United States Corps of Chaplains
National Headquarters
Training Office
"Nurture the Living, Care for the Dying
and Honor the Dead"
This Training Bulletin discusses the need to pay attention to detail and the importance of the little things.
Recently (06/05) Chaplain (GEN) Burnette posted instructions in the forums on how to request a "Certificate of Chaplaincy". His instructions were clear, if not even simple to follow. He spelled out, step by step, exactly what a member should send for information and where to send it to. He further made it clear that if the instructions were not followed, the requests would be ignored.
With all of the clear instructions available to us why is it then that so many people, myself included, did not get our requests right?
Some posted "I want one...Send me one" on the forums, others like myself, sent the proper email but failed to send all the required information. This caused post after post to the forums and made it necessary for Chaplain Burnette to give his instructions over and over again.
All because we did not follow instructions and pay attention to details.
We experience the same thing in the Staging Unit. We try to make the instructions crystal clear but people get excited and jump the gun. They misread or ignore the instructions and end up doing the work over.
Please don't get me wrong, I Love Motivated People! But it is better to take things slowly and do them correctly the first time rather than race to finish, ignore instructions and duplicate our efforts.
Friends, I can assure you that the Board of Directors, Headquarters Staff and Commanders do not create regulations, set policies and provide instructions to make ourselves feel important and we certainly don't do it for busy work, we all are extremely busy already.
Now I know that some people may feel that it is silly or nitpicky to require people to follow instructions to the letter, after all we're just talking online right? I can tell you that this a very real organization and the instructions are in place for a reason.
What would happen if you went to a disaster scene and decided that you didn't need to follow your instructions on where to stand by? You decide that you know better than your Commander or the Official on scene. You move closer to the scene and find yourself in a hazardous area or dangerous situation that is out of your control. The regulations and your instructions are there for a reason.
As I tell the Trainees in the Staging Unit, sometimes the most important lesson to learn is that we need to slow down, curb our egos, pay attention to detail and follow instructions.
Innocent mistakes and errors happen but at times there are some with an attitude that maybe they are too smart, too experienced or too important, in their own eyes, to have to follow what they see as overly simple or unimportant rules or instructions.
The Board of Directors, Headquarters Staff and Commanders take service with the USCOC very seriously. This is not some club or make believe game and if you view this as a joke and can't take the time to follow simple instructions online then how can we count on you to follow instructions and take things seriously at the scene of an incident or at a solemn event.
I thank God every day for all of the great people that are part of the United States Corps of Chaplains. I know that we all make mistakes sometimes and we all can overlook some details from time to time but we all must "do our best...to do our very best" everyday.
The little things can make a difference. An oyster is just seafood until you introduce a tiny grain of sand and then the results can be priceless.
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