Reading about War

This post appears in Issue 18 of Naval Special Warfare Ethos Magazine, and hopes to inspire some of the SEALs and SWCCs (Special Warfare Combatantcraft Crewman – part of the Naval Special Warfare community wtih the SEALs) to dive a little deeper into the profession they’ve chosen, and read the experience and perspectives of others curently serving or who have gone before.  This recommendation would apply to anyone in any profession.

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SEALs and SWCCs are practical men.  And war is one of the most ‘practical’ of human activities.  In war, that which works saves lives and civilizations; that which doesn’t costs lives (often thousands of them, sometimes millions) and risks national independence.  Results of decisions, good and bad, are dramatic and often immediate.  Warriors, therefore, are conditioned to be very practical, and the closer one gets to the actual killing and dying in war, the more ‘practical’ war becomes.

That is why warriors are men of action – training is never over, you can always train harder, you can always be more ready.  In the stress of combat, when the bullets are flying, muscle memory and well-trained automatic response is what wins fights and saves lives.  There is little wonder that warriors often have an aversion to military theory and academic study.  Indeed most of our warriors are too busy honing their practical skills to have much time for books.  They are men of action, and reading is…well….passive.

And yet, there is a well-known quote from the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, one of the first great writers about war:  “The nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.”

No doubt, many of our thinkers are cowards, and some of our fighters may be fools, but his point is that the best warriors are also thinkers, and the best thinkers are also courageous.  The early years of a warrior’s time in the military MUST be spent intensely focused on mastering the practical and tactical skills necessary to fight, survive, and win in combat.   But sooner or later, our best Naval Special Warriors realize that in order to truly excel as leaders and warriors, they need to tap into the breadth of experiences and ideas that others have written about, and include in their professional repertoire perspectives that come from the literature of their profession.

I realized after several years in the Teams that I had unconsciously decided to make the military my profession and career.  With that realization came the commitment to understand my profession and learn as much about it as possible.  I began by reading accounts of special operators in combat, either first person or in biography, and was surprised to find a great body of literature in this area.   Great stories of special operations-like combat, with lessons learned very relevant to today’s conflicts, are available from nearly all wars, from the US Civil War and before, to a tremendous body of literature from WW2 and Vietnam, and increasingly from more recent conflicts.   I learned how others struggled and rose to meet enormous challenges, how they dealt with their own uncertainties and mistakes, how they managed leadership issues with difficult people up and down the chain of command, under the stress of combat or the struggle to survive.  Though I had never been to war, I began to get a better understanding of fighting in war, of the scope of warfare itself.  I also learned about myself, as I tried to put myself into some of the situations I read about, and questioned whether I would have been ready to do what needed to be done.  The training moment in “book learning” happens when we ask ourselves, “what would I have done?” and then answer that question with BRUTAL honesty.

The idea that SEALs should read, and study their profession had never been emphasized to me or my colleagues during our professional development.  Our leaders didn’t stress it with us, because it had never been stressed with them.   The NSW community has made progress in this area.   But I suspect more can be done.

During my final command tour, I had an offsite that began with each leader – CO, XO, CMC – sharing with the entire group a brief summary and lessons learned from a book they had read.  Some resisted; professional reading had not been part of their lives.  But most were pleased to be ‘forced’ to read a book they’d heard about from their colleagues. Other CO’s have created professional reading groups within their commands, leading by example, with monthly or bi-monthly meetings to discuss a book all had read, or to share different books that each had read.  I am aware of innovative and intellectually curious JOs creating their own reading groups, and once the initiative had been taken, others – officers and NCOs – requested to be included.

There is no shortage of well written and easily accessible books very relevant to the Naval Special Warfare profession.  But don’t forget, being a Naval Special Warrior is a subset of being a military professional, and professional reading about the experiences, challenges and cultures of the conventional forces not only expands a special operator’s perspective, it opens doors.  Every career Marine has read Rifleman Dodd, With the Old Breed, and First to Fight – great books for every Naval Special Warrior to read.  Every career Army officer I know has read We Were Soldiers Once…and Young, and Killer Angels.  For more current literature, consider Bing West’s The Wrong War, or Into the Fire, or Sebastian Junger’s War.  For the more thoughtful among you, I’d recommend Karl Marlantes’ What It Is Like to Go to War or J. Glenn Gray’s The Warriors. 

The mind is like a muscle – when you exercise it, it gets stronger. Exercising the mind, just like exercising the body, is best done with others.  So I’d suggest that you get some of your buddies to agree to read a particular book (I say ‘some,’ because I’ve found that most who say they will, don’t) and then set a date to meet, drink a beer or two, talk about the book and how it applies to you and your profession. It may be an important step toward making you a well-rounded military professional, as well as a better all-round warrior.

Quiet Professionals Part 2 “No Easy Day”

This is part 2 because I have already written on this topic for Naval Special Warfare’s Ethos magazine, and posted it in this blog in January of this year – just scroll down.   I think it was a pretty good essay, but it didn’t get much attention when I wrote it – but it was certainly timely.   I’ve been thinking about ‘Mark Owen’s’ recently published book about his experiences during the preparations and conduct of the mission which killed Osama bin Laden, and thought I would add my two cents into what has now become a national discussion – not that my input will be included in that discussion, but I continue to be asked my thoughts on it, and so I share them here.

I’ll begin by referring to my first essay, “Quiet Professionals in Naval Special Warfare” (Part 1).  I wrote then, and continue to believe that we need SEALs to share their experiences – but not just SEALs;  ship-drivers, aviators, submariners, Marines, Airmen, Soldiers, politicians, diplomats, businessmen.    We learn by hearing, reading, and discussing the stories of others.  Those who have participated in and learned from important events, and then who share their perspectives with us, do us all a great service.   Without these first person accounts of eye-witnesses to history, our civilization would be much poorer.

The contentious issue for me in the case of ‘Mark Owen,’ is how it was done, when, and to what purpose.  In Part 1, I offered three criteria by which I suggested we judge whether former SEALs sharing their perspectives and story in public deserves our praise or our condemnation.  Let’s consider these in judging No Easy Day:

1. Is it fair and honest, and does it constructively contribute to the public understanding of NSW? Or does it primarily promote self-interest or a personal agenda?
2. Is the warrior exhibiting ‘a strong dose of humility,’ to include respect toward those with whom he might disagree?
3. Does the perspective or story serve the interests of those still in the arena, or does it make their lives and work more difficult, more complicated, or even more dangerous?

I have not yet read No Easy Day, but I’ve read reviews by people who have.  It appears that the book may arguably meet criterion one regarding the factual content – perhaps not regarding the personal agenda.  I am led to understand that it meets part of criterion two, in that it appears that ‘Mark Owen’ is a straightforward guy telling his story as he experienced it, and it appears that he is not grandstanding to exaggerate his role.  And from the reviews I’ve read, it doesn’t appear that he has any axes to grind, though he apparently is not a fan of President Obama. And several who have read it say that it does not appear to reveal tactics, techniques or procedures not already well known in the public sector.

However, publishing this book clearly does not meet criterion three.  I believe that getting his story out into the press at this time, will significantly hurt the guys still in the fight.

The timing could hardly be worse.   While some will disagree with me, I believe this story needs to be told, and I expect and hope that we’ll eventually see additional books by participants in this classic and history-changing raid.  But now is not the time.  Not yet.  It is too soon.  Not during the heat of a presidential election, not right in the wake of Act of Valor, at a time when you can hardly turn on the television or read the newspaper without finding former SEALs pontificating on matters of politics, strategy, or national security.  Former SEALs have recently not been ‘quiet’ professionals, and it seems that many are drawing attention to themselves, for purposes that are not consistent with the Professional Military, or the SEAL, Ethos.  The fact that  ‘Owen’ and his advisors chose to rush to press and ignore established protocols designed to give proper attention to matters of national security, suggest that he was in a big hurry – perhaps to beat his team mates into the market.  Had he waited until a more appropriate time, the political issues would have diminished, and we still would have gotten his story.

My sense – and fear – is that the timing and manner of the release of this book will do damage to the credibility and reputation of the Navy SEALs that may take a long time to mend.  Senior political and military leaders may think twice about having SEALs included in sensitive missions, wondering how soon they will see a recently separated Navy SEAL, seeking celebrity status,  discussing it on Good Morning America, or Imus, or 60 minutes.    You can almost hear senior leaders thinking: “Which one of these guys will go to the press, or write a book?  We’re not sure we can trust the SEALs.”

I recall General Wayne Downing telling me when he was Commander of US Special Operations Command, “You have no idea how much damage Dick Marcinko has done to the reputation of your community.”  I thought we had finally weathered that storm, and restored our reputation as ‘military professionals,’ but a friend of mine, who is very senior in the military establishment, recently told me regarding the impact of this book, essentially that we have no idea how much damage No Easy Day has done to the SEAL community’s reputation within the Department of Defense.

What also makes the untimely release of this book particularly painful, is that it appears ‘Mark Owen’ violated the trust of his team mates, caused damage to the reputation of the Naval Special Warfare community in which he’d honorably served, and made himself a pariah….for money.   It appears that in order to be first-to-market with the first-person account of the raid, and to garner the fame, notoriety, and the biggest pay check, ‘Mark Owen’ readily violated the ethos of his SEAL tribe, and the military ethos that places ship and shipmate before self.

‘Owen’ says he just wanted to tell his story and the story needed to be told. And others (among whom, the President, Vice President, the SECDEF, and others) may have already revealed what previously would not have been revealed, and perhaps for self-serving purposes. But they were not part of the Tribe – they were not sworn to be ‘quiet professionals,’ sworn to live up to an ethos of service before self, of honor, courage, and commitment, where service to the nation, team, and team mates always trumps opportunities for personal glory or gain. It appears that he has gone his own way, doing damage to his brothers who are still in the fight, for a healthy paycheck. We in the military, we in the Special Operations community, we in the SEALs, claim to be better than that. And because ‘Owen’ was a SEAL, the values and honor of the entire SEAL community are now called into question.

Am I going to read the book? Yes. It is now part of the national discussion, and unfortunately, just like Dick Marcinko’s Rogue Warrior a generation ago, it is now part of the identity, culture, and heritage of the Navy SEALs. Hopefully, those still in the fight can make adjustments to reduce the chances that this will happen again, and hopefully, senior military and political leaders will come to forgive us this one. I’m told that the SEAL community has an unpublished list of former SEALs who are persona non grata, and now ‘Owen’ is at the top. Though they may be toasted at celebrity cocktail parties, people on this list are no longer welcomed at Naval Special Warfare functions. Their names are no longer spoken with reverence and respect by those in the SEAL community. Their professional reputations are forever damaged. And though they may be laughing all the way to the bank, in the end, I continue to believe that the most important thing we have, is our honor and reputation within our community. You can’t buy those with a big bank account.

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After writing the above, I did view the 60 minutes interview with ‘Mark Owen’ and as I expected, I found him likable, credible and he told his story in what seemed to be an honest and straightforward manner.  He said he has the support of his former team mates in getting the true, inside story of the raid into the public arena, countering some of the various inaccurate versions that are out there.  Perhaps some of his team mates may support him, but certainly not the senior ones.  My experience in the Naval Special Warfare community is that many of the operators have little appreciation for the political nature of their work, and how credibility at senior levels is what provides resources, funding, and gives important missions to units.  As I stated above, no matter how credible and straightforward Mark Owen may appear on 60 minutes, bringing this story out now, in this manner, violates the rules of the tribe, and hurts the credibility of SEALs in the arena where key decisions are made.

In Praise of Mediocrity

Mediocre Marathon Runners

I use this title partly in jest.   ‘Mediocrity’ is, almost by definition, that which is not ‘praiseworthy.’  And yet in my comments that follow, I hope to point out that what appears to us as mediocre does not automatically warrant derision or embarrassment.  There is an important place for mediocrity in this world, and often there is much to be celebrated in the mediocre. And I’m proud of my contributions to that great sea of mediocrity that sustains us all!I recently presented myself to my Toastmasters club as ‘the Prince of Mediocrity,’ declaring that I am mediocre at more activities that anyone else I know.  My comments were partly in jest – one evaluator accused me of false modesty, and described my presentation as an example of ‘overstated understatement.’  And yet it is true – I have chosen the path of being just OK, or at best, ‘pretty good’ at a number of activities, and not truly excellent at any.

Mediocre is in contrast to the truly excellent – a level of achievement attained by great talent, combined with great effort. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book  Outliers and Geoff Colvin in his book Talent is Overrated, claim that 10,000 hours of focussed hard work and practice are necessary to achieve true excellence in any field.  We admire on television and on youtube those who perform at the highest levels in sports, movies, the arts.  In newspapers, magazines, and books we are inspired by the persistence, greatness of spirit, and the achievements of the great in politics, science and ideas, exploration, and even, everyday life.   We are not particularly interested in the modest achievements of those with common talent, or limited drive and persistence (though  the popularitiy of The Jersey Shore may argue this point.)  We are surrounded by mediocrity in our day-to-day lives, we might say.  It is uninspiring and uninteresting.  So what is there to praise about it?

Mediocrity is so very human.  All of us, even the great, are mediocre at much of what we do – whether it be cooking, automobile repair or maintenance, housekeeping, computer skills, even personal hygiene and diet.  And we have to accept that about ourselves, or be burdened with guilt and stress.   Though mediocrity is not the pinnacle of achievement,  it is not necessarily to be mocked, except perhaps in those who promise and claim excellence, and deliver much less.

