Category: Technology

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Fire for Effect

My unit: 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery. “Without fear, favor, or hope for reward.” (Source: public domain media)

I went to college on an ROTC scholarship. When I got my degree, I went into active duty service as a lieutenant. During my time on active duty, I served in a field artillery battalion, as part of the operations staff. That is where I learned how the Army actually delivers fire support

The most important thing to know about artillery is that it can’t win the battle alone. The Army relies on maneuver units (tanks and infantry) to seize or hold the battlefield. Artillery supports them by putting shells, rockets, or missiles on the enemy to suppress or destroy it.

How that support is organized is the interesting part. Artillery units usually belong to a division or a corps, but they do not always work directly for that headquarters. Sometimes they shoot higher-level missions such as SEAD (suppression of enemy air defenses) or counterfire (attacking the other side’s artillery). Sometimes they talk straight to a subordinate unit that is in contact and needs rounds now. And sometimes they have a primary mission and a secondary one stacked underneath it.

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The Stall

A while ago I was “gifted” with a gas grill. (It’s a long story—basically, someone I knew left behind the grill at my house and never came by to pick it up.) While I enjoy cooking, I’m usually not much of a grilling guy. However, I do have a fondness for barbecue. I lived in Kentucky for over two decades and traveled all over the South during that period. As a result, I was initiated into the finer details of pulled pork and smoked brisket.

As it turns out, there is actually a way to smoke with a gas grill; all you need is a smoker box to hold the wood chips, which you can get at any hardware store. So this past summer, I figured I’d put the gas grill to use and try my hand at smoking. It’s been a learning experience, and there were mistakes along the way. But with time and practice, I’ll get better at it.

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Precipitous Terrain

If you aren’t prepared for what life can throw at you, you may be in for a great fall.

As I’m sure everyone understands all too well by now, life has a way of throwing monkeywrenches into the system. If there’s anything that’s been consistent about 2020, it’s that every month seemingly has a new surprise to spring upon humanity.

Instead of traveling over smooth ground, we are on precipitous terrain. Any kind of long term forecast is currently impossible.

When chaos is the order of the day, you must be able to make and act on snap judgements without overcommitting on your previous decision. How do you do that?

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A Technologist’s Talent Stack

Earlier I talked about building a talent stack of different skills in order to increase your uniqueness and value. Below I put together an archetypical talent stack for a technologist, drawing from my own experiences. The list below is far from complete, and that’s intentional. You should design your own stack that’s unique to you.
One thing I should emphasize again: you don’t have to be an expert at all of these. You should be very. very good at at least one (maybe two or three, if you’re really determined), and then have passable ability at the others.
I’ve laid these skills out into discrete large sections, as some tend to be more related to each other.

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