The New Gen

It's only fair that I mention a few things about the "new generation" of military people. Times obviously change. Career fields must change and advance with the times. The military has always been a leader in the development of new systems, new weapons, and new technology.  With those changes comes the fact that we need to recruit the people that are most able to handle these advancements. The "New Gen". The younger generation who grew up with cell phones (I did not), flat screen TV's (I did not), and the internet (I most certainly did not). The "older dogs" grew up in a different time and place, with different systems that were modern then, but outdated now. Some of us can't, even now, figure out how to use a cell phone or computer to it's full potential. This stuff is child's play to the "New Gen".  They grew up with all this new technology, and are used to it.  It is part of their lives. They don't consider it scary or intimidating; they consider it "normal".
Systems and designs MUST advance. There is really no choice. As these systems advance, so must the people. We already rely heavily on the "New Gen" to step in to our old shoes, and take over where we left off. We need these young people to keep the military "up-to-snuff". We need them to keep us ahead of everyone else. It's a form of deterrence. The kids joining the military now are bright, quick, and willing to learn. Some of them really are just kids, but alot of them have abilities already that we have never learned. They are heavily into advancing technology, science, robotics, and a load of other areas that are quickly developing around the world.
I got the priviledge of watching a new group of military people on my last trip back to the States. I  stopped to visit an old buddy of mine who was now a civilian instructor for the military. He had given some troubleshooting tasks to his youngest members, and we stepped back to watch their thinking process. Keep in mind that I was a military instructor for years, as well as a trainer for military contract conpanies. It is easy for me to spot if they are on the right track or completely lost. This was some sophisticated equipment they were working on. Far above what any normal civilian had ever seen, much less tried to fix.
For a very short while, I thought they were a bit lost and confused by the problems he gave them.Then it dawned on me that they were approaching the solution from a different angle. Their thought processes were different than mine would have been. They grew up in a different time, so logically, they had a bit of a different thought process. As they came to a consensus on what the problems were, and how to fix them, I realized that they were more analytical than I was. All of their fix actions were correct. But this was not the biggest surprise for me. I really didn't have much doubt about their thinking capabilities. My concern was more physical. Would they hesitate to "tear the sucker open" and fix it themselves? No problem there. They followed all the procedures that were absolutely mandatory, as in, grounding things that needed to be grounded, setting up the proper test equipment, and using proper safety techniques. They treated it like they did this all day, every day! This was a very expensive piece of equipment, and complicated. Remember that they were fairly new, as far as time in service goes. They acted like this was their personal computer (meaning familiarity), and got it apart and fixed quickly.  I was impressed; and that's not that easy to do. After watching these "New Gen" techs doing their job, I came out smiling. I was convinced that the future of the Air Force was in capable hands, and knew they would only get better with more time. Oh, there was one other thing I must mention. A little harder to explain, but much more satisfying to me. It was the fact that these young people were actually PROUD to be wearing a military uniform!