Or when we are laughing at ourselves and our own mediocre efforts, talents,  and achievements – a healthy sense of humor and humility are essential to appreciating the mediocrity in our lives.

Those who will accept nothing less than excellence, for whom mediocrity is simply unacceptable, are often loath to enter into any activity at which they may not excel.  “If it’s worth doing at all,” they say,  “it’s worth doing well.”  But how many things can we truly do well?   My counter to that aphorism might be:  “Not everything that is worth doing, is worth doing well.”  Many over-achievers will not take up golf, fitness, music, art, kayaking, whatever, because they are afraid to be associated with the almost inevitable mediocre performance that comes with entry into any of these activities.  Accepting mediocrity opens the door to trying new activities.

I also pity those who spend their lives regretting excellence not achieved. Remember Terry Malloy, the former boxer played by Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront.  Who can forget his anguished cry, “I coulda been a contender”?  We all know people who have lived their whole lives disappointed at the excellence they never achieved, rather than enjoying what (mediocre) achievements they may have had, and what good fortune did come their way.  Accepting mediocrity helps us to accept ourselves, and appreciate our lives, even when we may not have been at our best.

Achieving true excellence demands sacrifice and can come at great cost.  Life, literature, and history are full of examples of heroes who attained a very high level of excellence - indeed ‘GREATNESS’ – in one field, while the rest of their lives were a shambles.  Think of Hemingway. Or Ernest Shackleton. Or Mickey Mantle.  Or perhaps Mike Tyson, Tiger Woods, or Charlie Sheen.  In Hollywood, great actors whose lives are NOT a mess seem to be an exception.   While we may praise their ‘excellence,’  it is with reservation and caveat.  A willingness to accept and even appreciate something less than excellence might open these heroes’ eyes to the value of the rest of life, outside their field of excellence.

And then there are those who sit on the sidelines and criticize, only respecting ‘excellence,’ while they ridicule those who may not be excelling.    We are reminded of Teddy Roosevelt’s “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.”

Those of us who have learned to accept mediocrity, can enjoy a mediocre round of golf, without it ruining our whole day. Or a mediocre workout, or even a mediocre performance in a competition.  We will take on a new challenge, even when we are unlikely to excel.  We have learned to laugh at and accept less than stellar performance, learn from it, and move on.  Again we return to Teddy Roosevelt “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds.”

“Who strives valiantly…”  may be a clue.  Mediocre results are much easier to accept, and even praise, in those who have striven valiantly.  Maybe it’s because I’m well into middle age – but there are only a few things for which I’ll ‘strive valiantly’ – and I pick those battles carefully.  In the remainder of my endeavors, I may strive…but depending on how I feel and what’s at stake, often not valiantly.    Mediocre effort is NOT acceptable however, if one has promised a valiant effort, or committed to a specific result, or when the lives, and well-being of others are at stake.  Those cases demand a valiant effort, and anything less deserves our contempt.

We mediocritites (don’t bother to look it up) play an important role in this world:  It is we who help inspire and motivate others to doggedly pursue excellence.  It is we who make the truly excellent look good.  Without the rest of us, there would be no one against whom the great could be judged as ‘truly excellent.’  As Walter Stack, an old long distance runner of the 70’s once said, “My role here is to help the rest of you guys to look good.”

We mediocritites make the world go round, supporting, inspiring, and cheering on those who are truly excellent.  When the strivers say that we are not fulfilling our potential by setting our bar too low, we just laugh and go have another drink, and wish them well – and remind them that there isn’t a lot of room at the top – somebody has to hold up the bottom of the pyramid.

The reality is that, as we get older, everything we do seems to slide toward mediocrity – except hopefully, our attitude and our wisdom.  The happiest people in middle age and beyond have come to terms with mediocre performance as part of life – not to be lamented, but to give depth to those rare occasions when we do something truly exceptional. As a golfer, I enjoy watching the Champions Tour, watching former greats humbled, but with a smile on their face, as they roll with a bad round and congratulate whomever may be having a good, or even a great day. In fact I suppose that is one of the things I like about golf – if you can’t live with mediocrity, you have no business playing golf.

In praising mediocrity, we are enjoying the glass half-full – which is so much of what life offers us, rather than cursing that same half-empty glass.  If we can’t enjoy mediocrity, and laugh along with our own foibles and those of others, then there isn’t much joy to be had.  The truly excellent is, by its nature, rare and unusual.

We mediocritites are life’s decathletes…we play at a number of different activities, and though we may not excel at any of them, we enjoy playing.  We set our bar where WE want to set it, and cheer ourselves on when we get over our low bar.   Somehow I believe taking on a variety of activities creates a whole (person) who is more than the sum of his mediocre parts.  Our place “shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” We are in the arena, and to those who may mock us for not having striven valiantly or achieved excellence, I respond, ‘Living well is the best revenge.’

So, how’s that for a mediocre essay? 

Act of Valor

I recently viewed the movie Act of Valor for the second time. I was invited by the Cinema Society of San Diego to view a pre-screening, and afterward, I and a few other SEAL veterans and an active duty Captain from Naval Special Warfare Command were asked to come forward and offer comments.  Since the movie is opening to the public this week, and is generating a lot of buzz in the media, I thought it would be an appropriate topic for this blog.

A little Background: This movie project was initiated a number of years ago when the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community was under considerable pressure to increase its numbers to meet increasing commitments, and that meant amping up recruiting efforts. My guess is that they were trying to repeat the recruiting success that followed An Officer and a Gentleman and Top Gun for Naval aviation a generation ago.  The Bandito Brothers were selected to help create and film a recruiting film, and over time, the recruiting film turned into a feature length movie.   It is ironic that Act of Valor, starring active duty SEALs, is coming out at probably the historic peak of public awareness and admiration of Navy SEALs, in the wake of SEAL snipers recovering Captain Phillips of the Maersk Alabama from Somali Pirates, the successful raid against Osama bin Laden, the tragic helicopter crash, and the recent recovery of two hostages in Somalia. The release of  Act of Valor is preceded by a major publicity and marketing campaign, just as the Naval Special Warfare community is trying to lower its public profile and get back to focusing on their mission as ‘the Quiet Professionals.’

But the wheels for this movie began turning when recruiting was struggling, and all of these very public successes were still years into the future.    Though Act of Valor is being released  at an awkward time for the NSW community, the leadership seems to be graciously dealing with, yet again, more publicity.

Some things I liked about the movie:

-          I liked the introductory interview with the ‘Bandito Brothers’  who directed the film – “Mouse” McCoy and Scott Waugh.   The movie opens with them speaking for about 5 minutes about what was involved in making the movie, and they offer some candid and positive impressions of the SEALs with whom they worked.  Much of this introduction is on their website.

