I had the opportunity to talk with Captain Mark Braswell at the San Antonio airport in April 2008. He commanded the 340th Quartermaster Company, under the United States Army Reserve Command from January 2004 to October 2006, including a one year deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom from October 2004 to October 2005. Captain Braswell gave me a primer on Iraq and the military to explain some of the basics.
One term he discussed is the MOS, Military Occupational Specialty. The Army and Marine Corps use the MOS to classify general and specific jobs for military personnel. One of the challenges Iraq presented was job expectations in contrast to job realities. Soldiers were trained for a specialty, but because of the changing needs and harsh conditions in Iraq, they often ended up doing something else.
Braswell deployed to Iraq in October 2004. His job was to lead 127 men and women who helped establish shower, laundry, and clothing renovation services at various locations across Iraq. However, a government contractor was in place and already doing much of the work they were trained to do. Seventy-seven of them ended up doing something else providing security for the contractors. They learned to conduct “gun truck” missions in a combat zone. Gun trucks are armored vehicles with crews who escort and protect supply convoys from insurgent attacks.
“They operated .50 caliber machine guns and Mark-19 automatic grenade launchers. They learned to use frequency hopping radios and a Movement Tracking System to call-in and email Casualty Evacuation and Improvised Explosive Device reports. They navigated across Iraq on rugged back roads or alternate supply routes,” Braswell explained.
These soldiers became technically and tactically proficient combat soldiers, eventually mentoring active component units. The 340th lived-up to two mottos, their own motto: Proud and Ready and the Army Reserve’s motto: Twice the citizen Twice the soldier.
Hence, their MOS didn’t hold up as expected. That’s when Braswell told me the real mode of operation in Iraq is flexicuting. “You have to flexicute, that is, execute but remain flexible.”
Braswell’s explanation fit right in with an interview I had recently conducted with a lieutenant. He also found that most of his work in Iraq had little to do with his MOS and more to do with what was needed.
Braswell explained that the diversity of Army Reserve soldiers came in handy for such sliding job descriptions. Army Reserve soldiers have additional skills and know-how thanks to their civilian jobs. Because he’s an attorney, Braswell was accustomed to holding another job. Being an Army Reservist had an added benefit of being flexible in the field.
Flexicute applies no matter the job. For whatever the work of our hands, God calls us to employ a flexible attitude as well.
May I work with diligence and might at whatever work you bring to my hands and may my heart maintain a flexible attitude to the changes around me.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10a)