Marching is just part of the learning to move together military culture – no matter the service. Part of the order and power of unity in drill movements is to order the ranks from tallest to shortest. And within that division, senior to junior in rank. When women were accepted to the military academies, it meant for the most part we were marching at the very back of the line.
Everyone starts at the most junior rank and of course as a general rule, a woman’s height on average is shorter than a man’s. This end of the line position was known as sandblower. A sandblower is someone who is very short – so short that when they walk on the beach, each exhale through the nose would blow sand around. At 63” I pretty much remained in the sand blower position for the whole four years at USNA.
During my time at the Naval Academy, I didn’t expect to stand in front of the parade line or really stand out in academics. I did put much energy and passion into Officers Christian Fellowship. I came to faith as a result of some other midshipman who mentored and cared for me. I gladly put a lot of time and effort into our weekly meetings and organizing events. I was always present for anything.
Because of my involvement, when my senior year arrived, I fully expected to be nominated and accepted for the top leadership position. Rather than get into a knot about women in leadership and the military culture at that time, I think everyone finds themselves expecting something for the work they do and believing that is a qualification for a leadership position.
My surprise and shock were real when the sponsors for the group pulled me aside to say that the top position was going to a guy. I was invited to be the Vice-President. I was sort of dumbfounded because the fellow they said would be taking the position was a good guy, but he hadn’t been as present, or to my way of thinking, as passionate as I was for the group and community.
As I am known to, I asked myself the question of ‘Why?’ And the answer came back… because no one will follow you.
Now with the hindsight of almost forty years, I have realized some things.
- It would have been easy to lash out at the mentors who were guiding me at that time, but I can say that I think they were guided by some honorable concepts. One key concept being that leaders need followers. I was still at that time driven by my own energy and passion to get things done without yet enough emotional intelligence to understand that no one was following. You may force a leadership position but you can’t force someone to be a follower.
- Mission and people are more important than position. Because I was not in the leadership position I wanted, I had to own it. It was disappointing, but not devastating. You can still lead when you are not in charge. I still faithfully served. I realized that influence is greater than position and people could be served no matter the role I had.
Have you ever had dashed expectations about not being recognized for something you have accomplished? Let me know about it and what you are learning.
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