-          The character and capabilities of the men were pretty realistic – they were not portrayed as super-heroes, rather as very well trained ‘tactical athletes’ committed to each other, their families, and their mission.

-          The level of comfort and intimacy between the men reflects the best units in the SEAL Teams.  Not all SEAL units are that tight, but many are.

-          It showed the SEALs as family men, which most are, and fairly depicted the divided loyalty these men struggle with, between their family and their unit/mission. This the SEALs share with other deployable military units.

-          I liked how it portrayed our enemies.  The movie gave us a look at the face of the Evil and zealotry we are fighting, and hopefully makes it clear how important it is that we aggressively fight these people.

-          I thought the movie captured pretty well the intensity of close quarters combat.   Some of the shots give an excellent ‘you are there’ sense.

-          I was glad to see the boats given some of  their due. The Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCCs) are truly awesome at what they do and they don’t get the recognition they deserve. I wish we’d seen more about the SWCCs in Act of Valor.

-          Ethnic diversity was well represented – though perhaps this platoon was more ethnically diverse than most.  Increasing racial diversity – for tactical, vice political reasons – is a key NSW recruiting objective.

-          Act of Valor is orders of magnitude better than Navy SEALs with Charlie Sheen,  or GI Jane with Demi Moore.

Some things I didn’t like about the movie:

The movie claims that, in using active duty SEALs, it provides a fairly accurate portrayal of SEAL missions and capabilities, and life in the Teams.  And it does.  The nits I pick with this movie are with inaccuracies or incomplete truths that can give a false or overly idealized impression of Navy SEALs, their capabilities and life in the Teams.   I do understand that compromises and certain liberties probably had to be taken, in the interest not only of operational security, but also to make a two hour film exciting, dramatic, and successful at the box office.    That said, below are some of the discrepancies between what I saw in the movie and my own experience as a Navy SEAL:

-          The tactical capabilities were somewhat over the top – on very short notice no SEAL platoon that I’ve ever seen can do ALL that this platoon did.

-          There was no indication of the intense staff support and oversight that would accompany each of these operations.   Because the SEAL platoon had center stage in the movie, the movie gave the false impression that a SEAL platoon is given a critical mission of strategic importance, then plans and executes it, with little oversight or staff support.

-          All the equipment and technology always worked. All the intel was always right.

-          In order to demonstrate a wide variety of capabilities within a dramatic story line, the movie condensed 4 or 5 epic missions into one deployment for one platoon.  The reality is that few if any SEAL deployments have included this much action and drama.  Much, but not all, that SEALs do is interesting and exciting, but not nearly as dramatic as this movie depicts.

-          The movie gave the impression that SEALs are nonchalant in the face of danger.  This doesn’t fit with my experience.  Cavalier joking standing on the ramp of a C-130 just prior to a night, equipment free fall into a real mission?  Cavalier joking after one SEAL nearly shoots his team mate while clearing a building of real bad-guys?   My experience is that when all the marbles are at stake, the boys have their game-face on, and there is focus, focus, focus, and little or no room for the distractions of humor.  Now afterwards, at the bar, that’s a different story.

-          Great personal and professional relationships between Platoon Officers and their Chief Petty Officers do happen, but the relationship between Lieutenant Rorke and Chief Dave in this film was truly idealized.   There is usually a healthy tension in the professional relationship between the Officer and his Chief, which is meant to resolve itself to the advantage of both the troops, and the mission.

-          My wife felt that the funeral scene at the end was indeed too personal.  She was quite uncomfortable with showing the public the intimacy of a funeral for one of our fallen comrades, especially since the funeral service in the movie represents that of Mike Monsoor, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for covering a grenade with his body to save his teammates.

Bottom line: Though Act of Valor presents an idealized depiction of an ideal SEAL platoon, it is worth seeing – but go in with your eyes open.     Though it does accurately depict the character of the men in the Navy SEALs and many of their more dramatic operational capabilities, there is some stretching of the truth to make a good story and get the public engaged.   It is not a docudrama; a more accurate, warts-and-all look at the Teams might satisfy guys like me, but probably would not have much chance at the box office.   The film does provide exciting and realistic action scenes, and stays within the general bounds of true NSW capabilities.  The Bandito Brothers deserve to make a lot of money from this movie (God-bless capitalism!),  and I hope that the public reaction is positive – in the form of increased appreciation for the sacrifices that these men and their families make to fight the evil that threatens us all.    I also hope that it results in more of the RIGHT kind of men going to their recruiters and saying:  “I want to join the Navy to be a Navy SWCC,” or “I want to join the Navy to be a Navy SEAL.”

A note on Operational Security considerations.  The tactics, techniques and procedures that are on display in this movie are routinely presented to the public during NSW capabilities demonstrations and in other open source material.  The movie didn’t show the best or the latest or the most sensitive of NSW capabilities.   The film was reviewed by a number of DoD experts to ensure nothing classified was revealed.  The men in this movie know that they and their families are now vulnerable to more publicity and scrutiny than they are used to.   The Navy, their team mates, their leadership and their friends in the community will be taking measures that hopefully protect them, until this blows over.

One final thing I liked about the movie was the quote from Tecumseh at its conclusion:

“Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. And when your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.  Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.”

In Transition

Chinese Danger: Risk+Opportunity

I am in transition.  I am voluntarily leaving a good job, to move on to something else – I’m not sure what.   I’ve been the Director of the Master of Science in Global Leadership program at the Universtiy of San Diego for six years.  I’ve had fun, and I believe I’ve served this position well.  It is time however, to move on – this  isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life.  Now, I’m ‘in transition’ to whatever lies ahead.

Yes, there are practical considerations.  Mary Anne and I have prepared for this step by arranging our finances and our life style to give us some flexibility for a while (without great sacrifice, I might add – we live pretty simply.)  Rather than frantically searching for my next job and my new identity, I am able to take time to think, reflect, and reassess, consider options, and even enjoy this nether-world state of being ‘in transition.’  

Who am I, and what do I want to do?  These are important questions most of us don’t spend much time considering.  We are busy taking care of the multitude of responsibilities and obligations we have to our work, family, friends, and community.  I now have time, and the need to think through – ‘what next?’

In America, more so than in many other cultures, we ARE what we DO, and our social identity is very much tied to our title and our profession.    Right now, I can say   ‘I used to be somebody’ – I used to be a Captain in the Navy, I used to be a Navy SEAL, I used to be the Director of MSGL at USD, I used to be a lot of things.  Now I’m ‘in transition’ – a euphemism for ‘unemployed,’ or maybe ‘retired.’  I am NOT retired, I insist.  I am ‘in transition.’ 

