How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
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Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#2There is likely a near limitless number of ways that military information tech could be improved and streamlined, due to the usual tendency for large bureaucracies to have stale systems and the increased opaqueness that the military operates under...and also, the relative lack of programmers in the recruiting pool...but it's encouraging (and surprising!) to see that at least a few Army higher-ups care enough about technical details to award medals.
Also, couldn't help but think of Grace Hopper, who was received a special promotion to Rear Admiral, post-retirement, because of her work on computing. I didn't realize until re-reading her Wikipedia entry how much of her work and leadership (serving as director of the Navy's programming languages group) occurred after her retirement at age 60:
Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#3There is likely a near limitless number of ways that military information tech could be improved and streamlined, due to the usual tendency for large bureaucracies to have stale systems and the increased opaqueness that the military operates under...and also, the relative lack of programmers in the recruiting pool...but it's encouraging (and surprising!) to see that at least a few Army higher-ups care enough about te…
I'm not sure how things are like now (I got out in '09), but things were definitely opaque and bureaucratic when I was in. It was intensely frustrating as well, because the tools I had to use were horribly inefficient. That's why I was so happy when the BMO turned a blind eye to what I had done, because the important thing was that I was getting results. It's good to have enlightened leadership.
Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#4Not bad for a motorpool guy. The place that I remember really needing some programmers was on the MI (military intelligence) side. They spend all of their time looking for patterns in data, and in 2009 it was still mostly done by hand. Plus that is where most of the smart Soldiers end up.
Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#5This is the reason that I say that most people need to learn to code, even just a little bit. Regardless of what career path you choose, it's highly likely that you'll at least use a computer for some of it, and being able to write macros or simple programs to automate things can make you stand out from your peers.
Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#6Not bad for a motorpool guy. The place that I remember really needing some programmers was on the MI (military intelligence) side. They spend all of their time looking for patterns in data, and in 2009 it was still mostly done by hand. Plus that is where most of the smart Soldiers end up.
The only reason I ended up in logistics is because my recruiter asked me what I was doing in college. I said "Computer Engineering" and he said "This has computers in it!". I was 19 years old and I had no idea about anything so I said "Sure, I'll do that!". We were also an artillery unit and so there weren't any MI positions AFAIK. By the time I was deployed I was working at Intel and I had already graduated with a bachelors in Computer Engineering. So that definitely helped!
Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#7This is the reason that I say that most people need to learn to code, even just a little bit. Regardless of what career path you choose, it's highly likely that you'll at least use a computer for some of it, and being able to write macros or simple programs to automate things can make you stand out from your peers.
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Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#8Good on you. Sounds like you had great leadership.
I've met a lot of smart Soldiers during my time in the Army. SSGs with PhDs, Specialists in law school, etc. It helps being in a branch that has a higher ASVAB requirement but there are smart guys in all of the branches. The military (especially the reserve forces) needs the skills that talented civilians like the folks here on HN have. The military also has a lot to give back in return. Besides the leadership skills and the usual GI Bill stuff, there are some pretty solid technical skills to be acquired. My previous employer, Rackspace, has network engineering teams that are heavily populated by former enlisted signal personnel who got Cisco and Juniper training in the military and left to make some very attractive salaries on the civilian side. If you are young and smart but lacking in the big iron skills, it's not a bad way to jump-start a great career.
Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#9When I was in the military if I would have tried something outside of my "MOS" or rating I would have been in a lot of trouble! Great job my friend.
Re: How I got a medal from the Army for writing code
#10This is a great story, I hope this get's picked up in regular press/media/blogsphere and shared more.