Duty First: A Book Review

I am presently reading Absolutely American by David Lipsky. I intend to write a book review about it once I am done. I am no longer with the Corps Magazine so more likely the review will remain as an entry in this blog. Anyway, I decided to publish a book review of another book about Westpoint that I have read about two years ago... here it is:

“Book Review: Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders by Ed Ruggero”


Like a precious diamond, a leader has to undergo a hard process for them to become valuable. This is very well explained in Ed Ruggero’s book Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders.

The book follows the lives of different personalities inside America’s Premier School of Leadership, the United States Military Academy. The author, being a former cadet, gives a remarkable picture on how life is inside the halls of this institution. The book, which spans a year, jumps from one person to another, from the lowest plebe, the squad leaders, the graduating cadets up to the Superintendent himself. Published in time for West Point’s 200th anniversary, it is meant to inform the public on the how the leaders from West Point are trained and developed into fine young men and women.

As in the life of every cadet, everything begins with the first day, In the case of the book, it begins on 29 June 1998 the day the Class of 2002 reports for duty, R-Day as they call it, the day they formally become cadets (new cadets for now). Bob Friesema, Jacque Messel and Pete Haglin are the three personalities focused in this part of the book. They begin as young teenagers having the distinction of being accepted as cadets. Some are hesitant to make the final decision while others are very eager to come. At this stage, almost everything is uncertain, the parents wonder if their child will make it and fit in, the new cadets fear the unknown while the administration, the officers and the upperclass cadets, who will train these new cadets are not sure if they have prepared enough for this day. The anticipation then shifts to the rigorous training of “Beast” were the new cadets learn the most basic and essential part of their training – obedience. Everything does not seem to make sense for everything seems to happen so fast and everything they do is a mistake. They learn to follow an order to the last letter. The lives of the three new cadets are now undergoing a drastic change from being normal kids in their old high schools; suddenly they begin their West Point experience.

Another perspective is also shown – that of the upperclass cadets and the officers. Grady Jett, Shannon Stein, Greg Stitt and Alisha Bryan are secondclass cadets (third year), who are now trying to define themselves as leaders to their new cadets. Like the new cadets, they also wonder whether or not they are doing a good job as leaders. They try to fuse the concepts they learn, their own experiences and the wisdom handed down to them by their superiors; juggle all of these concepts and try their best to be the best leaders they can. At this stage, Kevin Bradley, a firstclass cadet (fourth year) also learns to command a company under the guidance of his Tactical Officer, Major Rob Olson. Again, another style of leadership is illustrated and another method of teaching is employed. The company commander learns to decide on his own while the Tac (Tactical Officer) employs a method to teach Bradley how is it to be in charge of a Company.
As Beast ends, the characters again face another challenge crucial to their training as leaders – academics. The new cadets adjust to the system of academics in their new school and the way they handle themselves amidst the other requirements they have to meet. Here, the new cadets, now called as plebes, try to understand the system that will change them from taking orders to giving out orders in the coming years. The grueling academics is coupled with other competencies that they must master; athletics, table duties, plebe knowledge and even current events. More important also is that they begin to understand the facets of leadership they observe. They begin to make their own preferences regarding different leadership styles applied to them. Little by little, they begin to form their own concept of themselves as leaders.

There is also a very good illustration on another essential part of their training – athletics. The cadets, who are mostly talented athletes, are now faced with expectations, not just from their instructors but expectations of the soldiers they will lead once they graduate. So many issues are addressed from that of women being considered physically inferior to the pressure of maintaining a slim body. Believe it or not, like any other colleges in the US, West Point is not spared from eating disorder cases within the Corps of Cadets.

The most crucial also is in the area of character building foremost of which is the Cadet Honor Code. The description is very vivid on the implementation of the Honor System, to how it is taught to the cadets and to the various opinions regarding the code. In the recent years, drastic changes have been done in the implementation of the code. The new Superintendent has deviated from the previous doctrine of absolute dismissal once found guilty; instead, other punitive measures are applied to the cadet, the goal of which is rehabilitation. The rationale is that since West Point is a learning institution anyone must be given the chance to fail for failing is an important part of learning.

