THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES’ COMPULSORY CONCEPT

"PRIDE... THAT IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS!!!

Last night, I ended my comments by stating two questions:

1.  How do you make a compulsory system work?
2. Is it the right thing to do?

Let me start tonight with a caveat to both questions.

How do  you make such a concept work in the Middle East / GCC?

Is it the right thing to do in the UAE or any other GCC member state?

Before I travel down the path of how to make it work, let me take on the caveat part of the first question.

Does a compulsory concept require a different approach than in other parts of the world?

Here is the hint, the wealth of the nation will have an impact on the success of the process, if the target audience groups are youthful citizens of the UAE.

Does social standing lead to a separation of expectations and more importantly, should it?

Can the government hold to the standards set forth in the new law?

Simply put; can the rules apply to everyone without obvious “exceptions”…..exceptions that will become visible to everyone paying attention?

Ok, I won’t beat around the bush!

This concept must start from a standard that cannot be compromised….the “playing field” must be as level as humanly possible, or failure is the future that will become unavoidable.

The fact that some categories have different time requirements is salable to the public as long as the government has a sound explanation as to how these timelines were developed.

It’s the age old truism of, people can accept bad news as long as bad news is explained in detail and shared at a level that is understood, and given by a leadership that is based on honor.

So, can a compulsory concept work in the UAE ?

Yes, but with strong caveats and standards abided by from day one!

Ok, with that question out of the way, let’s see if I can paint a picture of what it will take to be successful in this extraordinary adventure.

Last week, I addressed the issues Saudi faced with its new, ambitious vision for the future of its military.

Several of those concepts will be expanded upon as I spell the plan for success.

People:

The ground truth about this journey is the fact that the people who make up the initial training and the first operational, compulsory based units will set the stage for future success or failure.

Everyone within a certain category “must” be eligible to serve, but does that require all of them must serve?

If you are eligible, does that guarantee you will serve?

The Vetting Process:

A group of “recruits” are assembled at  a processing center.

What actions take place to insure these citizens are worthy of the prideful act of wearing the Uniform of the country they belong to?

How does the country insure the right person is being trained to fill the right job?

Does a mass production line concept work?

No!

The right people for the right job with the right training, linked with the right organization; that’s a cornerstone that must be placed from the very beginning.

Are there those who will be thanked for their reporting to duty, but sent home for the right reasons?

Yes.

Here is the dangerous sticking point.

As was the case in the US and other Western nations, this “excuse …medical… emotional ect..ect…ect… cannot be the backdoor for letting influential members escape their duty to the nation.

Honest evaluation with a rejection plan based on compassion and integrity is critical to keeping the honor of the military process.

Simply put; those who are turned away, must be turned away with dignity or better yet, given options to serve in other capacities.

Word of mouth travel fast and in the age of social media, that word travels around the world in a matter of minutes.

Perception is reality until large sums of time, energy and funds are expended to disprove a false impression.

So, the people and the vetting of those people is more than important, it’s as I said, the cornerstone!

Training:

To be honest with my readers, the training part of this plan, as I read it in the media, a dangerous way to get one’s information I know, is more than a little concerning.

When I look at how the training aspects of a modern military changed over the thirty-two years of my military life, I have to wonder what expectations the UAE military will have of members who server months rather than years?

Short-term training based on simplistic task is a possible fit unit members who will have limited roles in a military unit.

Here is the historical problem with that process; short-term members equates into expensive, labor intensive, repetitive training.

If something is relatively “ cheap” to achieve, but you must do it over and over again, the true cost is much higher than anticipated.

Along with that economic fact is the issue of quality.

High turnover often goes hand in hand with low productivity.

If a “cook” is given two months of military training, paid low wages, given rank that is lacking respect, then how vulnerable is that position to corruption and or low productivity?

Is a chain stronger than its weakest link?

No.

If a unit has members who are there because they were made to be there and they were given minimum respect and nearly no admiration, how vulnerable is that unit?

How effective is that unit in time of crisis?

I spent many of nights taking the time to insure the TCNs / Third Country Nationals / who worked in my chow halls understood the value I placed on them…. I shook their hands…laughed with them…ate with them…..I gave them the respect I knew they were looking for and in the end, they kept my people safe……

Teaching these qualities……the ability to make leaders understand the importance of “short-term” members… members who are not assigned the glorious jobs… that is just one level of training that is seldom factored into the process.

Training is the next cornerstone that will insure a sound foundation, a foundation that leads to a military strong at all points of contact.

In short, training must hold the same value, dignity and honor at all levels and cannot rest with just those chosen to lead.

Get this wrong, and the process becomes a waste of national treasure both in terms of funds and more importantly in terms of dignity.

My parting comment on this topic…. When it comes time to take the unit picture…give out the unit award… find the simple member…. Stick them up front and ask them to smile….. trust me….it never failed me in over thirty-two years… money is not always the only thing the followers are looking for.

Exposure:

Here comes one of the hardest parts for leadership to attempt, especially those who worry about their own careers more than the ability of those they command to execute their mission.

Build a unit, train them, equip them, make them understand the vision of leadership and then give them a hill to climb!

Put them to the test and make that “test” real.

Make that test challenge their skills and more importantly, make it put their honor on the line.

Yes, viable, evaluations, away from home and against odds they never thought they would see.

This is the test of their metal… this will make them understand there is more at stake than just their individual respect.

Pride….Test their pride and test it at a level beyond their expectations.

This is the unique aspect  of the United States Military…. It’s ability to truly test it’s members and make them risk all they have worked for.

Do this  and in the end, every unit in the UAE military will be stronger, smarter, faster and yes… they will believe….they will believe in their “unit”!

You see…… this is the goal… this is the end-state of what the government is looking for…. a youth that has pride.. pride in their accomplishments….pride in their unit and last but not least….pride in the nation they represent!!!

There is no Arab Spring when “Pride” is the cornerstone of a nations youth!