one’s best on a PT test is subjective and relative to the time preparing for it. Achieving 300 points on the PT test requires more dedication and allocation of time than simply achieving 180 points.
This year at ILE is no different. However, ILE is more than a PT test. It is a compacted year of academics, fitness and family with little time for anything else. Balancing the year will become more of an art than science. Understand that any additional activities, hobbies or fixation on one aspect could throw the other areas out of balance. A set goal for each of the areas is the evaluation criteria for your definition.
So why do people call this the greatest year of your life if you have no time off to enjoy it? Again, the answer is simply on how you define the word “best.” My definition includes the fact that I am safe at home with my family every evening and weekend, I have a chance to study my profession and become a better leader and I have time to reflect on decisions I have made.
At ILE, there is no constant emergency that requires solving or steady stream of operational tasks to perform. There is time to sit down for an evening meal and put the kids to bed, although you may have to finish a paper afterward. There is time to look back on your successes and failures, study them and learn from them. Rarely, during a time of war, does military service offer these luxuries.
When you develop your definition of the word “best,” part of that definition should include an answer to the question from the mother in the black Cadillac. A masterfully balanced answer will include aspects of academics, family and fitness. That answer will give you your definition of the word best. Once you have that definition, I believe you will find your time at ILE one of the best years in your military career.
To the incoming Intermediate Level Education class 2012-02 — let me start by congratulating you on your career thus far and welcoming you to ILE.
Next, let me dispel any rumors you may have heard that Army ILE is a two-month course taught over a 10-month period.
The best year of your life is what you make of it.
As my small group instructors keep saying: “Words have meaning.” However, the meaning of the word “best” is defined only by the person saying it. Best could be defined as getting all As in each class, mending a stretched relationship, or improving your golf score. You will have to develop that definition as you start your classwork because it will determine how you balance your year at ILE.
I completed my definition on Aug. 18, 2011. After lunch that day, the director asked that all of the roughly 1,200 students go outside and line both shoulders of Grant Avenue. We were to pay honors to a fallen Soldier who was to be buried on Fort Leavenworth that afternoon.
The lead car was a black four-door Cadillac carrying the family of the fallen Soldier. As the car passed by me, I saw a woman in the rear driver’s side window, whom I can only assume to be the Soldier’s mother. Her entire upper body was facing toward the window. Her left hand was placed softly against the glass. It was as if she was touching the face of each saluting Soldier as the car passed down the street. Her right hand held a cloth that she was using to wipe the tears away from her eyes.
My stomach began to knot up as I watched the remaining cars pass by and I fought to hold the tears back.
We stood there for several minutes watching the vehicles and Patriot Guard riders pass. My mind began to wonder what would happen if I met the mother later that day. What would I say to her if she asked me why I was at Fort Leavenworth? Could I honestly tell her I was here taking a knee and enjoying a well-earned 10-month break from military life? Of course, I could not say that, but what then could I say? How would I define my best year to this mother? Why did the Army send me here to school and not back on another combat tour? Answering this question first would be the foundation of my definition.
Like any profession, an expert must continue to learn and study his or her field in order to improve. Doctors must study the latest techniques in medicine, lawyers must study any new changes in law, and professors must learn and publish articles in their fields yearly. Such is the case in the profession of arms. Senior level leaders must have a greater understanding of the military and its role in national strategy. My definition of the best year includes gaining a better understanding of the service our military performs for the nation.
ILE is like anything you do in the Army — you can meet the minimum standard with some minimum level of effort and time or let it consume each waking hour.
Doing one’s best on a PT test is subjective and relative to the time preparing for it. Achieving 300 points on the PT test requires more dedication and allocation of time than simply achieving 180 points.
This year at ILE is no different. However, ILE is more than a PT test. It is a compacted year of academics, fitness and family with little time for anything else. Balancing the year will become more of an art than science. Understand that any additional activities, hobbies or fixation on one aspect could throw the other areas out of balance. A set goal for each of the areas is the evaluation criteria for your definition.
So why do people call this the greatest year of your life if you have no time off to enjoy it? Again, the answer is simply on how you define the word “best.” My definition includes the fact that I am safe at home with my family every evening and weekend, I have a chance to study my profession and become a better leader and I have time to reflect on decisions I have made.
At ILE, there is no constant emergency that requires solving or steady stream of operational tasks to perform. There is time to sit down for an evening meal and put the kids to bed, although you may have to finish a paper afterward. There is time to look back on your successes and failures, study them and learn from them. Rarely, during a time of war, does military service offer these luxuries.
When you develop your definition of the word “best,” part of that definition should include an answer to the question from the mother in the black Cadillac. A masterfully balanced answer will include aspects of academics, family and fitness. That answer will give you your definition of the word best. Once you have that definition, I believe you will find your time at ILE one of the best years in your military career.
