NOCBOR

Message from the NOCBOR President

 

Doug Hardy

     At our last membership meeting we omitted the Invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance due to complaints that Pat Jacobs received about the Invocation.  Fortunately everyone spontaneously stood and said the Pledge which was nice to see.  Since that meeting we received resounding support to re-institute both and we have decided to do that and will indicate to our members that disagree with this policy that they may arrive 5 minutes after the start of the meeting so they do not have to participate in our show of support to our country.

    I have had three life changing events in my life. The loss of my mother and the birth of my daughter are the two events that "changed" my charter on life. The third event is detailed below -

    A few years ago I was afforded the opportunity to spend 24 hours on the USS Eisenhower as a distinguished visitor. Ten of my peers from around the country were included on this trip. We visited the carrier when it was about 250 miles from Norfolk, VA as the carrier battle group was doing its last work up prior to deployment to the Persian Gulf. We landed on the carrier in a C-2 landing via arresting cable (108mph to 0 mph in 2 seconds) and took off via catapult (0 mph to 130 mph in 3 seconds). There is no way that photos or words on a page can describe what 10 men saw in this 24 hour period.

     This was the most amazing 24 hour period of my life. I only wish each and every American could witness what we witnessed and learn what we learned.

     Words cannot begin to describe the respect I now have for the military and how almost childish some of our concerns are. The theme was consistent and resolute throughout the ship...one goal, one team. Each person from the paint chipping petty officer to the strike group's admiral all said the same thing. If we do our jobs to the best of our ability we will achieve our mission and each truly believed in their job. One of the guards that checked our ID's knew I was from Michigan because he had inspected the guest list earlier. Although he lived hundreds of miles from me he was so excited to talk to someone from his home state - it was like we were neighbors; for five minutes we spoke of fishing and bird hunting. For those five minutes he was home. As the 24 hours on the Eisenhower progressed my perspective continued to shift.

    I watch the specials on aircraft carriers all the time on the Discovery Channel - I have always been in awe of the planes and the power of the carrier. But I never focused on the crew or more specifically the individuals that made up the crew.  Those individuals impacted my life forever. We were in the ready room of one of the squadrons and one of the pilots was briefing us on their mission. It was just like in the movies, big comfy chairs, neat jumpsuits and patches....but as I looked around the room I noticed their bulletin board on the wall and they were looking for a motto for their upcoming cruise. One of the possible choices was “Why miss one holiday when you can miss them all."

     Their motto applies to the entire ship. These young men, average crew age was 21, miss holidays, births, deaths, first words, first steps, graduations, birthdays and every event we take for granted with no waiver or loss of focus on their task. There was never a complaint heard, never a uniform out of place, never a variation from the goal of doing the best job that they can. The pilots respect their mechanics because each flight hour requires 70 man hours of maintenance and the list goes on and on.

     As the Command Master Chief spoke to us at breakfast about his passion to get the most out of his new recruits personally and professionally and as Admiral Al Myers spoke to us about the three tiers of his responsibility I mentally took enough notes to last a lifetime. I am certain I can apply these concepts to my business and my personal life. 

    When I arrived home I looked at my family differently. I had tears in my eyes just holding my daughter and putting her to sleep, because that is something that each person on that ship doesn't get to do each day. They don't get to do all those things that have become invisible to us. That is what I respect each person on that ship and in the military for - the sacrifices that have become invisible to us. 

    I could go on for hours about this trip with story after story but words cannot describe the effect that those 24 hours had on the 10 of us. Their sacrifices will never be invisible to us.

   I now have new perspectives on all aspects of my life - personally and professionally because of my time spent on “IKE”.

     Let’s all try to keep our business in perspective and be thankful for all those that sacrifice so we may enjoy our freedom to pursue whatever career we choose – and thank you all for clearly supporting our tradition at the start of our meetings.

Doug Hardy, President
Century 21 Today
248-855-2000
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