I’m finding that being ‘in transition’ can be interesting and exciting. 

As I consciously embrace being ‘in transition,’ I begin to appreciate its advantages.  The world becomes more interesting.  I see opportunities and possibilities where before I wasn’t looking.  I consider what is most important to me – what do I ‘need’ and what ‘feels’ right, versus what would be nice to have.  I am refreshing my network and renewing old friendships.  It’s enjoyable to be reaching out and reconnecting with friends, old and new, as well as with acquaintances, who could become friends.     And inevitably I’ll say, “…and if you hear of anything that you think might be a good fit for me, I’m available, but not desperate.”   No one wants to have coffee with someone who is ‘desperate.’

I’m beginning to think that perhaps we are always ‘in transition.’  We and the world around us are always changing, and we are constantly creating ourselves anew, from who we used to be, to who we are now, to who we will be in the future.   We are  in a perpetual state of ‘becoming.’  Getting married, having children, moving, losing a loved one, or leaving a job are merely dramatic reminders that our lives are not static, that our circumstances and the world around us are always changing.   How we respond to events, everything we think, say, and do, and all of our decisions, create the world we will live in tomorrow.    Some call this our ‘karma.’   For most of us, our ‘karma’ is not part of our everyday consciousness and awareness.  Transition however, is all about ‘karma.’ 

I’m realizing that what I’ve done and how I’ve lived in the past, will determine my opportunities in the future.  Things I’ve done well, with heart and commitment, things I have done to serve other people, or in support of causes I’ve believed in passionately, open doors for me.     I also realize that things I did NOT do well, sincerely, or with passion, or relationships I did not nurture, have left doors closed that might otherwise be open to me.   I’m ‘in transition’ to a future that will be determined by what I put my heart into in the past, what I did well, and with passion.

What I have learned is this:  Whether we realize it or not, we are always preparing ourselves (well or poorly) for what lies ahead.   We are essentially always ‘in transition’ to what we will be doing tomorrow.  I believe however, that our future is determined not by WHAT we do, so much as by HOW we do what we do.   Do we act with joy, respect, passion, and enthusiasm?   Or do we live, and work selfishly, apathetically, resentfully, cynically?   How we do what we do creates the karma that determines our future.

Being ‘in transition’ is a creative process.  I am reinventing myself – creating someone new out of who I ‘used to be.’  I’m enjoying having some flexibility and time to reflect, reassess and branch out into new areas.  I am excited about the future.  There will be some bumps in the road, but I’m confident that something good is going to happen – I just don’t know yet what. Stay tuned.

And whether you realize it or not, dear reader,  you too are ‘in transition.’

The Costs of War

I submitted the below essay to Naval Special Warfare’s ’Ethos’ magazine to be published this month.  I wrote this as a member of the Naval Special Warfare community.

In every generation, there are a few major events which divide our experience into “our lives before, and our lives after.”   The attack on America on September 11, 2001, ten years ago this month, was certainly one of those events.   It was THE defining event for America in the last decades, and it served as a clarion call to America’s Special Operations Forces.  America was under attack.  A small group of terrorists were out to attack Americans, American interests, and America’s friends around the world. This gave our Special Operations Forces focus and purpose; America needed us.  We had been preparing for this for decades.

Since then, we have fought hard, and we have fought well.  We have made a difference, in ways that the American public will only read about in future years, when the reports are declassified and the historians can tell us what really happened.   Recently the public got a glimpse of how good we are, when ‘our boys’ got the big prize of Osama bin Laden, and for a while, we basked in the unfamiliar but warm glow of positive publicity as America’s new heroes.  But the cost of being central to America’s efforts in this war has been high….and it remains high.   The Naval Special Warfare community has lost 69 brothers to enemy action and training accidents since September 11, 2001, which includes SEALs, SWCCs, Techs.  And many, many others have been seriously wounded.

Just as America looks at its recent history in terms of before and after 9-11, the families and loved ones of servicemen and women killed during this conflict divide their lives into a different ‘before and after’  – before the death of their loved one, and after.  And those many who are seriously wounded have their own ‘before and after.’  In June 2005, we could barely imagine the tragedy of losing 11 of our brothers during Operation Redwing.  Now six years later, we have lost double that number in a single incident.   And so once again, the horror and tragedy of war becomes all too real to us.   “Eleven,” or “twenty-two” or “sixty-nine” –  those are big numbers to our small community, but each one of those killed was an individual, a human being, a member of the Naval Special Warfare family, with his own life, dreams, family, hopes and aspirations.   A Naval Special Warfare wife who knew some of those killed in the recent tragedy in August, and who knows many of their families well, recently wrote in a public forum,

 “They were great, brave men, but do not forget that they were men…these extraordinary men loved, hurt, and laughed with the rest of us…. The images that their loved ones will remember …will not be those of them fast roping out of a helo. Rather, the images that will bring both joy and agony in their minds are those of a gentle smile, a goofy laugh, a knowing look… These were Americans hoping what we all hope; that their families will be able to live the best life possible; that opportunity would abound.”

The whole country mourns the loss of these warriors.  We in the Teams mourn the loss of our brothers – men so much like ourselves, men who we knew personally, or if not, men with whom we would have felt right at home.   We struggle to understand the pain of this loss to their families and closest friends.  The heaviest burden of this war has been borne by the families of the service members killed and wounded.  It is a constant, drip, drip, drip of names of good men, our brothers, killed or wounded, with the occasional mega-tragedy, like the one that hit us in August.  It impacts all of us, some certainly more than others.

And yet, men are still volunteering in great numbers.  The costs have been high, the risks remain high, but the Teams are full of men ready and eager to go into the fray, and to train hard and intensely to be ready when called.   Outside the Teams, we have multitudes of men doing all they can to get into our community, so that they too can have the opportunity to train hard to be ready to go with us into combat.   There is something we are doing right that remains extremely attractive to America’s toughest, smartest, most versatile, most resilient warriors.  Tragedy hurts, but it can also bring us together, solidify our sense of purpose, help us to find strength and spiritual resolve, when we know we must carry on and overcome.

As we try to come to terms with the loss of twenty-two of our own, we celebrate how they lived, and what they did.  We celebrate their lives, the way we want our survivors to celebrate our own lives when we pass – to celebrate what have done, and not focus on what we have left undone.  All of us will leave this world with work undone; it is reassuring to know that our families and loved ones at home, and our teammates and the next generation of warriors at work, will pick up where we leave off, and carry on.

I had prepared a different essay for Ethos, about how Naval Special Warfare had changed and evolved since 2001.  A few days before I submitted it, we learned of the tragedy in Afghanistan. That other essay will have to wait for another time.  The loss of these fine men brought home to all of us the costs and sacrifices that our warriors and families have borne since 9-11 – and this recent painful loss is a stern reminder of the horror and tragedy of war.  War is indeed about killing and dying – but it is also about heroism, patriotism, determination, brotherhood, and sacrifice.  We must not forget to celebrate who these men were, and in so doing, celebrate who we are.

