Soldier of Finance (10 page)

2
. Define the Mission: _____________________________________________________________________

3
. Define the Timeline of the Mission: ______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

4.
Analyze the Situation: __________________________________________________________________

a.
Strengths: __________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

b.
Weaknesses: ________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

5.
Plan Your Attack:

a.
____________________________________________________________________________________

b.
____________________________________________________________________________________

c.
____________________________________________________________________________________

d.
____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Go / No Go

• Goals and objectives define the type of operation you need to plan.
  
• Define your mission objective by setting specific short-term and long-term goals.
  
• Goals should be written down as your personal Operation Orders.
  
  • Give the specific mission a name.
    
  • Define what the mission is, such as “Pay off Visa card.”
    
  • Set timelines for the mission.
    
  • Analyze the situation, including your resources and the obstacles you face.
    
  • Devise a detailed plan of how you will accomplish your goal.
    

Phase Two is designed to launch your attack on your financial enemies. You have identified what needs to happen and have determined a plan of attack; the following step is to take action. This involves Tactical Budgeting and familiarization with the weapons of investment at your disposal.

By the end of the Campaign Phase, you will see measurable progress toward financial stability and enduring wealth.

Are you ready to take action?

They treated us like cattle. Literally. The day we left Reception, we knew we were headed to Basic Training, but in all honesty, not one of us really knew where we were going. The trip should have given us a clue.

Reception took a little over a week. We finished the required paperwork and went into a kind of holding pattern until a slot opened up for us in Basic. Notice finally came to get our gear and head out the door; we were heading down range. Dragging along our two duffel bags and rucksacks packed to the brim, we stumbled out the door to load up for the ten-minute drive.

To say they treated us like cattle would not paint an accurate impression. Cattle would have been allowed more room. We stepped into what we called cattle cars, basically big boxes on wheels, pulled by a truck. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they actually did haul cattle at one time.

I don't know how those things were considered legal. Loaded down with gear, we crammed in like sardines until we literally could not move. All I could think was how much I wanted the doors to open so I could breathe again.

Ten minutes seemed like eternity, but we finally arrived. Before we stepped off the cattle cars, I could hear drill sergeants screaming and yelling. Mad chaos is the only description that can do the scene justice. New recruits stumbled from the cars in confusion and ran off in the wrong direction, abruptly changing direction when a drill sergeant screamed at them.

Twelve drill sergeants, a first sergeant, a lieutenant, and a captain all did their best to add to the pandemonium. If I hadn't been trapped in the chaos myself, it would have been hilarious. One drill sergeant ordered a soldier to hold his duffel bag above his head. He had laundry detergent in his duffel bag, and, somewhere in the mayhem, it broke open and ran down over his head. The drill sergeant screamed at him for messing up his formation area.

Starting from that scene of total confusion, we figured out how to function as soldiers. Our drill sergeants, who that morning took just a few minutes to have us all standing at stiff attention in perfect lines, molded ignorant civilians into precision soldiers. We learned that we could handle the pressure. We discovered that we had what it takes to deal with the pressure. We learned how to work together as a team to accomplish virtually anything. The training set before us a clear vision of what a soldier is and pushed us toward that goal.

What a contrast between that first day, when none of us had any idea where we were supposed to stand, and my arrival in Iraq as a staff sergeant (E-6), responsible for a squad of nine other guys. Beyond my comfort zone, I at least knew what was expected of me, and I was trained to handle the responsibility.

At Basic, the only goal we had as we stepped off the cattle cars was to become a soldier. By the time I arrived in Iraq, I understood that a mission,
any mission
, had to be a lot more specific if I wanted it to succeed. In Iraq, we never went anywhere without specific goals in mind. And not once did the chaos of combat overwhelm us.

My baptism under fire served to prove how important it is to know where you're going. Stationed in Baghdad, my squad had orders to conduct regular patrols along a route known for a lot of activity. To ensure I knew where we were going, I rode with a “Regular Army” veteran team the day before our turn. I expected action of some kind, but fortunately nothing happened that day, enabling me to learn the lay of the land. When our turn came the following day, I had the confidence of knowing where we were.

Good thing I did. Within an hour of beginning our patrol, we came across a possible IED (Improvised Explosive Device). Thanks to the training endured back at Basic, we knew exactly how to handle the situation. Without chaos or confusion, the area was cordoned off and EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) called in.

Later in the mission, I had my first experience of being under fire: Standing and talking with one of the other men, I suddenly heard a buzzing sound, like a large horsefly whizzing by. A sniper had taken aim at us. I'd be lying if I said my adrenaline levels weren't elevated, but our training had prepared us for this.

Surprisingly, my initial thought was not to dive for cover. In fact, I don't believe anyone reacted this way. The first thing that went through my mind was, “What an idiot! We have tanks here; keep shooting and we'll pinpoint your location and blow you up.”

This all happened within the first hour. When we finally got under way again, we came across a bus full of prisoners being transported to Abu Ghraib prison. The bus had been lit up by automatic fire; its entire side was riddled with bullet holes, and the bloodied and mutilated bodies of dead and wounded Iraqis surrounded the vehicle.

The first at the scene were the crew I had ridden with the day earlier. I distinctly recall standing over a wounded Iraqi; his breathing pattern clearly indicated that he would not make it. He didn't speak English, so all I could offer was a nod as I told him, “It's gonna be okay.”

The wounded were medivaced out on a chopper as bullets from snipers buzzed by. People ran back and forth, shouting. It was three hours of chaos. Not the kind of chaos we experienced the day we got off the cattle cars; here, everyone knew what he was supposed to do. In spite of the urgency to move quickly and guard against further attacks, there was no panic. We all knew our jobs and we did them.

