Bob's Police Beat

Trivia: United States Interstate Highway 5 (I-5) runs continuously from the Mexican to the Canadian border, passing through California, Oregon and Washington. In that entire distance there is only one place where I-5 has traffic signals. Name that place.

Small unit deployment and coordinated missions

I was recently watching a television program that featured retired Marine Lt. Colonel Oliver (Ollie) North.

He was discussing the change in warfare training over the past several decades or so related to both the organization and tactics of all branches of the U.S. military.

One of the observations was: In the past, the various branches of the military were essentially separate and autonomous from each other, working closely with each other only on an ad hoc basis and on periodic joint exercises. Each had its own area of responsibility and its own missions.

Even during my time in Vietnam, the Marine Corps was responsible for I-Corps, which was the northernmost area of S. Vietnam and included the DMZ (along with portions of Laos and Cambodia but we won’t talk about that).

It was highly unusual to have U.S. Army units in I-Corps, although there were some, and even more rare to have coordinated engagements with Marine and Army units involved side-by-side.

Other than medical personnel, it was even more rare to have U.S. Navy personnel operating in any significant numbers in I-Corps. Their mission was largely air support and heavy artillery from ships offshore. I do have to mention the Navy had a more direct combat role in other areas of S. Vietnam.

The U.S. Air Force was involved in creating huge numbers of bomb craters throughout S. Vietnam including I-Corps but, again, their role was essentially separate from that of the Marines. We typically would get some advance notification (hopefully) of where the Air Force would be operating.

I am not belittling the other services in I-Corps but rather making the point that a lot of the overall coordination was ad hoc and not necessarily planned or trained.

In today’s military, the cross training between all branches is continuous and well practiced. Sure, the current wars, their location and logistics dictate that kind of coordinated training and responsibility. Urban and guerilla warfare is a different animal than the mass movement and relatively clearly defined battle lines as in the World Wars, Korea and to much lesser degree in Vietnam.

If you watch any footage of ground action from Iraq or Afghanistan you’d be hard pressed to tell what branch of the military our troops are in. You’d also be surprised at the rather small size of the various teams. The same applies to airpower. Marine, Navy and Air Force air units work together in a very coordinated manner.

One of the chief points Colonel North was putting forth has direct application to law enforcement agencies, especially in today’s times where you may be losing personnel, not filling vacancies and having to do more with less.

Having leaner, smaller units made up of highly trained, cross-trained and disciplined personnel (not necessarily picked by seniority!) working your most sensitive assignments may yield better results than having a bunch of cubicles occupied by senior people who ‘want to die in this job and never have to work midnights again’.

On the home front, you’d be surprised, even shocked, how lean InTime is. There is no fat, figuratively speaking. Every person is highly trained, they are capable of helping out with the responsibilities of other team members when needed and all are extremely proficient in what they do. Some of our customers think we have over 100 employees!

Colonel North would be proud.

On another note; there will be some exciting news coming out at InTime very soon. I’ll let Harry and Jeff spread the details but for a lot of our current and prospective customers, your reaction will be a major league ‘WOW’.

Be safe out there.

Trivia answer: At the bridge that crosses the Columbia River, separating Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. While there are many bridges on I-5, this is the only drawbridge and thus the only need for traffic signals on that highway. The signals only operate when there is a bridge opening.

Trivia question: Most NHL followers know the player with the most years as his team’s Captain is Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings.

The question is: who is second in longevity as Captain of his team?

April 21, 1987 was a significant date in my little corner of the world.

That was the date I took my FAA Flight Examination as the last step in the process of earning my Private Pilot Certificate.

Several weeks prior I had aced the written exam and had concluded every step of the process in the minimum time. I had logged all the required tasks and did all the maneuvers to the satisfaction of my flight instructor. I was ready for the final step but had heard the tales of people who had sailed through the training and then bombed out on the Flight Exam. I was determined that would not be me.

I took off with the flight examiner sitting next to me, he saying little and jotting notes through the practical portion of the exam and then even more notes while verbally testing my knowledge – all while I was trying not to break any FAA rules while flying through the Los Angeles terminal area, the most complex chunk of airspace in the world.

Finally, he said to take us back to the home airport. As we sat in the tie-down area, he pulled out a sheet of paper and asked if I knew what it was. I knew it was my private pilot certificate and said so.

He said, “No, it is your license to learn. Every pilot I examine, whether it be Private Pilot up to Air Transport Pilot, I tell them the same thing: Every flight should be a learning experience and a practice opportunity. You should be able to conclude every flight with some new skill, better knowledge and more confidence. Do that and your time and expense will not have been wasted.”

He handed me the certificate with his congratulations.

Now here we are more than 22 years later and those words still ring true except now I’m thinking of all those InTime customers, new and old, who have had the training, have had assistance from InTime tech people, have gone through the configuration process and may not have looked at their scheduling system as a ‘learning license’ when the keys were figuratively turned over to them.

No matter how much training you get, no matter how much assistance you receive, there are some things that only experience will teach you.

I strongly recommend each of you use every opportunity to practice your scheduling skills, push yourself to find new techniques, develop new ways to manipulate your data and enhance you and your agency’s ability to manage all facets of your scheduling operation. There are always new ways of using your data to save money and streamline your processes.

Go back to that closing quote from my Flight Examiner and where there is the word ‘flight’, insert the words ‘InTime scheduling session’. If you can follow those words, you will be gaining valuable experience.

Every time you ‘land’ (hit the Exit button), you should be able to actually say, “I learned _______________ in this session.

That is money in the bank!

Be safe out there.

Trivia Answer: Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche