Departure of One

One of my troops was trying for a specific job in our unit.  He called me this morning to inform me he had gotten the job.  I am happy for him.  One thing that is apparent, though, is I will no longer be his supervisor once his annual evaluation closes out.  While I can say he has been one of my better troops, thankfully, I will be glad to have one less person to keep track of and worry about.  Nine will become eight.  I wish him the best as he continues further in his career in the military and especially when he separates later this year.

I had a meeting this morning with the base Trauma Stress Response (TSR) team.  I have been a member off and on since 2006.  The reason I say off and on is because I am not always informed on when training sessions and other meetings take place.  I have gone to the last two briefings, though, so I can say that I am part of the team.  I was amazed at the amount of insight and suggestions I was able to provide the team.  Normally, that does not happen.  I am usually an observer.  Today, I was offering most of the input, it seemed.  It was neat! I offered some insight into what people thought of our efforts when they returned from their deployments in Iraq and Kuwait.  Notification was a key issue.  People in my career field do not like having things dropped in their laps at the last minute.  Another thing I brought up was having a relaxed atmosphere.  It will not be totally relaxed because we talking to these people about stress related issues.  I still suggested having everyone come in civilian clothes.  It emphasizes the point that rank is not a factor.  Since there is a large variety of ranks in the groups we do these briefings for, I also suggested that certain ranks be separated from each other, if for no other reason than to minimize the discomfort of the younger troops.  It was a really good experience for me.  I have not felt this good about a meeting like this in quite some time.  The only problem I foresee is the fact I am deploying soon and my troop will be separating this summer.  We are really the only two representatives from my unit.  That needs to change.  That team needs more of us involved.  It would be in everyone's best interest.