Finally, the year ends. The soon to be yearlings are now preparing themselves for the new responsibility they will shoulder, the secondclassmen are ready to take on greater responsibilities as firstclassmen and the new lieutenants wonder if they really are prepared for the real thing at the same time nostalgic over leaving their home for the last four years. The book is very enlightening. It was as if I can see myself inside the pages. The making of a leader is not an easy process as very much shown in the book. I have come to realize the various aspects of leadership and like the cadets in the book, wonder whether or not the process I am going through will prepare me for the real thing. At certain points, I was taken aback by the experiences of the main personalities, realizing that their own angst mirror the kind of feeling I have regarding my training. The reality of what is waiting for me out there is very much superimposed. Reading the book allowed me to make an assessment of myself realizing the magnitude of the responsibility I am being prepared for. This book is also very apt to other students of leadership. The concepts illustrated are very much basic and can be applied even in areas other than the military. I definitely recommend it to everybody

Looking back

In most of the cases that I write in this blog, I do not have the slightest idea how to begin. At first I just try to get my "flow" with the ideas, let the words appear on the screen and then I come up with something and I enjoy the process. When I read back my blog entries, I realized that those that I really like are the ones that was a result of this process. And so here it goes again.

There are about three days before the graduation of the Class of 2007. I spent half of the day standing one the field today practicing the parade for the turn-over ceremonies this sunday. As for me, I will go on as the Personnel Officer of the Company (that's the Company S1 in military terms). Having gone through so many different experiences as a cadet there are so many things that I have learned and perhaps as the academic year is moving towards its conclusion, I might as well look back and reflect on the things that have happened.

My fondest memory as a PMA cadet to date is being a squad leader to my seven plebes during summer camp. Not that the three plebes I had on the regular semester were less significant, its just that they were the first and somehow first times just stand out. It was there how I learned to appreciate how hard it is to let go of the things that they have believed in before they become cadets. It was in that experience that I learned to analyze myself more just to make sure that I really was worthy in nurturing these young dreamers. It was also with them that I learned the value of doing my best especially when people are depending on you. In the more than a month that I was with them, I have developed a sense ownership on how their lives will turn out knowing that I have been a part of their experience as plebes. I can not guage at this point whether or not I really was successful in making them better people than when they first met me, but I know that they made me a better person after our experience together and for that I will forever be thankful.

Of course, there is this daunting reality of the responsibilities that are set before me. Somehow, I could say that the whole cadet training is geared towards a time when each cadet will realize how much responsibility he will be carrying and the things that he is being prepared for. I am constantly haunted by wrong decisions that I might make that may kill my subordinates. On another end, I am also looking forward to having another person totally depend his life to the decisions that I will make. I guess, that is how the will to lead is developed and somehow, in my short and little experience as a leader inside the country's leading leadership laboratory, my idea of these things is quite good and I am happy for that.

In my personal life, things are becoming more serious. Not that I wasn't too interested in developing my personality before, its just that these days, I am believing that I have a more mature disposition on how things should be in my life. I am 24 years old and I should be thinking maturely. I guess life does come in stages and for my part, I am on that stage when I want my life to have a clear direction.

There are many things that come to me even as I try to compose my thoughts regarding the year that has passed but I guess the more important point in all of it is that I have become a better person and that I learned things that will be useful to me in the future. I think now that for all people, our direction should always be better may it be in little things or in the generaly sense of the the things that we do. I can only say these things for my life and others may not really believe in me, but the point is I am happy with what I have become through the years. I may not be the perfect person but I know I am taking advantage of living the adventure of life.

Today is 16 March 2007 and there will be more wonderful years and with this blog as my witness I can just be thankful to God Almighty for continuously guiding my life. Let's move on to my last year as cadet... Let us keep on praying.... I love you people....