“And then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ “Isaiah 6:8-10.8

 

Ethos or Mythos?

 The Seal community is justifiably proud of its Ethos.    It describes high ideals and provides a beacon of values to guide Seals through the challenges of these difficult times.  I fear however, that some Seals may not be getting regular exposure to the Seal Ethos , and without that regular exposure, some Seals may instead be falling under the influence of  the more seductive ‘Seal Mythos’ – the myth and the legends that the public has come to believe about who Seals are, what they do, and what they stand for.    

The Seal Ethos describes a quiet professional with impeccable integrity, who is physically and mentally tough, compassionate, proud of his heritage, his training, and his team- mates, a gifted and talented leader, humbly ready to risk all for the benefit of his team, his service, and his country.

The Seal Mythos however, speaks more of bravado than quiet professionalism, more in-your-face, than humble servant of our country.   The Seal Mythos portrays Seals as amazing fighters, experts in the full range of commando skills, incredibly strong and fit, who love the fighting, violence and killing of war, can kill you in a nanosecond with their bare hands (and not think twice about it).   When these highly trained and efficient killers are unleashed against the enemy, there just isn’t enough Kryptonite to stop them.       

Those of us who are, or have been, inside the culture of the Seal Teams, chuckle at this fantastic portrayal of the superhero of the Seal Mythos – because our insider knowledge knows the truth.   But we also recognize that the Seal Mythos has been an important recruiting tool and strong motivator to help young men get through BUD/S training and into the Seal teams.   BUD/S instructors continue to motivate trainees with that vision of their future selves as superhero commandos , who can (metaphorically) leap tall buildings in a single bound. 

But what about the Seal Ethos? It depicts a very different character – one who doesn’t need or concern himself with the adulation of an adoring public.  The Seal Ethos describes someone who dedicates himself to the dictates of profession, family and community.  “A common man, with uncommon desire to succeed….always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves….who doesn’t advertise the nature of <his> work, nor seek recognition for <his> actions,” who must earn his privilege to serve every day.   While the Seal Mythos is about the Seal as superhero, the Seal Ethos is about the Seal as humble servant to his profession, his teammates, community and nation.    

This is not a new issue.  We can go back nearly 3000 years and look at Homer’s  Illiad to see the warrior of the Seal Ethos in Hector, a great warrior, but also a great citizen, husband, father, and son – an honorable man who fought because he had to for his city and his community. We see the warrior of the Seal Mythos in Achilles, half man and half god (a true ‘super-hero’), a great fighter, but a selfish and ego-driven prima-donna who fought primarily for personal glory.

 I believe there is a moral development process in becoming the Seal described in the Seal Ethos.   While the trainee and young Seal may be attracted to the ideal in the Seal Mythos, the more mature Seal aspires to live up to the ideal in the Seal Ethos.  We eventually realize that we are not, nor ever will be, superheroes.  Most of us who choose to stick around the community as our ‘life’s work,’ become more humble with time, and are dismissive of the Seal Mythos.  We are most proud of the aspirational qualities included in the Seal Ethos.

Psychologists all know that for ideas and ideals to take root, they need to be repeated – again and again.  The Marine Corps knows this.  In the book Built to Last, the authors point out that in the best corporations, the values of the organization are repeated in every speech, in every public declaration by all the leaders of the organization.  However in most organizations, vision statements and aspirational ideals are normally framed and placed in a lobby or nice conference room, and are rarely discussed, consulted, or reinforced .  Is this happening to the Seal Ethos?

I’m told by young Seals, that after they graduate from training and report to the Teams, they rarely hear the Seal Ethos again, apart from vague references to it – like to the Declaration of Independence. I believe Seals need to have the values of the Seal Ethos explicitly and repeatedly reinforced.  I challenge our leaders to use the Seal Ethos to its full potential to balance the powerful ‘siren song’ of the Seal Mythos.  

A challenge to Seal Leaders: An hour with a Platoon, Task Unit, or Team, to examine the nuances, the implications, and responsibility inherent in the Seal Ethos will communicate to your men what you value and stand for.  Specific values in the Seal Ethos should be repeatedly referenced in remarks to troops, families, and others.  Finally, I challenge every Seal, starting in BUD/S, to memorize the Seal Ethos.

One final point:  Our values and ethos are not what we say, or teach in a class, or write in a document.  Our real values and ethos are reflected in what we do, how we live, what we reward, how we treat each other and how we treat people outside of our immediate circle of family, friends, and culture. 

The Tribal Ethic

One of my students recently sent me a link to a short series of video lectures by Stephen Pressfield (author of Gates of Fire, The Virtues of War, The Afghan Campaign) in which he talks about tribalism and tribal behavior. In his video lectures (available here) Pressfield claims that ‘tribalism,’ not Islam is our enemy in the Global War on Terror. He also notes that tribalism, like so much else, has good (constructive) sides, but can have bad (destructive and evil) sides, as well. The evil sides he sees manifest in our enemies in the current war.

This caused me to reflect on the ethical implications of tribalism. We see manifestations of ‘tribalism’ in many facets of our lives in modern society. What I call the ‘tribal ethic’ demands a greater moral obligation to those within the tribe than to those outside the tribe. We belong to our ‘tribe,’ by virtue of a shared identity which entails a series of implicit and explicit values, commitments and obligations that we don’t share with those outside our tribe. One of the values that tribal ethics holds highest, is loyalty to the tribe, its members and its values.

Anthropologists argue that this tribal ethic is built into our DNA. It begins with a greater sense of loyalty to and responsibility for those closest to us and with whom we identify – our family, friends, community, religion, school, culture, nation – than to those with whom we do not share these ties. This is natural, and most would argue there is much that is ‘good,’ in feeling a greater sense of moral obligation to our children, our family, our friends, country and culture, than to those not in our family or culture.

We all want to belong to a strong tribe, and be part of a larger family that we can count on, who will stand with us in good times and bad, and will ‘have our back’ against those not of our tribe who may seek to do us harm. Within our tribe, it is ‘all for one, and one for all,’ (Dumas in The Three Musketeers) ‘united we stand, divided we fall,’ (attributed to many, to include Benjamin Franklin and Lincoln) ‘we few, we happy few, we band of brothers’ (Shakespeare Henry V). Being part of a strong and successful ‘tribe’ lessens our sense of vulnerability and isolation, instills in us a sense of power and community, and gives meaning to our lives. As we look back on our lives, frequently the happiest times were when we felt that we were a fully enfranchised member of a strong and successful tribe, in which others would do anything for us, and we for them. Is that not an ideal?

