FINAL COMMENT
Just like anything else, almost having a Lane Training Program is worse than not having one at all or doing nothing. Training soldiers is not unlike a story told by an ex-POW during Vietnam. Let me try and paraphrase:
Lt. Charlie Plumb's F4 was shot down over Vietnam on 19 May 1967. He was returned home on 18 Feb 1973. Since then he has become an author and motivational speaker. One day before a speaking engagement, he was eating dinner and a man approached him and said, "You don't know me, but back in1967 when you were shot down over Vietnam, I was the guy who packed your parachute." Charlie thanked him and they made small talk and the man walked off. Charlie thought about what had just happened and realized that he had never thought about thanking the person who packed his parachute.
This story became a part of his presentation that night and, as far as I know, all the rest of his speaking engagements. The point I'm trying to make is that when we train O/Cs; we are really training parachute packers. When we take the time to ensure our trainers meet the standards and we allow only our best soldiers the privilege of training the rest, then we are providing all of our soldiers with a well-packed parachute. Soldiers can tell when a commander cares by the way he checks to ensure every soldiers parachute is packed. A well-packed parachute is no different than a well-planned and well-xecuted training program. Without either one, we are going to lose soldiers.
I urge you to treat your Lane Training Program as if you were packing parachutes. If you do, your soldiers will know, and you may never lose another soldier because of a poor training program.
Observer/Controllers
Certification
Appendix
A: Glossary of Acronyms and Terms
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