A Farewell To Arms

For those of us who were there and will always remember the truly epic night when the Guppies won Brigade Dodgeball, here's to you! It has been a great year, and Development Staff can think of no better way to round things off that with a video taken at the exact moment when the last D-2 Dragon fell. Thank you to all and to all a good night!

-Guppy Development Staff

Stanley McChrystal: Listen, learn ... then lead

"One of America's greatest Warriors" 

        -Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates

Four-star general Stanley McChrystal shares what he learned about leadership over his decades in the military. How can you build a sense of shared purpose among people of many ages and skill sets? By listening and learning -- and addressing the possibility of failure.

-Guppy Development Staff

Leader of the Week: SGT Dipprasad Pun

Why Sleep is Important

Hi Gups,

Development wants to pass on the longitudinal study published in 2010 on West Point cadet sleep patterns  http://faculty.nps.edu/nlmiller/docs/SLEEP_Article_2010.pdf. Apparently we get a LOT less sleep in the spring (more sunlight, TEEs, and lower prices at Grant or something). The truncated results are shown at the right (click the picture), but the good stuff is on page 3 of the report here:

  http://faculty.nps.edu/nlmiller/docs/SLEEP_Article_2010.pdf

 Take a look at the study and give it a good look because sleep is not something to mess around with.

Don't believe us? Here's a TED talk on how to succeed by sleeping your way to the top. No not THAT kind of sleeping, geez.

Get more sleep, be more productive, and have better dates with the opposite sex.

 If you have any questions or suggestions please let us know.

-Guppy Development Staff

Leader of the Week

Basic Cadet Skills #3: RIP WAMI

Since many of us are dissapointed at the appalling lack of standards in the barracks following the repeal of the popular WAMI standard, the Development Staff has provided a series of videos that should help bring back some of those great memories for those motivated cadets that are old enough to remember the golden age. Rest in peace WAMI you will be missed.  

In all seriousness, these are life skills that will stick with you and it is important both in the profession of arms and the civilian sector to maintain discipline and organization in your laundered items. And hell, if USAF can roll their socks with smiles, we better damn well be able to. If you would like to post videos reponses of yourself making the fastest bed, the winner will get an incentive from the Devolopment Staff. Thanks again and have a great week. 

 -Guppy Development Staff

Range Safety Video

Blood and Dust

Hey Gups,
When you get a chance definitely check out this video of the 214th Aviation Regiment (MedEvac) courtesy of PVT Choi. The video catalogues the daily struggles and sacrifices made by members of the 214th over the course of about 25 minutes, and it is an invaluable insight into the lives of those men whom we will one day be serving with.. The fact that AlJazeera did the story is even more interesting considering the perspective and views of the soldiers espoused in the footage. Some of the images are extraordinarily graphic so please keep that in mind when you view the video. Thanks for your time and have a great week.


http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2011/02/201121673217263109.html

-Guppy Development Staff

Leader of the Week: Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch

Leader of the Week

In honor of President's Day. Enjoy.

-Guppy Development Staff

Taking Time to Step Back

Hey Gups,
We know that most of us are constantly dialed in at 100% trying to exceed the standard, but this Pulitzer prize-winning article from a few years back might help put things into perspective. It tells the story of Joshua Bell, arguably the world's finest violinist in the world,  playing some of the best pieces of music ever composed in the New York subway where shockingly almost no one pays attention to him. Bear in mind, this guy regularly sells out concert halls where he performs in front of kings, queens, heads of state, CEOs and people that pay $1,000 to sit there and watch him play for a few hours. Truly inspiring story.  

Sometimes the key to being an efficient worker is also being a good person that takes time out of their day for other people. Aside from the "people first mission always" doctrine, having the ability to look up every now and again to enjoy the music so to speak a skill that can easily be learned, but one that many leaders lack. Enjoy the article and video:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html 

Joshua Bell

Video from the article

-Guppy Development Staff

Leader of the Week

Really amazing human being. If you are interested please read below.

-Guppy Development Staff


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Khil

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0312/YouTube-drags-reluctant-Soviet-star-Mr.-Trololo-back-into-spotlight

Afghanistan

Evening Gups,
Take some time tonight to have a look at our brothers and sisters in arms in Afghanistan courtesy of The BigPicture. Reading headlines is all well and good but really taking a moment out of your day to get a glimpse into the lives of the soldiers we will be serving with in a few short years (or months). Enjoy

-Guppy Development Staff

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/afghanistan_january_2011.html

Basic Cadet Skill #2: How to Brush/Floss Your Teeth

Be gentle and use tongue.

-Guppy Development Staff

Brush

Floss

Brain Trust Article

Hey Gups,
This week for Guppy Brain Trust we will be talking about the Army Journey and why many of our best and brightest are leaving before they hit O-5 [link posted below]. This is serious, cutting edge stuff, and the reasons behind the mass exodus of officers are not as simple as "more pay in the civilian sphere." The article features a segment on former LTC John Nagl, a guy who collaborated with a certain General David Petraeus to formulate the current counter-insurgency strategy being used in theater right now.   



Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving

 CDT PVT Arnold has volunteered to open discussion, and we think this is a highly salient topic that is deserving of at least a few minutes of your time after spirit dinner this Thursday  10FEB11. We hope you will stop by and engage in intelligent conversation/discussion. If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to ask, looking forward to seeing you all there on Thursday, 

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/why-our-best-officers-are-leaving/8346/1/

 -Guppy Development Staff

Leader of the Week

Professional Skill #1: How to Tie a Tie

Hey Gups,
President's Day weekend is coming up and lets be honest, who looks better in a tie than our commander in chief? Fourtunately for you slovenly folks that have never worn the longsleeve AFC, your Guppy Development Staff has procured two videos that should teach you the art of looking good in WBA (that's Western Busniness Attire) or business casual.

The first video is for beginners, gotta walk before you can run. The second video has a girl with short hair narrating so you know she means busniess. I think she might even be a lawyer or something. If you have any questions of suggestions please let Tim or myself know. Have a great night!

-Guppy Development Staff

  

Thayer Week, TOP GUN

Hey Gups!

Its that time of the month again...

...well not THAT time of the month again, at least not for your Guppy Development Staff, its a thayer week. We encourage underclassmen to stay strong and upper classmen to avoid taking out their frustrations this week on the sleep-deprived subordinates.

Since former CEO of G4 and current head of the Guppy Brain Trust Tim Buzzelli is busy looking for the fountain of youth in the jungles of Paraguay, and Brevet Captain Ketchum was in Canada for the past few days, the updates have been a little slow but rest assured, all will be right once again. Look forward for a new leader of the week, new development video, and a selection of news articles from recent developments across the world. Thank you all for the feedback, and we look forward to seeing you again this thursday for Brain Trust.

To slake the thirst for the veritable legion of followers we have on this page here is the most recent update on that chinese fighter jet that everyone is talking about. apparently it blew up and F14.....from TOP GUN. Check out the CCTV press release at the top and Wall Street Journal comparison video on the bottom of the page here http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110131/ts_yblog_thecutline/chinese-air-force-drill-looks-awfully-similar-to-top-gun 

As always we look forward to hearing your suggestions and we encourage you to bring us ideas that you think can help contribute to the betterment of your Guppy family. GO DEEP!!

-Guppy Development Staff

State of the Union Address

Hey Gups,
For any of those that missed the State of the Union address earlier this evening, the full text and video replay are provided below courtesy of NBC. The video is just a slight scroll down the page, and the text of speech follows immediately afterward.

http://www.vosizneias.com/74340/2011/01/25/washington-president-obama-state-of-the-union-address-live-stream/

Please be sure to stop by the Guppy Brain Trust this Thursday evening after spirit dinner circa 1930 for some real talk by our very own TIM BUZZELLI and healthy discussion of the issues brought up in the address. All classes are welcome provided you promise not to be a wanker during the discussion. If you have any questions or suggestions for us please let us know via email or shoutout in formation. Enjoy,

-Guppy Development Staff

Leader of the Week

Hey Gups,

Sorry about the delay, we wanted  to find a leader that was important enough to include on the same night that our very own Commander in Chief was giving his speech, but the general is a hard man to track down. As always we are open to suggestions and nominations for the Guppy Leader of the Week and we hope you all enjoy President Barrack Obama's State of the Union address below.  

-Guppy Development Staff

Basic Cadet Skill #1: How to Take a Shower

Leader of The Week

APFT Advice

Hey Gups,

Do THIS:

NOT THIS (even if it does look awesome):

 

Nuff said.

-Guppy Development



The Big Picture

Hey Gups,
We understand that the news is boring; reading is never fun when there are no pictures, scratch and sniff or pop-ups. This being said, Jimmy Carter is in this photojournal and he was a president so show some respect! 2nd semester we want to stress the importance of being an informed officer and leader of soldiers. Even if you do not believe "the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas" (see Chaos Theory if you're interested), knowing a little about the world around you never hurt anyone.


As part of our drive to get cadets to become interested in the news, we invite you all to explore The Big Picture series feautured on the Boston Globe. We will periodically post highlights from this scintillating photojournal, but we encourage you to set aside 5 minutes (literally) and see the world through someone else's eyes; the results may surpise you. This week we hope to direct your attention to the elections in Sudan and zero in on the factors of corruption, hunger, vote-rigging (the fingers are dipped in ink to prevent double-voting), and military suppression that we are all fourtunate to be without here in the United States.


 If you have any questions or suggestions please email us or leave comments on the website. Enjoy!
-Guppy Development Staff

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/01/a_historic_vote_in_sudan.html

Leader of The Week: Optimus Prime

Hey Gups,
Check out this weeks model leader: none other than the Optimal Optimus Prime himself. Prime has taught us among other things, the value of respect, selfless service, and cumowing down your enemies with an energy sword. These are all relevant take-aways for cadets and the  Guppy Development staff is happy to salute Optimus Prime as our leader of the week. Autobots, rolllll out!