Indeed it is, but tribalism can clearly have a dark side. While such a strong tribal affiliation can be fulfilling and give meaning to our lives, a less appealing side of the tribal ethic is often most evident to those excluded from its benefits. How porous is that line between those inside and outside the tribe? And how does the tribe regard and treat those outside its boundaries? Tribalism, taken to an extreme, can justify intolerance and bigotry, human rights abuses, racism, and even genocide. People who take their tribal affiliations overly seriously, may truly believe that by virtue of being a member of their ‘tribe,’ they are in fact intrinsically superior – stronger, smarter, better, more entitled than those not in the tribe. Some truly believe that their tribe has entitlements that diminish, disrespect or even dehumanize those not in the tribe. The concepts that “All men are created equal” or “We are all God’s children” are exchanged for “We’re number one” or “We’re the best.”

People are competitive, and so are tribes. Tribes can be very aggressive pursuing and defending their interests. Wars are essentially tribal affairs. Business ethics, military ethics, rules of sportsmanship and other branches of ethics are largely about establishing rules and boundaries to help manage this human impulse toward tribal behavior.

So, how can this tribal instinct manifest itself so positively, in the form of taking care of our own, and so negatively, in the form of arrogance, intolerance and aggressive bigotry? The key issue is how we regard and treat those outside of our own ‘tribal’ group. Arrogant, bigoted, and intolerant behavior can result when those outside the tribe are regarded as very different and somehow less than those inside the tribe. Intolerance of outsiders can even extend to those inside the tribe who may question tribal values, or accept behaviors and values from outside tribal traditions. We see this most often when the tribe feels threatened, or is insecure in its values and identity. The wagons get circled, and the world becomes divided into us, and them.

The ideal of a strong tribal ethic, however, is when members of the tribe readily extend their support and loyalty to outsiders, and when the barrier between those inside the tribe and those outside is porous and easily bridged. This ethical ideal is for each of us to seek to treat more than just a few people like we treat the people we love most – to expand our tribal circle to include more and different groups of people, and to treat all human beings with dignity and respect. There certainly are practical barriers to this ideal, but the tribal ethic at its best is something that we can aspire to extend beyond our comfort zone, to people of different cultures and tribal affiliations.

The circle encompassing all other tribal circles is the family of man. The saints and other spiritual and moral leaders have essentially let tribal barriers and affiliations dissolve, except to the family of man. A saint treats everyone as a brother or sister, as a comrade-in-arms, as a fellow human being. This level of compassion and love is indeed extra-ordinary and religions hold up these spiritual heroes for the rest of us to strive to emulate. Recognizing that we all can’t be saints, we can at least be aware of our instinctual tribal ethic, seek to maximize its positive manifestations, and beware of our tendency to use tribal affiliations to separate us from people with whom we may have more in common with than we realize.

I am an American. What does that mean?

I recently was asked to lead a session for a group of SEALs in how to build relationships and work with civilians in other countries, which SEALs are increasingly required to do in their operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. In the current War, the line between civilian and military activities has blurred, as has the distinction between our civilian and military adversaries. As a result, the warriors we send forward are being asked to build relationships and trust with a broader spectrum of partners in their operational environment. I was asked to bring some of my perspectives to the discussion of how best to do that.

I decided that it would be important to discuss ourselves as ‘Americans’ in order to better understand how we can relate to people who are NOT Americans. We looked at our ‘cultural cruise control,’ a term I took from the book Cultural Intelligence by Thomas and Inkson. ‘Cultural cruise control’ refers to how much of our behavior is culturally programmed, and comes automatically – we may not be aware that there is any other way. This book claims that to work effectively overseas, we have to learn to turn off our ‘cultural cruise control’ by first becoming aware of it, and realizing that the values, customs, perspective which may be automatic in our own culture, are not necessarily universal. I used another book, Kiss Bow, or Shake Hands, by Morrison and Conaway, to look at how people from other cultures view US culture, values and perspectives.

In Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands, we learned that compared with much of the world, Americans are quite comfortable with diversity in the work place. We are used to working in multi-cultural, multi-racial and mixed gender environments. We are less formal, and more egalitarian than most of the world – we are less concerned with the status of one’s family, or one’s place in society. We also discussed how in America, business happens very quickly, and business relationships are based on facts and objective information much more so than on personal relationships. We discussed how, relative to much of the world, Americans are comfortable doing business without a personal relationships, and will conduct business with just a phone call and a credit card number, or only a contract, or simply over the internet. In America, personal relationships are nice-to-have, but not essential in business. In fact, in American culture, personal relationships in business can be a distraction from efficiency and effectiveness. Americans, it seems, have few friends and lots of acquaintances.

We also learn that Americans believe in efficiency and task completion as significantly more important than building and sustaining relationships, especially in the work place. Employees are seen as replaceable, as are business partners and suppliers, especially if another employee, business partner, or supplier could help us achieve greater efficiency, and/or success in the work place. We learn that this focus on work, efficiency, and success is frequently at the expense of family, friends, and other more casual and pleasurable endeavors. As a culture, we have little anxiety about the meaning of life, while we have a high degree of anxiety about our ability to meet commitments and fulfill expectations that others have of us. We frequently choose to develop relationships through doing business rather than in order to do business, and frequently, the relationships are just that – business relationships – no more, no less.

When doing business, Americans don’t like to spend a lot of time with idle chat or conversation – we prefer to get right down to business, take care of what needs to be taken care of, and move on to the next project. As we Americans know all too well, time is money, and there is not much time to waste in idle conversation. In the words of Robert Frost, the woods may be “lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep….” (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening). In American culture, work is work, and play is play, but when we’re relaxing and ‘smelling the roses,’ our competitors are forging ahead and we may be losing ground. So, we don’t relax very well.

We are confident, proud, optimistic, and competitive. When we meet people, we look them in the eye, offer a firm hand shake, a smile, and our first name. We identify ourselves not by our family, our ancestry, or social class, less often by our hobbies or interests outside of work, but usually by our job or profession. We believe in the power and potential of hard work, and believe that with a positive attitude, a good team, persistence, and a willingness to work hard, there is little we can’t accomplish. This is not a universal belief.

But it is in our cultural DNA. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Americans seem to believe that as soon as the rest of the world wakes up to the value of hard work, confident individualism, and a government that protects individual rights, and enforces responsibilities, they too will see that all things are possible.

As I talked to the SEALS, my point was not to dispute any of this – for I find this description of American culture fits pretty well with my own experience. For I and the SEALs have inherited this in our cultural DNA, and have lived and breathed it our entire lives.