The situation wound down when we received an order to escort another bus. This time, my confidence waned a little; we were heading into an area I wasn't familiar with, without time to prepare. Not only were we heading deeper into the Red Zone—where help was 20 minutes away—we only had three trucks. Patrols like that usually had six. Traveling into known dangerous territory at half strength, without knowing exactly where we were, was extremely unappealing. Yet, we made it through and returned to base without further incident. Seems the day had been exciting enough already.

You've now completed a significant amount of training, just as we soldiers did. You've taken the time to plan your mission, breaking it down into manageable elements. The time has come to execute your mission, that is, to begin moving in the direction of your specific, detailed goals. No matter how much you want to succeed, nothing happens until you begin to act. Unlike missions in Iraq, where we were ordered into a situation and forced to execute in order to stay alive, you will have to make the choice to execute this mission on your own.

The first few days will be easy. Your enthusiasm will carry you for a while, but as the daily grind of life begins to set in, your interest will be diverted to other, more pleasant things. That's to be expected; it happens to everyone. When you talk to a recruiter, you will be excited by his appeal to your patriotism, but six weeks into training, the last thing you'll have on your mind is home and country. All you'll think about is how much your muscles hurt. That's when you need techniques for keeping yourself motivated. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do:

• Keep your goals fresh in mind by reviewing them regularly.
  Ask your Battle Buddy to help you with this—that's your Buddy's role. Share your fears and worries and be honest when you're struggling. Talking it out will help.
  
• Automate your plan as much as possible.
  Set up automatic payments and establish an automatic savings plan, with money taken directly from your paycheck. Stay on track; avoid the temptation of spending before you've taken care of your Op Order.
  
• Make significant changes to your lifestyle.
  Run your air conditioner less, walk instead of driving when you're just going around the corner, and eat at home more often. Many of these suggestions will appear in the Strengths section of your mission analysis as we saw in
  Chapter 7
  . The sooner you implement them, the sooner you will benefit.
  
• Look for new opportunities to make changes that will help you reach your goal sooner.
  Possibilities present themselves all the time. For example, I enjoy reading. While overseas, we had moments of downtime and nowhere to go; being goal-oriented, I used the time to achieve the personal goal of reading every John Grisham book in print. Back then, that meant getting through more than a dozen full-length novels. Surprisingly, I finished that goal much sooner than expected, leaving me to find another goal to work toward.
  

It occurred to me that I could continue reading
and
work toward a life goal at the same time. I knew I wanted to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and one of the stepping-stones along the way was to become a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC). I had heard there was a class I could take online, so that became my new goal.

I called home and had my office send me the study materials. In just a few months, at 1:00
AM
Baghdad time, I took the test to become a CRPC.

A lot of the problems we experience with self-discipline are essentially a matter of bad habits. Take a look at your credit report; from the information contained there, you will be able to identify some of your bad financial habits. Bad habits are very difficult to break, but they're not impossible. Just don't expect to change them overnight. As Mark Twain said,
“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.”

The positive side of this is that a good habit is just as difficult to change as a bad one. The trick is identifying your bad spending habits and replacing them with good ones. Aristotle said,
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

It is often said that you can change a habit in twenty-one days. That number can vary, depending on how ingrained the habit is and what you replace it with, but in general, it's a good rule of thumb. Pick a bad financial habit and focus on it for twenty-one days. That's just three weeks.

Change one habit at a time. Don't try to take on more than you can handle and set yourself up to fail. Realistically, one habit will take all of your focus. The habit might be as simple as deciding that you will stop eating out every day. Perhaps you spend too much on credit. Decide that you will not add to your credit card debt for twenty-one days. Do you go clothes shopping daily? Perhaps you need to curtail that habit. Determine what you spend too much money on and focus on those things, one at a time.

Here are some basic guidelines that will help change your habits:

• Write it down.
  You are setting a short-term goal in every sense of the word, so treat it the same way you treated the goals in your Op Orders in
  Chapter 7
  . Identify the habit you want to change in detail. To help clarify your goals, write down exactly why you want to change that habit. Give yourself the strongest motivation you can.
  
• Plan a support system.
  No military operation should ever be executed without utilizing every available resource. Discuss the habit with your Battle Buddy and be certain you will be supported and held accountable.
  
• If you miss a day or two, don't beat yourself up.
  Simply start again, right away. Persistence is the key to establishing new habits. Keep at it and you
  will
  succeed.
  

1.
Select one bad financial habit, such as eating out every day.

2.
Focus on that habit for twenty-one days.

3.
Write down what the habit is and devise a plan for changing it.

4.
Get your Battle Buddy to check with you periodically to keep you accountable.

 

No matter how much you plan, there will be things you can't predict ahead of time. When I went to Basic, I believed I would finish without a problem, and continue on to collect my GI benefits and go to college. Once I settled into the routine, I felt fairly comfortable with the whole process. I knew I could handle the training and I managed to stay (mostly) unnoticed by the drill sergeants and didn't get smoked too often.

Sometime in the first month or so, I began to feel pain in my legs. It started as shin splints that got worse every day. Eventually it escalated to the point where I could not walk without pain.

I was determined to stick it out. Basic lasts for three months; if you drop out due to an injury, you have to start over from the beginning. The last thing I wanted to do was repeat my training. I kept my mouth shut and endured the pain, until finally I couldn't take it anymore. We were on a five-mile run and somewhere in the second or third mile, I knew something wasn't right. It was more than shin splints and I had to stop.

Of course, the first sergeant was on me in an instant, screaming every name in the book.

I tried to defend myself, “First Sergeant, something ain't right.”

“Oh, you're a doctor, now? Now you're telling me how everything is?”