Being a Good Soldier

This post isn't really about military service but military service will certainly influence a person. I believe that there are certain people who pay attention to the world, not for gain but simply because we have a pretty cool world. Whether natural systems or man-made, there is no shortage of 'things' to learn and a good soldier will never stop learning.

I have always hoped that I was a good soldier, a good Marine. While in just a few short years I managed to receive a number of commendations and awards, I have always thought that there was more I could have done. And, while those awards evoke a certain nostalgia - you just can't describe the powerful feeling of having a combat action ribbon pinned to your chest - they also remind me about being a good Marine.

In the Marine Corps there is a certain leadership goal that begins with each Marine trained and indoctrinated in the concept that every Marine is always a rifleman first. It's the reason in boot camp that we slept with our rifles, literally. To the uninitiated this probably seems odd, and I suppose that it is, yet there is a certain psychological poetry to the effort.

By creating an ethos that each Marine is always a rifleman first the Marine Corps has ensured that the best leaders will always be capable of leading or following. The best leaders will always be ready to take on any additional responsibility or, and more importantly, fall back to ensure that they can fill the role of a basic infantryman. It's not a perfect solution but the mission is always the most critical effort and no Marine is more or less important in the completion of the mission.

In 'real' life the same ethos of every man or woman pulling for a common goal would be helpful. In my experience, people are sometimes able to keep their own ego out of the room and help move the ball down the field. More often than not they don't.

In any group or organization the people involved are all there because they believe in the group. Each person brings a certain level of skill or desire to the common goal and yet.....yet, when the rubber hits the road it's never so simple. The simple reason is that each person needs to be fulfilled in their effort, which is fine, but when everyone seeks to get the same level of fulfillment then the rubber takes a very long time to vulcanize into a useful product.

My attempt lately at the Port has been to be a good soldier - to lead as needed and follow when necessary. This means supporting efforts that predate my time on the Commission to achieve a good outcome. This past week I did just that and have continued to have one of my votes eat at me.

Years ago the Port and City of Bellingham worked toward an agreement so that the airport and Port owned property attached to the airport would have a reliable source of clean water and sewer service. Well....fast forward many years and the whole thing fell into a hash of disagreement so the Port sued the City and the City sued the Port.

What's troubling me is the process leading to this week's Port meeting. I'm not going to rehash the whole situation but I will give a quick background. The City's position has been well stated over and over that it will not provide water outside the City limits, previous agreements notwithstanding. The Port's position is based on the old agreement that the City would provide water and sewer service to the airport. So, long story short? The Port agrees to annexation of certain airport properties to the east and north in return for continued water/sewer service at the airport for future uses if the system has the capacity to do so.

The men and women, public employees all, who worked against each other on this airport water issue lost sight of the mission. The City has somewhat different work to do than the Port but in this case the Port and City should have been in lockstep.

The airport will be completely surrounded by urban development in the next couple of decades. The Port's role here is to maximize returns on the public investments at the airport through economic development efforts that create local jobs, while the City's role should be to support that so we keep jobs close to the core, with the added benefit of the tax dollars Bellingham will receive.

I was not privy to the previous negotiations and I quite likely am not going to waste anyone's time, other than possibly my own, digging up old skeletons. What I am going to do is publicly say my "Yes" vote this past Tuesday in favor of the City's annexation should have been a "No" vote.

I did want the measure to pass - my vote wasn't required for that to happen - but I think that it's important for the folks we do business with, especially other governments where we should all have the public's interest as our core mission, to know that I am not at all interested in the so-called Brinksmanship style of negotiation.

If I had voted "No" that could have been a shot across the bow of other governments to say we need to stop...take a breath...define the mission and get out of the business of fighting one another over common goals.

This Port/City fight over water at the airport is now history. I hope that the take-away is how not to work government to government.

What I have found in the course of my own life is that in most situations there may only be one outcome possible, although it is always good to seek others that may be better. Why then, especially governing body to governing body, do we only arrive at the obvious outcome after countless, needless hours on what I will generously describe as negotiating? Because of what I mentioned earlier - ego.

Part of the art of being a good soldier is clearly understanding what the mission is then either supporting or leading. And part of the art of being a good leader is recognizing when someone else is a better leader, that the mission is paramount.

It really is OK to be a simple rifleman every now and then.

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