But we also discussed how we, in our ‘live to work’ culture, could probably learn a few things from people in ‘work to live’ cultures. SEALs frequently seek to embody the spirit of American rugged individualism – but much of the world believes that there is more to Life, than exercising our inalienable right to Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (at least the American version of it).

“Cultural Intelligence,” note Thomas and Inkson, requires that we develop three levels of cultural awareness: Knowledge of another culture’s values, customs and perspectives, Mindfulness, or the ability to notice when and how these are manifest, and Behavior, an ability to adapt to fit in with the values, customs, and perspectives of different cultures. Understanding oneself as an American can begin in the class-room, but in my opinion, does not truly begin until one lives in another culture. The SEALs I was talking to will soon be going overseas and getting to know themselves better, as Americans.

What have I missed? Any thoughts on what makes us American? Please email your thoughts to me at schoultz@sandiego.edu. I hope to teach this class again, and I would like to make it better. Hope to hear from you.

Ground Hog Day

The other night I watched again, for the umpteenth time, one of my favorite movies, Ground Hog Day, which, as you surely know, stars Bill Murray. The 1993 movie, tells a quasi-science fiction story about a local news weather-jerk Phil Connors, who finds himself reliving the 2nd of February in that year of 198X, over and over again – and only he remembers his previous experiences on that day. Most of you who may read these words are quite familiar with the story, so I won’t recount it, but I will share a couple of thoughts that occurred to me as I enjoyed watching it again.

Like Forrest Gump, the movie Ground Hog Day can be enjoyed on many levels – superficially as a clever and funny twist on the life we lead, and more profoundly, by challenging our own perceptions of who we are and what is important. It is deliciously humorous, as Bill Murray beautifully caricatures a self-centered, self-important, manipulating jerk. The movie also caricatures the un-cosmopolitan nature of small town life in Punxsutawney, somewhere west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Connors finds it almost an insult for such a sophisticated ‘somebody’ as he perceived himself to be, to be forced to spend a night with the hicks and fools in this unsophisticated nowheresville. And then, the gods intervene, to leave him in Punxsutawney, apparently for eternity. If Phil Connors could imagine hell, this would be it.

What a bummer! What an injustice!

But for the rest of us – the viewers with a god’s-eye view – this is sweet justice delivered to an insufferable a__-hole! And Hurrah! The gods DO have a sense of humor! This is when the fun begins.

True to character, after realizing his predicament, Connors gets to work exploiting it for his personal fun and profit, finding advantage in his predicament to manipulate people and his environment for his own ends. Very humorous indeed! Eat all you want, because tomorrow, you start all over. Insult whoever you want, take, steal, break whatever you want, seduce every woman you desire – the world will forget everything tomorrow, when you can start over and try new tricks to find new pleasures. Connors is able to live everyman’s dream – to have a unique advantage over everyone else in the competition to score victories for ‘fun and profit.’ His advantage is almost perfect knowledge, and no accountability. He can find out anything and everything about his environment and use it for his own personal advantage. He can live the adage ‘knowledge is power’ to its logical and extreme conclusion.

When you know the winning lottery number, it’s easy to win the lottery. When you know which cards the dealer will play – it’s easy to win at Blackjack.

When you know another person’s history and vulnerabilities, it is easy to manipulate them to your own ends.

Connors’ situation essentially gives him superhuman powers and insights. His only problem is that he has just shy of 24 hours during which he can use this advantage – over and over again. And he’s stuck in Punxsutawney.

The underlying theme of the story however is Connors’ moral and spiritual development. At the beginning of the movie, Connors’ life revolves around whatever makes him feel good – right now. His predicament gives him new powers to get away with anything in order to attain this goal. But he eventually gets bored with the pursuit of pleasure, and discovers that it is ultimately unsatisfying. As he comes to terms with his predicament, he amuses himself by getting to know and even appreciate the people of Punxsutawney, with all their fears and foibles. He eventually comes to realize that his boss, Rita (played by Andie MacDowell), the target of his seduction efforts throughout much of the movie, is indeed an unusually good, genuine, and unselfish person. With these insights, his own attitudes change and his evolution accelerates. He finds satisfaction in music, art and literature, and finds new pleasure in enabling and supporting happiness in others, even for just that one day.

He ultimately realizes that this one day, the 2nd of February, 198X, is all he will ever have, and there is no point to manipulating events and people for some future advantage.

One of the great lines in the movie comes near the end, when Connors tells Rita “I don’t care what happens. In this moment, I am happy.” In the end, the insufferable jerk has become a genuinely good, unselfish and wise man.

But to get there, he had opportunities that most of us do not have – to live out his childish and selfish fantasies, to experience the power to get almost whatever he wanted, with no long term consequences. Aristotle distinguished ‘cleverness’ –knowing how to get what one wants – from ‘wisdom’ – knowing the right things to want. Early in the movie, Connors used his predicament to enhance his cleverness; during the course of the movie he became wise. This wisdom was earned, by some estimates, after repeating the 2nd of February tens of thousands of times.

So what? Merely a fun and clever movie? Or something more? If we try to imagine ourselves able to live out our own power-fantasies as Connors was able to do in this movie, most of us realize that it would merely scratch an itch, but probably not make us happy in any meaningful sense. That said, our power-fantasies have a strong hold on us, and I wonder whether in fact we may have to continue to work through them in order to fully realize that they are ultimately unfulfilling. Does our personal growth require that we move through the stages Connors went through by trial and error to get to that state of wisdom that he has attained at the end of the movie? Buddhists and others who believe in the evolution of the soul through reincarnation, have adopted Ground Hog Day as a metaphor for the lives we must re-live, over and over again, to attain cosmic ‘wisdom’ and freedom from suffering.

In our own little Punxsutawney worlds, perhaps we do in fact already have all that we need to be happy, fulfilled, and wise. But we’re still not convinced that we can get to the gold at the end of the rainbow without being more clever than the next guy.

I, for one, would love to see a sequel. After the time loop is broken, Phil and Rita are happily walking down the snow-covered streets of Punxsutawney, talking about settling down there together. But Connors’ quip at the end, “but let’s rent first” is full of irony and begs a number of interesting questions – that without a sequel, only invite speculation.

Wikipedia has an interesting and fun article on the movie, and from it I learned that (like me) Roger Ebert, “had initially underestimated the film’s many virtues, and only came to truly appreciate it through repeated viewings.” The article also notes that Ground Hog Day continues to rise in the rankings of great movies, and one pundit named it as one of the best American films ever. It occurred to me as I watched it again the other night, that the parallel dimensions of realities envisioned in the emerging ‘string theory’ of reality may imply potentially more ‘truth’ in the Ground Hog Day experience than we realize. Anyway, I will watch Ground Hog Day again, and again, not only to enjoy its humor, but also in hopes that my appreciation for its insights will evolve, as does Murray’s character in the movie.