When we sincerely love our brethren…

(This was the article that I wrote for Project ISLAM that was published in the Academic issue of the Corps Magazine. I am hoping that by publishing this article in my blog many more can understand the power of genuine love)

What would it take to end the war between the Christians and Muslims?

This is a question that confronts many of us. In the Philippines alone, we have a long history of Muslim insurgency. We have had generations and generations of Christians and Muslims fighting each other, to the point that it has affected many of our countrymen, including the state of our country’s progress.

In one Muslim Community in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte could lie the answer to this question.

Delabayan is a small Muslim community of about 300 families. In March 2000, this community became the stage of the country’s most recent war between the Armed Forces and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

What began as the MILF’s show of force when they attacked Kauswagan town triggered a full- scale war, the biggest in our recent history. The place became an instant war zone that displaced the many civilians that occupied the place. This was also to become one of the biggest miracles that will happen between Filipino Christians and Muslims.

God’s Call

On 26 March 1999, Pastor Florentino de Jesus spoke to a group of people. He spoke about genuinely loving all Muslims.

In his sermon, he used the verse in Genesis 17:20 which said “…as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers…”

He challenged everyone – including then Major Johnny Macanas – in that gathering to show love to the Muslims.

As a young man, Major Macanas’ idea of Muslims was full of biases. Like most of us, he was told of stories that were full of hatred for the Muslims. He believed that they can not be trusted, that they destroy everything that this country stands for and, much worse, he believed that they should all go to hell.

He carried this bias even when he became a soldier. As a young lieutenant early in his military career, he always kept his distance from the Muslims, believing that they might do something bad to him. When he was assigned to Lanao del Sur in 1989, he isolated himself from the Muslims even if his unit was situated at the heart of a Muslim community.

In the six months that he was assigned with that unit, he was always suspicious of them –increasing his hatred more and more. At one point, he quarreled with a fellow Muslim officer simply because of his biases.

On this day, he was “convicted” when Pastor de Jesus challenged those who heard his message, thus: “Who are we to hate and curse the Muslim people who God had blessed and loved so much?”

As a devout Christian, these words reverberated inside his heart, and tears started to flow from his eyes. He felt a sense of guilt that, eventually, he realized that his biases were baseless and that he was cursing a people that God himself had blessed and loved.

At that moment, he prayed to God and said, “Lord, if you want to use my life to bless the Muslims, I am willing.” Thus the acronym ISLAM was born; it means “I Sincerely Love All Muslims.”

With Major Macanas’ change of perspective, there was a drastic change in the way he treated the Muslims. While before, he had wanted them all to go to hell, this time he felt a sense of compassion that he never felt before.

He wanted so badly to show to the Muslims that he genuinely loves them.

By June 1999, he became the Civil Military Officer (G7) of the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City. In his position, he was able to visit many Muslim areas, further enhancing his appreciation for their culture, especially the religion of the people that he formerly cursed. But still he was longing for the perfect opportunity for him to show his new “bias” for the Muslims.

The war with the Muslims: The overflowing of genuine love.

In March 2000, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front attacked Kauswagan town in Lanao del Norte. When the Armed Forces conducted its offensives, the rebels retreated to the community of Delabayan, displacing everyone in that community as their home suddenly became a war zone.

Thus began the all-out war against the MILF.

Major Macanas, being the G7 (Staff function for Civil Military Operations), was immediately tasked to take care of the evacuees that were displaced. Even at this point, the biases of our culture became clear as the Christians and Muslims were separated for no apparent reason.

The Christians evacuated to Iligan City while the Muslims went to Marawi City. When then President Estrada ordered the release of one thousand sacks of rice for the evacuees, only ten percent of this rice reached the Muslims.

While the Muslims in Marawi were dying of hunger, the Christians in Iligan were celebrating the “punishment” of the Muslim people. Major Macanas, performing his official function, immediately dispatched the Division’s resources to save the Muslims. His first project was medicine distribution to the evacuation center in Marawi. As he was supervising this project, he wondered why the Muslims were not happy with what they were receiving, prompting him to ask one older woman in Visayan:

“Nganong dili man ka malipay sa among tabang? (Why are you not happy with the help we are extending?)

