So you’re a cadet without summer training and might not be going back to campus in the fall. Or, maybe, you are a 2nd Lieutenant who just commissioned and is waiting for BOLC in quarantine. I bet you feel like Ricky Bobby in his post-race interview from Talladega Nights. “I’m not sure what to do with my hands.” A lot of cadets and junior leaders have expressed this frustration to me recently, and here is what I tell them.
I get your frustration. It is finally here! You’re either approaching the end of your ROTC time or just finished. You are ready for the race! YOU WANNA GO FAST!
All fired up and full of energy, you are ready to better yourself for the road of leadership and the challenges ahead of you.
But…you can’t. You are stuck at home. This isn’t quite what you pictured is it?
So, what are you to do with all this free time?
Matt Tetreau and The Azimuth Check team outlined a lot of great recommendations recently. Here is what I have been telling the young leaders who reach-out with this question.
Don’t think too hard about it. Do what you enjoy.
The army is going to take your time…A LOT OF IT…for years to come. Enjoy this time while you can.
Here is what you NEED to do:
- PT…a lot of PT. Stay fit. But be smart…make sure it is balanced so you don’t have overuse injuries. Most of you are young, so you think, “overuse injury…what’s that?” Build good habits now, because it only gets harder as you get older.
- Read. Read articles, sure. But also read books. Check out our Reading List page for tons of ideas. Or connect with others on Goodreads – HERE is my Goodreads.
- Recharge. Whatever fills your spirit…do that. Spend time with family, in prayer (if you are of faith), or in meditation. Spend time outdoors. Do whatever it is that you love.
Here are some things you can do if you really WANT to do more:
- Learn a language. Gain proficiency. Maybe find someone in the country whose language you are learning and have daily video chats with them to help them learn English and you learn their language.
- Take online courses. There are a lot of free ones from Khan Academy and even from certain universities. Getting your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification…or even just familiarizing yourself with PMP… is useful in planning and operations. History courses also help!
- Get Free Tactical Reps! Do tactical decision games. Check out our repository HERE or look at the Azimuth Check’s main page to get cadet-specific ones.
- READ DOCTRINE. Read every one of the new ADPs. They aren’t long and there aren’t many of them. Start with ADP 1, 3, 5, 7, 6-22. The Azimuth Check just featured a piece on Doctrine recently that is a great outline.
The time will come! I promise. You will get to run your race and go fast. In the meantime, focus on what you NEED to do, and do a lot of the things you WANT to do. If you need more ideas, feel free to reach out to thecompanyleader@gmail.com. Or check out of Submission Guide and write!
More Cadet Resources @ The Azimuth Check
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