The Army Helped Me Harness the Power of Mindfulness

It all started when I got lost

I received my first lesson on mindfulness in 1997 while lying in a field waiting for the Army to rescue me.

I was a young captain attending the Officer Basic Course (OBC) at Fort Sam Houston, TX. Despite my rank, I knew shockingly little about being a soldier. This course was my first exposure to the “real” Army, and part of the experience was a two-week field training exercise (FTX).

During the FTX, we practiced important soldier skills like how to march, shoot, and salute. We learned how to quickly seal our gas masks, camouflage our faces, and the basics of land navigation.

It turns out I was good at camouflage and long ruck marches, but not as skilled at land navigation. I could use a compass and read a road map, but the Army map was complex, with terrain features that were not easy to understand.

On the last day of the FTX, the class had one final land navigation challenge that we had to do alone. Successful completion of the course, defined as finding two of the four points, was required to graduate.

If we did not pass, we would be recycled to the next class and have an opportunity to do OBC again.

Knowing that I had not mastered my land navigation skills, I was concerned about the course but hopeful I could find the minimum points.

We started at 1300 and had four hours to complete the challenge. I received my coordinates, plotted my first point, and off I went.

The initial point was located quickly. Later, I learned that the first one is always the easiest to find, probably to give you a false sense of security.

It worked, and I confidently set off for my second point.

Over the next several hours, I moved through the brush of the training ground searching for the second elusive grid coordinate. Despite repeatedly checking the map and using my compass, I could not find it.

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