Knee Deep in the Hooah!

Last week the guys in OCS had their land navigation course. I was not jealous in the least. For some odd reason the thought of plowing my way through the overgrown brushes in the middle of “Nowhere,” Ft. Benning, just does not sound like a very fun time. Since we are in the middle of a drought and it’s been been very hot (to say the least), so it is safe to say that this is most definitely not something on my “must do before I die” list.

Even with the challenges of extreme heat, wild animals and rough terrain, they seemed to have done very well. Mr. Hooah! told me yesterday that 4th platoon finished at 100% after a couple of guys went for their second try.

Of course when Mr. Hooah! said that he was learning land navigation the first thought that crossed my mind was “Thank you Army! Thank you for reaffirming in the mind of my husband that he never needs to stop and ask for directions!” I understand the importance of a soldier being able to navigate the land with nothing more than his senses, a compass and map, but it just doesn’t work when you are running late for the opera. He is pretty pumped about it though, and he came back from the field with a couple of really interesting stories.

I am not just a story teller, but I am story listener too. I especially love the stories of both my son and husband’s Army training. There is always something funny, something challenging and some little golden nugget of wisdom to be gained. I always like to recap their stories with a “and the lesson of the story is…” type ending. Well there were a few golden nuggets in the latest challenges that Mr. Hooah! has worked himself through in OCS.

Land navigation is no stranger to Army service members. It is something that many have had to tackle at some point in their training. It’s not nearly as easy as people often assume it will be. I mean you are given a map and a compass, and you are sent out into an area that is contained — although it does have a sense of vastness to it due to the terrain and the occasional disorientation that can happen when it’s dark or when one gets lost.

After spending some time in the field being trained in techniques the testing time came. When Mr. Hooah!’s time to be tested was up, he was sent out into the field with a compass, a map and 5 points on the map to stop in which to punch his card as proof of his success. He started at 0400 and had until 0900 to finish his task. 5 points in 5 hours. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Mr. Hooah! thought it did too, but he was not counting on getting lost and disoriented in the dark. I guess no one counts on those two things happening. You can be prepared, but there is no way to know exactly how things will actually pan out for you until you are facing the circumstances. He started out on his journey at 0400, and he came back a little wiser.

At 0500 Mr. Hooah! is still wandering through the woods, and it was at this point that the only source of light he had went dead. It wasn’t much to begin with, but now he was in total darkness. His frustration is growing as he is still searching for that first point. He is rationalizing in his head that he needs to find that first point, so that he can journey onto the next. Where is it? Where is he? After another hour passes and the sun begins to shine a little he reorients himself, and finds a point that was not on his course, but it was on his map! Yeah! Houston, we have a glimmer of hope!

It was not long after reorienting himself that Mr. Hooah! was able to find his second point. My husband is a perfectionist. I thought I should mention this so that you all would know how painful it was for him to bypass point number 1 and find number 2 first. Within the course of the rest of the early morning he quickly found the next 3 points!

At this time we now have 4 points –5 is what is required, and it is required within the time frame given. No excuses and no mercy. It is do or die! So, being the perfectionist he is he decided to stick to it, go back, and find that first point. He was determined that when he crossed the finish line he would have all 5 points. Even if that meant not finishing on time. He was not going to give up. So, he went directly to the place that pinpointed his desired destination on the map, but still no point in sight. He was stumped and frustrated. So, he did a parameter search, and there it was! It was 200 meters from its location on the map! He found out later that he was the only one to find that particular point on the course – hence the second tries some had to go for this past weekend! He said at this exact time the clouds parted, a ray of bright sunshine appeared on the elusive point and he knew he was gazing upon the Holy Grail of land navigation! He could hear the angels singing!