“Unsaon man namo ang tambal nga tulo naman mi kaadlaw way kaon? (What use will we have with the medicine when we have not eaten for three days?)

At that instant, Major Macanas felt this heavy burden which prompted him to go to one area and cried out to God. While praying, it was as if God spoke to him, thus: “I allow this war to happen to create a desperate need for the Muslims.”

At that point, he realized that this was God’s Golden Opportunity. With the division not having any resources to address the concern of the hungry Muslims, he sought the help of the different Bible-believing Christians in Cagayan de Oro City, dubbing it as Project ISLAM.

This was not easy for him. Almost all of the churches he went to did not want to extend their help. But he continued because, as he would say, he was heeding a command from God. The first big break came when Pastor Alex Eduave of the Pentecostal Church of God heard of his initiative.

Pastor Eduave was the last person anyone could expect to help the Muslims. His brother, who was a soldier, was brutally mutilated by Muslims who even plucked out his eyes. But his faith was more powerful and he sensed the same burden that Major Macanas felt.

In May 2000, the two finally met and, immediately, Pastor Eduave mobilized his church to gather support for the Muslim evacuees in Marawi. In a week’s time, after their initial meeting, two Army trucks were heading towards Marawi City, full of Christians willing to help the Muslims. They gave food, medicine and even conducted parlor games for the children to make them forget the trauma of war.

In that activity, the Muslims were as amazed as the helping Christians for they, too, believed that all Christians are out to kill them.

When Pastor Eduave handed a measly two kilos of rice to one older man, he said, “Bapa (lolo in Maranaw) pasensya na kayo at ito lang ang nakayanan namin.”

The old man replied, “Pastor wala mi nagtan-aw sa kagamay sa inyong gihatag, ang nakit-an namo ay ang kadako sa inyong kasing kasing.” (Pastor, we do not look at how small your gift is, what we see is how big your heart is.)

That brought tears to Pastor Eduave who realized the amazing power that genuine love can do.

When an imam was interviewed by the media, he did not have anything to say other than simply “unbelievable.”

The children who participated in the parlor games almost forgot that they were victims of war. They had big smiles on their faces as they had fun playing with the Christian groups that were there.

When the group left that day, the children were crying, they were holding on to their new- found friends and it was as if they never wanted the Christians to go.

As soon as they got back to Cagayan de Oro City, they started to tell the miracles that happened in Marawi City that day. They started to talk in different churches, gaining more and more support from other Christian groups.

In the succeeding months, there were more trips to Marawi that were of the same nature.

They preached no Christianity; they simply showed the Muslims genuine love.

Rebuilding Delabayan

When Camp Abu Bakar, MILF’s stronghold, was finally captured in September 2000, it also ended the war – prompting the evacuees to go back to their land and start a new life.

On the same month, 30 families led by Sultan Kamlon Moner went back to Delabayan. They did not know how to rebuild their lives. They simply said that if they were to die of hunger, it would be better that it happened in their homeland.

General Roy Cimatu, who was then the Division commander, gave specific instructions to Major Macanas to rebuild Delabayan. He said that when he graduated as a young lieutenant in 1970, he was immediately sent to fight the war with the Muslims.

Now that he was a general, it was still the same war that he was fighting.

On the first Friday that the group of Sultan Moner arrived in Delabayan, they gathered together and prayed to Allah to help them. They prayed for food and other immediate needs for them to survive and begin their new life.

The next day, the Christians came bringing with them the things that they prayed for. The Muslims expected their rich relatives to help them but instead it was their “enemies” who came and brought their exact need.

This happened several times that finally Sultan Moner and the other Muslims realized that the Muslims and the Christians must have the same God who answered their prayers.

Major Macanas realized that they can not go on just giving the Muslims food forever. Something must be done for them to start life anew,thus the immediate need for houses.

