It was the spring of 2003 and I was at a crossroad. I was a 31 year old buck sergeant in the US Army, assigned to the Southern European Task Force (aka SETAF) in Vicenza, Italy and my future was very much uncertain. I felt I was destined for something better but I couldn't figure out what. I worked in the G3 Operations section which meant I worked with a lot of officers and other high ranking people and because of the job I did, I sort of developed a reputation as a "smart guy" which, if you know me, is pretty far from the truth. Regardless, during my years as an enlisted soldier, it was a pretty common thing for officers I worked for or with to try and convince me to go to Officer Candidate School (OCS), saying I would make a good officer. For my part, I was unconvinced. I actually enjoyed military life and since I had a college degree, it often seemed as if I were pre-ordained to become an officer at some point but I could just never pull the trigger for various reasons. For one thing, going to OCS meant there was a very good chance that I would end up in a combat arms branch such as infantry and I had zero interest in that. Believe me when I tell you that I have the upmost respect and admiration for the infantry and the other combat arms branches...the 'ground pounders' are the backbone and very fabric of the US Military. It's just that I was getting older and I enjoyed working with systems more than I enjoyed being in the field doing 'grunt' stuff. I had been a signal (communications) guy my entire military career, I had no interest in learning how to be a combat arms officer at 30 years old. At SETAF, I worked with tons of infantry officers and I was in awe of some of them, I knew there was no way I could ever measure up to what they were. Indeed, many of the infantry officers I worked with in my SETAF days have gone on to become some of the greatest Army leaders of our generation, some even achieving the rank of one, two or three star generals. They were imposing men with larger-than-life personalities who worked late hours and seldom saw their families and that just was not me. I was the guy who liked to come in, do his job, then go home and enjoy life away from the Army.
The guy who was in charge of the G3 was an old school, crusty, barrel-chested Colonel named Carpenter. Carpenter was tough as nails, had a voice and manner that just commanded respect but had a personality that forced you to love the guy. His nickname was Mongo and he was fond of carrying a wooden mace around the building with him. My first day at SETAF he passed by me, looked at my uniform and said "Thibodeau...come see me in my office later". I was a bit unnerved, wondering what I could have done wrong but I needn't have worried. It turns out that Col Carpenter was from the great state of Vermont and instantly recognized me as a fellow northern New Englander by my French-Canadian last name. We compared stories of our New England backgrounds and then he dismissed me but it was obvious that he had taken an instant liking to me - as I learned later on, Carpenter had a tremendous fondness for his enlisted soldiers whom he always said were "his guys". I may not have been an infantry guy but Col Carpenter recognized the skills and talent that I did have and that what I offered to the command and its mission was as integral as anyone else on his staff. In the three years that I worked for him, he would often try to persuade me to submit an OCS packet but I always rebuffed him. I remember one conversation we had where he growled at me, "Goddamnit Thibodeau, when are you going to go to OCS? You're spinning your wheels down here as an enlisted guy...". I answered, "Sir, I've considered it but they can't guarantee me a slot in what I want to do, like signal or transportation, there's just too great of a chance that they'll stick me in combat arms and I just don't think I'd make a good combat arms officer..." to which he replied "I think you're selling yourself short Thibodeau, I think you'd make a great combat arms officer". We had similar interactions like this several times during my time there and while I wasn't budging, I honestly appreciated that a leader whom I respected so much believed in me as much as he did.
Sometime in 2001, my division got a new CHOPs (Chief of Operations) named Major Ostlund. Ostlund was a great officer and tremendous leader and I liked him right away. He was completely no-nonsense and one of the hardest chargers I've ever worked for. I'll never forget his brief to all of us shortly after he arrived: "I don't like shitheads". That was it. Short, sweet and to the point, we all knew right away that the new boss didn't fool around. Ostlund was also a true warrior in every sense of the word. In the months that followed 9/11, we all were waiting to see if we would be getting deployed to Afghanistan and Ostlund would ask me "Sgt Thibodeau, if we got the call today, would you be able to have our [deployment plans] ready to get us out of here immediately? Cause my ass has splinters from riding the pine, I need to get in the fight!"
