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Some thoughts on 2011 by the OC and RSM

The light of a new year is upon us and hopefully, if you had bad moments last year, 2011 is already finished grappling with the darkness of an old year. A normal day has both the darkness of the night and light of day.  In the former, we see, are awed, and are humbled by the majestic stars and the expanse of the universe; in the latter we see the new path. As the gray sky turns blue for 2011, we thank God for the gift of 2011.

I am sure the honour for us to serve as SAADA Reserves will make 2011 an excellent year. Training must be the path for CGA in 2011. Training should be awed by the stars of the night and follow the path of the day.  It should deal with knowledge, critical thinking, and behavior, creating a web of who we are and what we know and what we feel and what we think with the purpose of what we do.  The “are”, “know”, “feel” and “think” are what we call the "four 'yeses.'"  Yes, we should offer our members the essential knowledge in their field of endeavour; yes, we should certainly help members acquire what we call "critical thinking skills”; yes, we help members learn to apply the knowledge and thinking skills in resourceful ways; and, yes, we also should help members express themselves, be in touch with their emotions, deeply reflect on their values, articulate a vision, acquire an authenticity, develop self-discipline and self-control, nurture responsibility, promote empathy, build co-operation, speak honestly to themselves and to others, maintain personal integrity, respect others, stick by military and moral principles in all they do, and to smile during the heaviest of weather. The challenges are: Are we doing enough of it and are we consistent? Are we mentoring them in the correct military way? If we don’t get it right in 2011, the four “yeses” might turn into four “no’s”.

The intellectual, emotional, personal, and social aspects of our military careers all belong crowded in the old styled bench front seat like a bunch of Saturday night cruising teenagers! With enthusiasm second to none! Or so it should be. Is CGA a place that you come to with these emotions? If not, it is YOUR responsibility to change it, Not the OC, not the RSM, nor anybody else. YOU have to change it, or make a change. If your emotions re CGA are not in the front seat of you intellectual property, make positive adjustments in your attitude. If it IS in the front seat, help your comrades around you that are not in the same space, because they miss out!

May our 2011 be featured by the fact that living by pretense is not living, uttering and passing on values are nowhere near as important as living values, merely surviving is not living, living a life without principles is not fulfilled living, seeking to only fit in

is not standing out, sitting down is not standing up, trying only to get by won't achieve much, measuring life by net worth is not a gauge of worthiness, and trying to be perfect is a futile and frustrating venture for any imperfect human being. But let us strive for perfection in what we do and let us workshop God in all our actions. Our wish is that we all will be CGA members of note and that we live 2011 as a life overflowing with self-respect and respect for others. May all our 2011 CGA endevours be, as a whole, a philosophy of living life all the time and focused on our approved plans; and may it smack of excellence and authentic purpose in whatever it may be. May no obstacle have the power to stop our plans. If we take care of even the smallest of detail, we will experience the most magnificent of blessings in our CGA efforts. The cosmic law applies: “If you walk through this world giving the care and attention each precious moment deserves, you will have untold riches in your lives; and, if you do what you believe is right both yourselves and others, your life and legacy will be of significance to all around you.”

Maj V. Archer and MWO D.W. Steyn