This was a huge undertaking that he felt he can not do. He prayed hard to gain wisdom in this undertaking but still it was clear that God was telling him to build houses for the Muslims of Delabayan.

Then, God spoke to Major Macanas again in the form of a small card he saw which said: Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.

This was his confirmation and, although hard, he knew God was behind him. With almost no money to begin, Project ISLAM conducted fund-raising drives just to raise money to start the building of houses. The group was so hard up that they even went as far as planting camote and selling it just to find money. That was how they built their first house and, after that, support from all over poured in.

The word about Project ISLAM was like a brushfire that captured Christians from all over the world. Unbelievably, money was being sent even as far as the United States and people were coming from everywhere to help build the houses for the Muslims.

Now, Project ISLAM has built more than 300 houses for our Muslim brethren. Other infrastructure projects also came like Youth Centers, Livelihood Projects and even their own Water Reservoir.

Delabayan now has the biggest water reservoir in Lanao del Norte and it boasts of providing water directly to their homes.

Muslims and Christians united… at last!

With the many projects that went on, the people of Delabayan still were suspicious that the Christians simply were trying to convert them to their faith.

The leaders of Project ISLAM also observed this and they prayed hard to resolve this gap. It was through this that the leaders decided to build a mosque for the Muslims.

The decision was not received well by many of the Christian groups who supported the project. Some considered this as a betrayal of their faith. But Major Macanas and all the other leaders remained firm in their decision.

As a result, those who did not agree left the group. Now with fewer people, it became harder to raise the necessary funds, but still they persisted, heeding the same feeling that they had when they first started the project.

Another group provided the seed money for the construction of the structure and, from there, everything just came into place until finally, it was finished.

That was the clinching point that finally broke down the barrier of suspicion between the Muslims and the Christians. The Muslims were finally convinced that the Christians were not helping them for any ulterior motives. The Christians sincerely loved them.

Now, the mosque in Delabayan is the only one in the country and maybe in the world constructed by Christians.

When Camiguin was struck by flash floods in 2001, it was the Muslims from Delabayan who immediately took action and extended help to the Christian victims.

It became clear that love begets love. The people of Delabayan, with very little resources to spare, gave their own malongs so that they can at least show their love to the Christian victims.

Just recently, a soldier got wounded and strayed near the area of Delabayan. If this happened before the all-out war, the soldier would have been killed by the Muslims themselves. This time around though, a miracle happened. The farmer who saw this wounded soldier brought him to Delabayan and the community nursed him back to good health.

When the officers of the 4th Division learned of this, they were simply amazed, for this has never happened before. For those who took part in Project ISLAM, they knew that it was the fruit of showing genuine love to their brethren.

These are only some events that have never happened in recent history: Christians and Muslims showing each other genuine love.

Project ISLAM today

Today, Project ISLAM continues to help the people of Delabayan in improving their lives and sowing love. They have started to send the youth of Delabayan to college to further help in the building of this community.

These scholars will become the pioneers in providing the knowledge that will make the community self sufficient and independent.

Delabayan now is very progressive. Soon, it will become a town separate from Kauswagan.

There have been many suggestions of doing the same project in other Muslim areas but the leadership still is not ready to leave Delabayan. They believe that God still has another miracle to do.

The miracle in Delabayan is the perfect illustration of the power of love. It has created an impact so great that it did not only improve the lives of people but it opened eyes to a possible solution to the conflict between Christians and Muslims.

Muslims from Delabayan now call themselves “born-again Muslims,” a new term that evolved as a result of the amazing events that unfolded in the former war zone.

Muslims and Christians alike in the place now believe that they are people of the same God and that the key to the long-standing conflict between their religions is genuine love for each other.

Note: Johnny Macanas is now a lieutenant colonel assigned to the PMA. He continues to espouse the doctrine of sincerely loving the Muslims. This story was the result of the writer’s interview with LTC Macanas. Project ISLAM Foundation may be reached at 2nd Floor, Kissmet Barbershop, Capistrano-Divisoria Sts, Cagayan de Oro City; with telephone nos. (88) 2315522 and (8822) 740010.

