Thoughts from a former life

I wrote these a few years ago, but they still sound good. Enjoy.

• Even when you rest, scan the horizon.

• You only truly appreciate sunrise if you've endured the cold night.

• It only takes a few grains of carbon to turn a sophisticated weapon system into a club.

• It doesn't matter how good the truck looks if it breaks down constantly.

• You are never given a promotion or award that matters. You earn the ones that count.

• No job operates independently. The Intel weenie doesn't directly engage the enemy, but the infantryman can't be utilized effectively if he doesn't know where the enemy is.

• A march is only long if you haven't done it before.

• Sometimes it's a blast, sometimes it's just a paycheck. If you can't remember the last time it was a blast, get another job.

• It doesn't matter how heavy a load you carry at the beginning of the march.

• Any moron can shoot. It takes skill to hit.

• If you're not willing to maintain and fix it, you don't get to drive it.

• Take pleasure from the small things. They may be all you get.

• Leadership is more than giving orders.

• Sometimes you have to be at the bottom of a well to see the light.

• Genetics doesn't make a family.

• Say hello as if you haven't seen them in years.

• Say good-bye as if you'll never see them again.

• Cherish the ones that are there, honor the ones that came before, and train the ones that are new.