JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD – Approximately 20 military police leaders, planners, and staff officers came together for a rowing exercise taught by the University of Puget Sound on the waters of American Lake in Lakewood, Washington, Sep. 17. The exercise provided first-hand understanding of the commitment to excellence required to master the sport – a concept familiar to the uniformed leaders of the local military police battalion.
After reading “The Boys in the Boat” about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team gold medal victory, 504th Military Police Battalion leaders connected with the University of Puget Sound rowing team to experience first-hand the challenging teamwork required to forge skilled victory on the water.
Lt. Col. Christopher Treuting, Commander, 504th MP BN, noted lessons his team learned about teamwork from the book, from their Puget Sound coaches, and from the sport itself.
“The story of “The Boys in the Boat” is a story that can resonate with everyone. Every time I read the book, I look at it from a different perspective and gain a new lesson,” said Treuting.
He continued, “For me, the story is about building an organizational culture through shared values and mutual trust. “The Boys of ‘36” were not able to consistently perform or win until they trusted one another and shared their own personal hardships and tragedies. What impacts Soldiers in their personal lives impacts how they respond in their professional lives. An organizational culture must account for that and make sure there is trust up and down the chain of command.”
In an environment where winning matters, champions are made through the strength attributed to teams – not individuals.
“An organization's performance will not be successful until that mutual trust is developed and allows for people to share a little bit of themselves. It doesn't happen overnight, and it is something that you constantly have to work at and assess,” said Treuting.
For the 504th Military Police Battalion, there was more than one message in the leadership professional development session.
“The secondary lesson is that it takes a lot of hard work and practice to call yourself an expert. The athletes from the crew team shared how much work and practice they put into their craft. Rowing looks a lot easier when you aren't in the boat and trying to synchronize your movements with eight other people all while balancing,” said Treuting.
The battalion’s training focuses on becoming experts at fundamental key tasks and drills, regardless of the job or military specialty. “If we are experts in the fundamentals, we can gain success regardless of the mission,” added Command Sgt. Maj. Moranski, 504th Command Sgt. Maj. “Our team learning to row was part of an effort to bring the leadership lessons home while having fun.”
The 504 Military Police Battalion leadership professional development program will continue to focus on building trust and familiarity through competence, confidence, and teamwork throughout the coming spring, when they hope to integrate more leaders into the program.
The 504 Military Police Battalion is responsible for the law enforcement and access control on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, one of 12 joint bases worldwide, serving 42,000 service members; 15,000 civilians; 60,000 family members; and 30,000 retirees in western Washington.
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