Reddit reviews Bridge at Dong Ha (Bluejacket Books)

Military academy and wall street a-hole here...here's my take. Your mileage may vary.

First and foremost, there is no substitute for initiative. Well done. It may make you seem like a keener to people who are less committed to succeeding but, in my opinion, it is the first step to leading.

The second step is a desire (passion) for outworking everybody. Cultivate it in yourself. Commit to doing it everyday. Embrace the grind.

Now for the hard part...where it becomes more of an "art" than a science...

The best leaders I've been around in life and sports practiced servant leadership. It seems counter-intuitive and your work will never be done but servant leadership is the tide that lifts all boats and if can make it part of who you are it will serve you well in sports and life. Even if you're on a team with a bunch of losers who don't get on board it is a tremendous character builder and you'll be a better person for it.

How to begin:

Always be the first one at practice and the last to leave.

If there's "shitty" or "not fun" job to do, always be the first to jump on it and recruit help when you need it...don't try to do it all yourself...that's a "hero", not a "leader" and will eventually burn you out. Do that shitty job everyday with a positive attitude. When a shittier job shows up, jump on that and delegate others to do the less shitty work you were working on. (shagging balls after practice, lining fields, setting goals up, keeping the locker room clean, gathering the team for talks from the coach, etc). If you can't find anything that needs doing, ask your coach if he's got anything. Do this every day.

When someone is struggling be the first to jump in and help/coach them up, always positive and always working harder than anyone else. Do this everyday.

Personally, I fucked it up when i was a player. I busted my ass, I was first and last at practice every day, I jumped on the shitty jobs and did all of that stuff but I failed because I was not positive with teammates who were struggling. I rode their asses like dogs because I thought that's what leadership was and I regret it a lot. If a guy is struggling the last thing he needs is some hard charging teammate berating him. Doesn't mean you have to coddle a struggling player, stay on him just keep it positive. Help him figure out a way to get it done, whatever "it" is. Always be looking out for the little guy. If you can help a bench player contribute, you've improved your team and helped yourself.

Good luck!


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_leadership



EDIT:
If this resonates with you in any way I recommend you spend a couple bucks on amazon and grab one or both of these books:

https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Dong-Ha-Bluejacket-Books/dp/155750587X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473342236&sr=8-1&keywords=bridge+at+dong+ha

https://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/055338368X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473342915&sr=8-1&keywords=gates+of+fire

One is nonfiction the other is fiction based on real history. Both are great reads.

I think everyone should read With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge. Even if they're not "in to" war or anything like that. It is an excellent story from the perspective of an infantry Marine about the battle of Peleliu and Okinawa in WWII. They were possibly the bloodiest battles of the island hopping campaign. I don't think there has been any other book of similar nature has had the same effect on me.

For people who are "in to" non-fiction war books I suggest The Bridge at Dong Ha which is about John Ripley, a Marine in Vietnam who essentially saves the day singlehandedly. He's also the only Marine to be inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

For fictional war related books one of my favorites is Fields of Fire. Excellent story telling and I found myself really connecting with the characters. It has a great way of giving non-soldiers an understanding of the many reasons why people choose to serve, how they serve, and the struggles within.