He quickly punched his card, looked at his watch and began running as fast as his combat boots could take him. He knew he only had minutes to get back to base and clock in at the finish line. If he missed it by 1 second then he would be doing this again until he got it right. He saw the pavilion in the distance where his fellow soldiers were eating their breakfast. He ran faster. He heard hollers coming from the pavilion — hollers from his fellow soldiers, “RUN Shack!! RUN!!” The cheers made him run faster. He ran past the pavilion and saw a Sargent who looked at him and said “You’re too late!” Mr. Hooah! was not about to give up at this point, so he breathlessly said “Yes Sargent!” and continued running. He ran right to the check in point. He was going to wait to see what they said, but his adrenaline was pumping and his mind was reeling. With what little breath he had left, he asked “Did I make it?” The reply was sweet. “Yes, you made it with a minute and a half to spare!”

I am pretty sure he heard the angels singing once again, and he knew that even though it was not done perfectly, it was done correctly! He had succeeded and had finished the course within the time that was given to him. It was now time to eat breakfast and rest!

The lessons I learned through hearing this story seem obvious to me, but they are worth repeating in a direct format, so here are the top 5 lessons I gleamed from Mr. Hooah!’s experience:

1. Never allow perfectionism to stand in the way of creative problem solving. If Mr. Hooah!  had given up until he found point 1 he would have failed for sure. He almost let his need to do it perfectly get in the way of him doing it well.

2. Never give up on the course set before you. Even if you think you have failed along the way you should always finish what you have started – even if you are not going to get the reward you were hoping for in the end!

3. Never take another person’s word that you have been defeated! If Mr. Hooah! had responded to the Sergent’s discouraging words and had stopped running he would have failed instead of pass.

4. It is always easier to run when your friends are cheering you on, but you have to keep running in the face of discouraging words too.

5. Some days you are the runner, and some days you are the solider under the pavilion cheering on a comrade. Always remember to encourage one another since the race you are really running is, indeed, a team effort.

Mr. Hooah! told me another story that had me laughing so hard I nearly cried. The story is great because it has some good life lessons in it as well. It is a story of creative problem solving and faith.

One of the soldiers got very lost on his navigation course. So much so, that he began to wander and he felt disoriented. He was feeling very tired, and as time went on the heat started rising. It was at this time that he saw an armadillo walking around the area. Siting there and watching the armadillo the soldier began to think to himself. “Hey! That armadillo lives around here. I bet he knows where he is going!” So, he found a little hope and stood up and started to follow the armadillo.

As he was following his new found friend, the young soldier began thinking back on the times that he had passed armadillos on the road. WAIT! That’s it! Armadillos love roads, right? Well, then it stands to reason that this armadillo loves roads too, right? Well that would mean that if I follow this armadillo long enough he will lead me to a road! So, with great enthusiasm and a new kindled hope, the young man followed the armadillo. You know what? You guessed it! That armadillo led him right to a road where he was able to reorient himself, get himself back on task and finish his course.

OK, so you are probably wondering what does an armadillo have to do with land navigation? My answer to that would be absolutely nothing! The lessons I learned from this soldier’s tale were based on faith, reason, and perseverance.

1. Instead of giving up he looked around him, and he used the only resource he felt he had left at that moment. The soldier was on the edge of giving up. He was hot, tired and discouraged, but he looked toward an unlikely resource. That took creativity and faith.

2. He used reason. Even if it was not the most sound thinking in retrospect, he was trying to think his way through a situation. He did not merely react, but was thinking and linking ideas the whole time.

3. He was using observation to help himself figure out what to do next. He remembered things about the armadillos he had observed in the past, and their characteristics.

4. Instead of sitting down, giving up and waiting for someone to find him eventually, he used a little faith and headed forward. He really did not know if this trick would work, but he took a calculated risk and it paid off.

5. He used some creative thinking and problem solving. Instead of seeing his compass and map as the only tools to use, he used a creative approach and it paid off for him in the long run.

With all of that said, please let me now leave you with this disclaimer:

Please do not attempt to follow an armadillo if you are ever lost in the woods. This stunt was performed by a trained professional with good equipment. It could have disastrous results for amateur armadillo trackers.