The Can-Do Generation

The Can Do Generation

If you are in your early 20s to early 30s, you fall in to the Millennial Generation. If you are in that age range, you probably already know you fall in to that group because there is never any shortage of articles being written about Millenials and how they are pretty much destroying the world. Most of the press surrounding this age group is negative. It's extremely rare to find anyone writing anything positive about Millenials so this op-ed by LT Roger Misso on U.S. Naval Institute Blog is both surprising and refreshing. If you are a Millenial, take heart. If you are working with Millenials, take notice.LT Misso wants the world to know that his generation is not the apathetic bunch of entitled brats that the media has portrayed them to be. No. LT Misso has an overwhelmingly positive outlook on the future of his generation. From the USNI Blog:The millennial generation follows in the footsteps of some awesome predecessors, learning from the example—and the mistakes—of the “Greatest Generation,” Baby Boomers, Generation X, and others. As we set our sails for the horizon, millennials often wonder: what will our legacy be?At a recent meeting of junior and senior officers on innovation, a discussion arose about funding innovative projects. All involved recognized the elephant in the room as one senior leader said, “Clearly, we can’t solve the acquisition problem.”

Being a big fan of marginalia, I wrote that quote down on the side of my pre-brief material. Underneath it, I hurriedly scribbled, “We all want reform. Show me the person who doesn’t? Do the work! Steel the wool!”That statement—“We Can’t”—underscores the shared intra-generational frustration over our military’s “wicked problems.” The defense-industrial-congressional complex looms large as the source of these problems. This is widely recognized, and while a few brave souls have tried to slay the beast, the masses have been content to live within its shadow according to its rules.But it does not have to be this way, and the millennial generation is already actively involved in tackling these seemingly insurmountable problems. Under Secretary of Defense Brad Carson’s “Force of the Future” initiative and Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Admiral Bill Moran’s efforts aim to overhaul the antiquated, inefficient personnel systems throughout the DoD. Providing some revolutionary solutions—and volunteering to implement them—are members of the Defense Entrepreneur’s Forum (DEF) and similar JO-heavy organizations. These are millennials not willing to take “we can’t” as the final answer.Read the rest at USNI Blog[mwi-cat-listing cat="94" ppp="4" cols="4" desc="false" type="view" btn_color="black" ]