Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States began to prepare for a war unlike any the globe had ever seen. The nation drafted its youth to put on a military uniform to risk their lives to protect their country. Seeing the importance of this undertaking,  General George C. Marshall asked Hollywood director, Frank Capra, to create a documentary series called Why We Fight, to inform and inspire troops entering basic training. The director warned Marshall, 

"''I think it's only fair to tell you that I have never before made a single documentary film'"

"'Capra,' said Marshall, 'I have never been chief of staff before. Thousands of young Americans have never had their legs shot off before. Boys are commanding ships today, who a year ago had never seen the ocean before.'"

"In Marshall's world, precedent meant nothing. Every man and every woman in the war effort were doing things they had never done before, for the sole reason that their country needed them to do it."

 American Warlords: How Roosevelt's High Command Led America to Victory in World War II, Jonathan W. Jordan, Penguin Random House Company, 2015

The fact that these novices were able to accomplish their missions so successfully is due in large part to the planning, analysis, and decision-making processes the military used then and in every subsequent war. These are the same processes we rely on today.

I became an officer after graduating college in Minnesota with an International Studies degree and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry. I studied ground combat at the Infantry Basic Officer's Leader Course then went on to Ranger School and earned my Tab my first time through. I was stationed in Korea and deployed to Afghanistan. After my deployment, I was transferred to the Signal Corps and attended the Captain's Career Course on my way to taking command of a signal company. I hung up my uniform after seven years to pursue a new goal. I wanted to help people with their personal finances. 

I'd done this quite a bit in my role as a commander. I was a stock market junky and enjoyed working with soldiers to improve their finances. But I found the traditional financial approaches frustrating. All their one-size-fits-all rules about how to spend my money conflicted with everything I had been taught about high-stakes decision-making.

Combat is an everchanging environment, with our forces and our enemies' constantly adapting to gain the upper hand. We follow a planning process--not a checklist--because every war, and every mission, is different. Risk is necessary for success, so critical analysis is essential along with the ability to adapt as the situation on the ground changes. High stakes, uncertainty, competition, and changing conditions are also characteristics of our modern economy.

So why should you listen to an infantryman about planning your personal finances? I've asked myself this a lot, and I didn't truly understand the skills I brought to this work until I left the military. I wasn't taught how to plan military missions, I was taught planning. I wasn't taught to analyze my enemy, terrain, and weather; I was taught how to analyze complex situations to accomplishing a valuable objective. The things I learned weren't just military concepts, they were skills that I could transfer to any aspect of life. And you can, too.

The military gave us the skills we need to succeed. Now, it's just a matter of applying what you already know to your money.

– Cory

Intent

A service-oriented community with the resources to build a better world for us all.