Corps Values

One idea being tossed around is a return to the World War II practice of bringing civilian business managers into the marines as instant colonels or other high-ranking officers. While such managers wouldn't have the benefit of such unique experiences as OCS and the Basic School, the marines are quick to admit that the outside world may have expertise and management solutions that can be translated to meet their own needs--and they don't necessarily want to wait to grow such capabilities on their own. Besides, notes General Admire, the marines and the business world have at least one thing in common. "Whether you're pursuing peace or profit," he says, "there's a lot of tough competition out there."

David H. Freedman is a contributing writer at Inc.

Dispatches: I'm sorry, Mr. Freedman
When I got to Camp Pendleton, I was met by my escort, a captain. He took me out to the helicopter landing pad. The helicopter came flying in. These are big helicopters, too. They just come bombing in, coming down fast and hard, and there's this thunderous noise. So this helicopter lands, and they motion for me to get on, when all of a sudden this guy comes running up. He's sprinting. And he grabs my escort and says, "Wait, you can't let Mr. Freedman on. There's been a screwup. Clearance hasn't come through yet." And the captain turns to the guy--who was a sergeant--and says, "Well, you know, he's about to step on the helicopter--maybe the message just didn't get here in time." And the sergeant says, "Sir, do not ask me to be a liar." Realize, this is a guy talking to his boss. And the captain says to him, "All right, OK, you're right," and tells me I can't get on this flight. Clearance came through about a half hour later; in the meantime, I got to listen to the captain politely try to go up the chain. --D. F.

Dispatches: Full-Metal Jacket
There was a tenth of a second when I thought I'd been shot. Well, not really, but here's what happened: On the ship the marines were going to do firing practice, and they said, "C'mon, we want you to see how much fun this is!" Marines love any chance to hold and shoot a rifle. So they took me out, and all the marines took turns firing their rifles in a certain kind of drill. And then, when they got near the end, someone came over and put what felt like an 80-pound flak jacket on me, handed me an M16 rifle, and said, "OK, you're up." And I said, "What?

Excuse me? What?" And they're shoving earplugs into my ears, and the next thing I know, sergeants are yelling at me, "You do this. You pull this thing back. You ready? Fire." So I'm firing away, and there are people firing next to me, and something smacked into my face. In that tenth of a second, you're there firing a gun, and people are firing around you, and suddenly you get a hot smack on the side of the face. And your first thought is "Oh, I've been shot." But then you realize it's just a cartridge. These guns eject the cartridges at high speeds, and one caught me square in the face. They're very hot, and they leave a tiny burn. These burns are not that uncommon, as it turns out. Most marines have cartridge-ejection scars. Apparently, it's cool to have a certain number of cartridge burns. --D. F.

Dispatches: Stroke
I've never encountered such levels of enthusiasm. When I first arrived at Camp Pendleton, I heard a sergeant talking to two privates. He was starting them on a painting job. And the sergeant said to the guys, "Come here. Look at this. This, right here, is crummy painting. Now come here; I want you to look at this. This is an excellent paint job. Look at the attention to detail this person did. This is the difference between a good paint job and a bad paint job. Do you understand the difference?" And the privates said, "We get it." And he said, "Good. OK. Good luck." And then he left them. And two hours later I came by and those two guys were there painting away. They couldn't have been more enthusiastic or more focused on it than if they were actually in a live-fire drill. --D. F.

The Few, the Proud, the CEOs
Former grunts on the Marine Corps way of doing business

Nothing can quite compare with Marine Corps training and combat service to stretch your leadership skills in bringing people together to accomplish a mission," says Phillip Rooney, vice-chairman of the ServiceMaster Co., a building-maintenance-and-service company based in Downers Grove, Ill. Rooney, whose company employs 50,000, not only endured Officer Candidate School but was one of the select few who returned to teach there. For him and countless other ex-marines, there is no better preparation for the rigors of running a business than the intense training of the U.S. Marine Corps.

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