The Army

So last week I got a call from my boss and it was THE question. After six months of training and completing one course after another, I was asked to go on my first mission.

Having just come back from a short weekend trip to London, I am now at the airport again and this time I’m flying Business. I’ve always wanted to travel for work and this destination couldn’t get any better, at least not for a civilian in the military...

Italy here I come! :-)

This morning, after a late dinner and party last night, we finally received our diplomas for completing the Partnership for Peace Staff Officer Course.

It was a formal ceremony in best uniform - the blue one with fancy hat. I was a bit nervous having to walk up and get my diploma and make a hand salute for the first time in front of an audience. I felt so happy afterwards though.

We then enjoyed some live music played by our own private band :-)

Funnily enough they finished with Abba's Gimme! Gimmi! Gimmi! It sounded great with all the wind instruments and drums.

Woohoo! I’ve just completed my NATO course. The past three weeks has been brilliant but right now I’m happy to be back in Enköping again. I’ve figured that as long as I am challenged and stimulated at work, I can live in a small city – at least for now.

 

The course has been incredibly intense with 12hour days and lots of social weekend activities. I’ve met so many great guys – and one great woman... we were only two women on the course. All international staff attending the course was either Majors or Captains with long and varied military backgrounds. It was fun with so many different uniforms gathered under one roof.

 

Since my Psyops colleague and I were the only civilians on the course, I’ve learnt a huge amount especially about tactical warfare.

 

Perhaps it sounds like a contradiction to mention warfare when the course was all about planning a peace support operation. But to carry out a peace support mission, you need to understand tactical warfare in order to predict, plan and counterbalance threats to the operation.

 

Aside from planning and presenting a fictional peace support operation practically, and learning about the NATO history, structure and interaction between different branches, I’m happy to also have gained knowledge about partnership organisations involved in a PSO.

 

Some of the guest lecturers really inspired me, particularly the UNHCR rep. who talked about UN's work for refugees around the world, but also the Dutch lawyer who discussed humanitarian law and the legal aspect of a peace support operation. It fascinates me how one detail can change the entire situation from legal to illegal, or reversed, and learning how to interpret the law.

 

We also spent a day getting media training, which was great fun as I got to play the Commander of the Multi National Brigade at the end of the day. According to the former spokesperson of Pentagon I did an excellent job during the press conference. The cultural differences lecture was also exciting and I would have loved to hear more about how subjectively we view the world because of our selective perception, interpretation and judgement!

 

Remember: A culture is a system of support for interpretation, understanding and communication. Nothing more and nothing less... In other words, don’t excuse or blame behaviours – on culture.

Like a full circle, the mind must be empty, yet complete...

Having finished my course last night, I decided to go for a run in the lit forest track. Afterwards, just as I had entered the military gates and approached the hotel, I passed a soldier jogging with his gasmask on. It made me think of all things extreme.

I have to admit I’ve always been drawn to the extreme. But I think I’ve become better at choosing amongst the various extreme options out there. Reflecting over this selection ability – it may have developed over time and thanks to a maturity process, as well as the hard way; from learning through painful and often repetitive mistakes. 

A life can be threatened both physically and emotionally by a situation, however my ability to choose also includes a more careful consideration of relationships. These days I am finding myself planning ahead more patiently and in line with a higher purpose, belief or meaning.

Also, I don’t have a wish to challenge myself to a degree where an extreme situation or experience may harm me, or threaten my life.

For instance, I turned down going to Afghanistan twice this summer. 

I only had the benefit to contemplate on my verdict, since the offers were presented as a choice. In the end, my decision was based on the timing of the missions, but another reason may have been the instinct to protect myself. Age has definitely improved the instinct to protect what is ‘me’, which can only imply that I am finally forming a harmonious and accepting relationship with myself.

 

And what relationship could be more important to spend time improving and nurturing? If we can’t live in peace with our self – then who will stand a chance? Perhaps the conflicts and wars of the world today between people and nations, is in fact just an internal one, in disguise. We simply haven’t had the courage to face yet the greatest enemy of them all:

Our selves.

Oh. My. God. I have just killed my first cockroach. And hopefully last too! It was crawling in a drawer with clothes that I’d unpacked three days ago. I know it was a cockroach because it had two big tentacles from his head. Although I wasn’t sure, I must have seen it this morning too...

 

Having had a long shower, which also made me a few minutes late for breakfast, I left the bathroom door open and got dressed. Before leaving, I quickly grabbed my military cap on top of the chest of drawers opposite the bathroom. I was in a hurry but definitely saw something big and brown crawling across the wooden surface. Perhaps a huge fly without wings, or could it have been a cockroach?? Surely not. I don’t even know how I cockroach look. Besides, I’m in Sweden!

 

Anyway, during a quick break at my course, I went to speak with the hotel reception. I didn’t know if it was a cockroach I had seen. Also, I've actively been avoiding the temptation to assume... since it might put a reaction and unnecessary actions into play. A dear friend once told me: "to assume – will make an ass out of you”. It’s a silly play on words but I liked it.

 

On the other hand – when you plan a war or peace operation: You have to assume. Amongst many things, you always work with facts and assumptions when planning an operation.

 

“Planning involves projecting our thoughts forward in time and space to influence events before they occur rather than merely responding to events as they occur. This means contemplating and evaluating potential decisions and actions in advance. But! No battle plan survives the first contact with the enemy." Graf von Moltke

 

Well, I was determined to win the battle against the uninvited guest near my bathroom at first attempt, and change room as quickly as possible. So I told the hotel reception I had seen a cockroach in my room. It had come out after I showered – probably attracted out of his hiding place because of the steam. Yes. I nodded when they asked – it definitely had two tentacles. And yes please, I’d really like to change room and have the unpleasant event investigated. The hotel reception was sympathetic and would deal with it but unfortunately they didn’t have any other rooms until tomorrow.

 

So here I am. Newly showered in my hotel room and close to a flat cockroach underneath a heavy book on the floor. I’ll finish the mission with sending in the hotel staff in the morning and telling them to clean up. There’s no way I am lifting the book tonight, when there’s no hotel staff available. And thanks to my confident assumption earlier today – the hotel reception won’t be too surprised in the morning.

 

Of course, if this was a real war or peace operation I was talking about – I would have had more than one assumption thrown into the planning process, I’d also have some facts and several courses of actions as a result. All according to what will serve my own interests the best, obviously.