I remember one incident in particular that captured Maj Ostlund perfectly; in my job, I often had to deal directly with our higher headquarters, US Army Europe (USAREUR). One day there was a disagreement between Maj Ostlund and the LTC that I was dealing with at USAREUR (for those who don't know military ranks, a LTC is one rank higher than a Major). I was caught in the middle and was in a no-win situation and I made it worse by trying to pacify everybody by taking blame for whatever happened and I apologized to the LTC at USAREUR. This infuriated Ostlund who came barging into my office like a raging bull and he proceeded to go up one side of me and down the other. I of course apologized and explained that I had no idea how to handle that particular situation; he took a deep breath and told me to come to him directly from now on and let him deal with it, rather than trying to fix everything myself. I remember his exact words were "Sgt Thibodeau, there is not a Goddamned LTC in the Army that I am afraid of." And there wasn't. That was Maj Ostlund - extremely tough but also fair and someone who looked out for people who worked for him and wanted to help them succeed...unless you were a shithead. For my part, I was very good at my job (and I obviously wasn't a shithead) so Ostlund seemed to like me well enough. We would obviously never be friends on a personal level but as long as I stayed off his bad side, that was good enough for me. All these years later, I still count him as the greatest leader I've ever worked for and as it turned out, he had more appreciation for me and my potential than I realized but we'll get to that later...
(To go to Part II, Click Here)
The guy who was in charge of the G3 was an old school, crusty, barrel-chested Colonel named Carpenter. Carpenter was tough as nails, had a voice and manner that just commanded respect but had a personality that forced you to love the guy. His nickname was Mongo and he was fond of carrying a wooden mace around the building with him. My first day at SETAF he passed by me, looked at my uniform and said "Thibodeau...come see me in my office later". I was a bit unnerved, wondering what I could have done wrong but I needn't have worried. It turns out that Col Carpenter was from the great state of Vermont and instantly recognized me as a fellow northern New Englander by my French-Canadian last name. We compared stories of our New England backgrounds and then he dismissed me but it was obvious that he had taken an instant liking to me - as I learned later on, Carpenter had a tremendous fondness for his enlisted soldiers whom he always said were "his guys". I may not have been an infantry guy but Col Carpenter recognized the skills and talent that I did have and that what I offered to the command and its mission was as integral as anyone else on his staff. In the three years that I worked for him, he would often try to persuade me to submit an OCS packet but I always rebuffed him. I remember one conversation we had where he growled at me, "Goddamnit Thibodeau, when are you going to go to OCS? You're spinning your wheels down here as an enlisted guy...". I answered, "Sir, I've considered it but they can't guarantee me a slot in what I want to do, like signal or transportation, there's just too great of a chance that they'll stick me in combat arms and I just don't think I'd make a good combat arms officer..." to which he replied "I think you're selling yourself short Thibodeau, I think you'd make a great combat arms officer". We had similar interactions like this several times during my time there and while I wasn't budging, I honestly appreciated that a leader whom I respected so much believed in me as much as he did.
"SGT Thibodeau", SETAF, ca. 2002
Sometime in 2001, my division got a new CHOPs (Chief of Operations) named Major Ostlund. Ostlund was a great officer and tremendous leader and I liked him right away. He was completely no-nonsense and one of the hardest chargers I've ever worked for. I'll never forget his brief to all of us shortly after he arrived: "I don't like shitheads". That was it. Short, sweet and to the point, we all knew right away that the new boss didn't fool around. Ostlund was also a true warrior in every sense of the word. In the months that followed 9/11, we all were waiting to see if we would be getting deployed to Afghanistan and Ostlund would ask me "Sgt Thibodeau, if we got the call today, would you be able to have our [deployment plans] ready to get us out of here immediately? Cause my ass has splinters from riding the pine, I need to get in the fight!"
Colonel (R) William "Bill" Ostlund; as a Major, he was the greatest leader I ever worked for.
I remember one incident in particular that captured Maj Ostlund perfectly; in my job, I often had to deal directly with our higher headquarters, US Army Europe (USAREUR). One day there was a disagreement between Maj Ostlund and the LTC that I was dealing with at USAREUR (for those who don't know military ranks, a LTC is one rank higher than a Major). I was caught in the middle and was in a no-win situation and I made it worse by trying to pacify everybody by taking blame for whatever happened and I apologized to the LTC at USAREUR. This infuriated Ostlund who came barging into my office like a raging bull and he proceeded to go up one side of me and down the other. I of course apologized and explained that I had no idea how to handle that particular situation; he took a deep breath and told me to come to him directly from now on and let him deal with it, rather than trying to fix everything myself. I remember his exact words were "Sgt Thibodeau, there is not a Goddamned LTC in the Army that I am afraid of." And there wasn't. That was Maj Ostlund - extremely tough but also fair and someone who looked out for people who worked for him and wanted to help them succeed...unless you were a shithead. For my part, I was very good at my job (and I obviously wasn't a shithead) so Ostlund seemed to like me well enough. We would obviously never be friends on a personal level but as long as I stayed off his bad side, that was good enough for me. All these years later, I still count him as the greatest leader I've ever worked for and as it turned out, he had more appreciation for me and my potential than I realized but we'll get to that later...
(To go to Part II, Click Here)
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