Road Closed Ahead! So, go another way…
A softer, easier way I thought for sure was clear,
Which offered me assorted denied delights.
But roads of selfish choosing are often paved with fear,
Revealed in sulky days and scary nights.
Oh! What unforgiving terrain and uncertain roads!
I strained to know the way to go: to left? or maybe right?
So, bereft and drained I finally knelt to determined pray.
First lost, but now found the Gracious Guide,
And at last His way to truth and light!
What should I do?
Sergeant First Class Myers said urgently… “Do something! We’re dying here!”
Okay. I had frozen for a sec, but now I scanned the equipment at our feet before speaking to my teammates. We were going to get moving!
Our platoon of future US Army officers had been distributed into smaller teams; ours’ coached by Sergeant First Class Myers, a veteran Special Forces Non-Commissioned Officer. He also wore the coveted Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and Master Parachutist (‘Jump’) wings on his chest. He was everything I wanted to be as a future Army leader—tough, calm, thoughtful, decisive, combat-tested, and respected. He never shouted; he did not belittle—he just let the hot coals of his unspoken expectations bore into my soul.
We were on a leadership reaction course (LRC), a series of obstacles designed by crafty Army engineers to test and build a small team’s problem-solving skills, physical strength, stamina, and most importantly, the leader’s capacity for quickly forging a mission-focused team under pressure. This course meandered for a couple miles through the Carolina pines.
LRC stations might compass 200 square feet or so of barbed wire, eight-foot wooden walls, maybe a 10- to 15-foot steel or wooden horizontal beam connecting two 15-foot vertical steel poles, trenches, cinder block walls with open window frames, and so forth. There would also be pretend minefields and contaminated areas, which were off-limits. The idea was to simulate the difficult terrain and compromised structures of the battlefield.
The team was given a bizarre assortment of equipment, some of it representing supplies needed by imaginary buddies who were fighting for their lives somewhere ahead. Other items were designed to help us to bridge the tangle of obstacles.
The main question was which direction we should take. Under? Over? Around? Or some combination thereof? The team would offer suggestions, but the team leader had the ball.
So each of us would get a shot as team leader and by the time we were sore, exhausted, and couldn’t see straight, SFC Myers seemed to get his second wind. But all good things come to an end and, sweat-drenched, we’d eventually return to the (non-air-conditioned) barracks. That evening, after chow and a shower we’d stretch out on our bunks and wait for SFC Myers to call us in for a debriefing.
“Okay, Mark. Great job today. So now let’s look at a couple of things. There’s no standing still out there or anywhere. You must think on your moving feet…” and so it went, refueled by SFC Myers’ enthusiasm for our success.
Thus, we were becoming Soldiers.
Years later I was introduced to Francis de Sales, whose lifetime reputation for obstacle management and the encouragement of others was epic. Memories of my time on that leadership reaction course and SF Myers can pouring back. A quote from St. Francis seemed to capture the experience:
And to remain at a standstill is impossible; he that gains not, loses in this traffic; He that ascends not, descends upon this ladder; He that vanquishes not in this battle, is vanquished: we live amidst the dangers of the wars which our enemies wage against us, if we resist not, we perish; and we cannot resist unless we overcome nor overcome without triumph… If you follow [Jesus] you will march and run continually, for He never stayed but continued His course of love and obedience until death and the death of the cross. Admit no other bounds than those of life [itself]
- St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God
This new year will bring both obstacles and enemies of the good. When the going gets tough and the way forward is difficult to discern, you might recall SFC Myers’ and Francis de Sales’ spiritual challenge… Do something! There’s no standing still!
Fr. Mark Plaushin, OSFS
Love. Learn. Serve. Charlie Mike
