Doe Mennene Mexicano — Mourmelon, France | April 2000
“The Mourmelon Beach Club? ”
“You know Van Gaans, I don’t know what you do and I probably shouldn’t find out. But I think you should keep doing it,” my platoon commander says with a thoughtful frown.
This is interesting, just this morning I had an argument with the Platoon-opper who claimed that I’m undermining my authority by not insisting on being addressed by my rank and not keeping enough ‘professional distance’ from the troops. Now the platoon commander, who outranks the platoon-opper, wants me to keep doing things the way I do them. I knew I was right.
The problem with these older NCOs is that they are from another era. When they were in my position, the soldiers were conscripts who didn’t want to be in the army. To keep a bunch of rowdy conscripts under control the NCOs of those days would have had to pull rank and enforce the army’s formal hierarchies. But things are different now. Today’s soldiers are professionals who’ve chosen to be here. There’s no need to treat them like the conscripts of days gone by. I’ll stick to the lieutenant’s advice and keep doing what I’m doing.
What I do is actually nothing special. It is my belief that a group commander works for the group, not the soldiers for the group commander. Unlike many of my colleagues, I don’t think a higher rank places me above the soldiers. I see my rank just as an indication of my level of responsibility. Each soldier has his or her own specialisation and so really doesn’t need to be told what to do. Instead, they need to be given the opportunity to do what they know how to do. That’s what I do: I make sure my soldiers have the tools and the time they need to get their work done, I see this as my sole responsibility as a group commander.
Wmr Van Gaans, Cmd Recovery 1 Plt 101 RPV Bt
Another thing I do is that I allow my soldiers to complain. In the army this is unusual. The typical attitude is that soldiers should keep their mouths shut and just do what they’re told. I find that by allowing them to complain, they let go of their frustrations and, as a direct result, function far better. In the often Kafkaesque army hierarchies, I think it’s essential the troops can let go of their frustrations. There’s no point in pretending things work if they don’t. Once my soldiers have gotten rid of their frustrations, they tend to become quite creative problem solvers. That’s what we need!
Then there’s the thing I do the platoon commander reckons he shouldn’t find out about: I try to make the work fun for my group. As the platoon’s Transport and Recovery unit, my group’s work isn’t that much fun. We get up before dawn, drive to the launch site and set up a ‘mobile airport’ for the army’s spy-drone. It’s hard work for a couple of hours and then… I’m supposed to keep the group busy for hours at an end, even though there’s not really anything to do.
To make this bearable for my group, I take charge of the day. To begin with, I play the seriously silly song Doe Mennene Mexicano during our drive to the launch site. It’s the same song every day and, no matter how grumpy someone is in the early morning, by the time we reach the site we’re all in a good mood. After the inflatable hangar tents have been built, the site is organised and the launch crew has started their work, I’m supposed to keep my group busy with basic training and maintenance duties… but I don’t.
Of course I make sure my group is up to speed and all necessary maintenance has been taken care of, but I don’t keep my soldiers busy just to keep them busy. Instead, whenever I see an opportunity, we drive to the small village near Camp de Châlons, the French military camp where we conduct the test flight of the army’s new drones. Depending on the time of day we go for either a coffee, a small lunch or some afternoon beers. Sometimes, as we are in the middle of France’s Champagne area, we go to a tasting at one of the famous chateaux de Champagne.
The predictable result of this is that my group is highly motivated. I have no trouble to get them to do even the most dreary tasks with a positive attitude. I’m sure my platoon commander knows very well what I’m doing, but if he’d admit to that he would have to put an end to it. Because I make his job as platoon commander 101 RPV Battery easier by keeping my group motivated, he lets me get away with what I do.
This is what I love about the army. Yes it’s a life full of rules, regulations and formal hierarchies but, as long as you make sure your work is in order and you say “Yes Sir” at the appropriate moments, you can get away with doing whatever it is you want to do. I’ve never felt this free in my life, “Doe mennene Mexicano en een friet saté.”
Ferry van de Zaande – Doe Mennene Mexicano [Single]. Tilburg, The Netherlands: Unknown. (2000)
This autobiographical sketch comes from my bundle In the Moment: A Disjointed Audiobiography which is available at Amazon.com. (USD 9.50 for a paperback or USD 4.50 for the Kindle version)
