A Master of None
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Context is Everything
I had no clue just how mediocre I was at teaching marksmanship until I attended a “train the trainer” pistol course that was taught by an operator who was considerably closer to mastery than I was. I also had no clue just how mediocre the instructor was as an actual pistol marksman until I watched international level competitors engage targets with unreal speed and accuracy.
It might sound surprising that a squad leader in the Rangers is just the “okayest” teacher of a lethal skill and an elite operator might be “really damn good” but nowhere near the world’s best at shooting a pistol. However, take a moment to compare the hypothetical scenario within which a warfighter might engage a target compared to a competitor in one of the marksmanship sports.
Sport Competitor
Wake Up & Eat Breakfast
Prepare & Practice
Compete (Engage Targets)
Warfighter
Wake Up & Eat Dinner for Breakfast
Receive Mission & Plan
Infil via Vehicle
Navigate to Target (w/ 50+% Body Weight Load - often using night vision and manipulating various navigational and communications technologies, all while maintaining security)
Breach Target
Secure Target (discriminate & potentially engage or subdue personnel while collaboratively maneuvering and communicating locally and globally via audio & visual means)
Exploit Target
Navigate to Exfil Point (on foot)
Exfil via Vehicle
Conduct Debrief & After Action Review
Eat Breakfast for Dinner
Notice anything different between the two? And I should mention that the Warfighter example is considerably oversimplified and represents an almost best case scenario where the worst part might be having to wake up in the late afternoon / early evening and eat spaghetti for breakfast. One casualty, whether friendly or enemy, prompts the additional critical action of rendering aid, something for which every operator is extensively trained.
Diversified Prociency
Warfighting is considerably more VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) than any comparable profession outside of law enforcement and fire & rescue. Proficiency in an essential task cannot be exchanged for true mastery of a single component of warfighting. Even battlefield specialists like snipers, radio operators, breachers, and medics maintain minimum standards of proficiency in physical fitness, marksmanship, combat medicine, communications, small unit tactics, airborne operations, and plenty of other essential skills.
Being a world class marksman does not make for a world class warfighter if it comes at the detriment of multidisciplinary versatility.
Honestly, I was a mediocre marksman. Put me on a static flat range with no wind and perfect line of sight, all the time in the world, in a supported prone position with a scoped rifle, dead silence, and high expectations, and you are sure to witness mediocrity at its finest! I won’t be the worst but I’ll likely land in the middle at best. However, throw me into a stress shoot that challenges my ability to negotiate obstacles rapidly under load, make high stakes decisions under duress, engage a variety of targets in a variety of ways, and perform various cognitively demanding tasks, and suddenly I’m competing near the top of the pack. As a Ranger, what I lacked in depth, I offset with breadth. My abilities were an inch deep and a mile wide (okay, maybe a centimeter deep and like a meter wide but you get the point). My buddy and I did not win best gun team in the regiment because we were physical specimen, nor did we win because we were elite marksmen with a machine gun. We won because we could collectively shoot, move, and communicate better than any of the 80 other competing teams (Bet your ass that was a humble brag).
End Ex
Unfortunately, the Army loves its “master” moniker. It’s a misleading term that is often attached to soldiers who complete schools and courses like Jumpmaster, Master Breacher, and Master Fitness Trainer. Completing these courses does not make for mastery. Far from it! I get it though, being the jack of all trades doesn’t sound nearly as sexy. Nobody aspires to be a Jump Jack, Jack Breacher, or Jack Fitness Trainer. Being a Jack O’Lantern might be cool though…
Being a “master of none” means maintaining minimum proficiency across countless domains. Diversified extensive proficiency with limited intensive domains of more in depth ability makes for an extremely effective warfighting force. The further a uniformed professional operates from the battlefield, the lower the acceptable standards of general soldiering abilities and the higher the expectation of narrow mastery within their expert scope of practice. However, compared to civilian counterparts, dawning a military uniform implies accepting and maintaining minimum requirements across physically and cognitively challenging warfighting tasks.
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