Choose your role models wisely

During personal time in the evenings, I like to host English classes for my fellow brothers-in-arms. It's always fascinating to talk about a variety of topics with people from all kinds of different backgrounds.

A topic we discussed during conversation class was "favorite war movie". In terms of the army experience as a low-level grunt, I really enjoy Jarhead and the HBO series Generation Kill. In terms of accurately depicting the sense of boredom interspersed with pure excitement, squabbling between different schools of leadership, and the chickenshit red tape that makes life more irritating than it needs to be, they're spot-on.

However, I have to say that Crimson Tide is my favorite, and has actually been the most influential in terms of my personal development. Growing up in church, a common phrase was "What Would Jesus Do?" The general idea is to have a sort of role model to follow in different circumstances, which streamlines decisions and helps bring clarity to situations. Obviously, the more relevant your role model (in my current case, military-related), the more useful this sort of mental exercise will be.

Choosing a good "hero" is really useful, because it compels you to strive to be better as you think of how he/she might react in your situation. While the two protagonists - Captain Ramsey (Gene Hackman) and Lieutenant Commander Hunter (Denzel Washington) have diametrically opposed personalities and styles of leadership, I can appreciate both perspectives and methods. You *need* both kinds of leadership, particularly in the military. Someone needs to play the the role of the hardass (ex: Capt. Ramsey's decision to run a missile drill just after a fire in the kitchen had been contained and everything was a mess) because that's the most effective way to train for the real thing and actually see if everyone's capable and ready, which isn't something you can do with well choreographed and rehearsed drills that everyone knows about well in advance. It's a thankless job, but one that deserves more appreciation.

That said, Lt. Cmdr. Hunter's overall philosophy and demeanor resonates with me more. In a great conversation about the decision to use nuclear weapons on Japan (particularly relevant since they're on a submarine potentially tasked with launching nuclear weapons), Ramsey basically chides Hunter for qualifying his remarks, hesitant to stake a clear and unambiguous position either way easily. He states that his job is to follow and execute orders, while Hunter's role is to be a "thinking man" to act as a counterbalance.

Of course, my role as a conscript isn't to think, it's to follow. From what I've observed, Privates must first learn to follow before they begin to lead as Sergeants, and then plan as Officers. His decisionmaking tendencies are still useful, in terms of knowing when to follow the book, and when to use a more personal touch. I don't need to act as a leader now - but I can still use the opportunity to observe how others act in various circumstances, analyzing what works and doesn't work.

I don't really have a larger point here except that it's useful to find yourself role model(s) in various aspects of life, and that a closer viewing of "Crimson Tide" illustrates a lot of my own tendencies.

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This essay is the English version of 榜樣的重要性