Saying sorry

I am supposed to write about weddings but my feelings are just so much that I can not help but confront all of it before I go crazy again.

I am not exactly a good person. Although I try to be one, I accept that there are instances (a lot really) that I can be so bad that people has all the right to hate me. But really I try my best to really be good based on my idea on how it is to be a good person.

Just after I took my lunch, I had to explain delinquency reports. Most of it were offenses that were done out of neglect like marking my absence card and the like but one stood out. It was a report from my instructors. To be honest I did not feel bad about the report, its just that I am getting the impression that this instructor is somehow "griping" to me. I may be wrong but the aura that the event is sending is that I offended her and I am convinced something had to be done.

A few months ago, we had this lecture in one of the lecture halls. This lecture hall was the more beautiful one and the seats were so comfortable that it was very conducive to sleeping. You see, I am the type of student who ALWAYS listen in class. I have always reasoned that as long as I am listening in class I can always have something for the exams even if I do not study my lessons when not in class. And so, on that day, even if the seat was more of a sleeping couch I try my best to wake up. Its not that I was entirely successful at trying not to sleep its just that I was listening to the lecture and that I understood it very well that I can bet my life that I can give the lecture to my classmates if I was asked to. For one reason or another I was reported for dozing in class and upon explaining the offense, I confidently said that I can give the lecture again just to prove that I was listening. That was a wrong move, later during the day, I realized that the explanation I had might trigger the notion that I am too arrogant to accept that I was indeed "sleepy". Sadder is the thought that the notion I created might have offended my dear instructor.

I have to say that I consider my instructors in very high esteem. I have had encounters with a lot of my instructors here who actually gave up better jobs just to teach the cadets. Their reason is not because the Academy pays them good salary its because for them by teaching the future leaders of the country (that’s us… ehem!!!) they are helping this country become a better place. I think in this blog I have recounted countless lessons that have struck me not because the lesson was so interesting but because the teacher that taught it exuded so much passion and dedication to the job that he or she was doing. I become very sentimental when these instructors talk about character, about helping the nation and all those things, somehow they give me an idea of dedication that is worth emulating. Also, Academy instructors have an affinity to me personally since my mother was once and instructor in this Academy, in fact some of them still know her. And so comes the irony of giving this bad impression to one of my beloved teachers.

Having realized that, I have decided to do something for that instructor just to explain change her perception of me. I am not exactly confident that I can pull it off but I have all the intention to really say sorry to her just to change her perception not just about me but more so about the cadets of the Philippine Military Academy in general. As I said I am not exactly a good person, but I try to be one and I accept if I am wrong.

I will just have to do it in the next few days… I am already nervous just thinking about it but I guess it has to be done… Well wish me luck…

Amusing Blogs: the Bitch Goddess, Unraveled

It has been a while since I wrote about blogs that has caught my fancy. This is because there hasn't been one lately. Finally, I have this one -- The Bitch Goddess, Unraveled

The world that we have now is so full of images and perceptions that in some way dictate the kind of person we should be. Our society is so full of dictates that do not only limit our actions but judge us according to how perceptions are formed about us. The point of blogging is that it allows the blogger to celebrate their individuality without fear of judgment.

In the Bitch Goddess, the author makes a statement of being Bitchy and stands proud of it. In a society where people perceive someone "bitchy" as a negative thing, its a wonder how she can make a statement out of it... and a good statement at that. It is not a question of how she lives her life or what her belief system is, it is about developing that confidence in oneself enough to live out a kind of person according to the dictates of our hearts and not according to society. I am not an advocate of whatever statement she makes but I am an advocate of people who have the sense of individuality to be the person that they truly are.

She chronicles events in her life that to an ordinary person can be uninteresting, yet the story telling gives us the glimpse of how these events define the person that she is in the way she relates her feeling and of course the course of action that she takes. I could sense that there is talent in her writing but more than that I am sure she writes well because what she writes about are things that are close to her heart.

Anyway, just visit the blogsite... this really is a good one...