Aug 19, 2008 0
In praise of mavericks…
In praise of mavericks is a short piece by Col. Michael Wyly (Ret.) that can be found at the Armed Forces Journal. The byline reads –
A true professional will strive to do something, not be someone
The colonel’s principal interest is in a single word – professional, in brief terms – the development of the profession and the professional.
It was during the European Renaissance that the professional class emerged and defined itself. It was during the Renaissance that the birthright nobility began to give way to a society led by persons respected for their merits – for what they did instead of who they were. Each profession had standards for entry, they professed something, and their study of it was daily, continual and life- long.They served their society. Medicine, law, the clergy and military leadership became during the 15th and 16th centuries – and still stand as – the classically defined professions.
A profession must be applied for and joined after being accepted,and its moral standards are as important as its philosophy.
So it follows that I ask myself this same question – What is my profession? What professional am I? And the surest answer is that I am not in any profession – of many professions but not in any one. And I don’t find that as troubling as I normally might. Or should I?
Some of the Secretary of Defense’s remarks invoke another Air Force Colonel John Boyd, the OODA loop etc. It has been a long standing desire on my part to study the OODA loop and possible adaptations to what I do everyday. Or maybe the OODA loop itself is the desire.
After they graduate and leave Maxwell, Gates warned the students: