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U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Lance Cpl. Jeff Dvorak, a CAP first lieutenant with the Minnesota Wing's St. Cloud Composite Squadron, on convoy duty in Iraq.
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Marine Corps Reserve Lance Cpl. Jeff Dvorak working communications during a convoy in Iraq.
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Marine Corps Reserve Lance Cpl. Jeff Dvorak, working communications on a convoy. The headset allows him to talk to the convoy assets while a handset in his right ear allows him to talk to Marine tactical air supporting the convoy.
Photos provided by Marine Reserve Lance Cpl. Jeff Dvorak
Maj. Richard J. Sprouse
Public Information Officer
Group II
Minnesota Wing
MINNESOTA -- Many of the leadership guidelines that Civil Air Patrol members follow are the same as those that members of the military adhere to, says Marine Corps Reserve Lance Cpl. Jeff Dvorak, a St. Cloud Composite Squadron member who has been running convoys with Marine Wing Support Squadron 472 in Iraq since September.
Dvorak, who holds the CAP rank of first lieutenant, began working with Support Squadron 472 at Al Asad Airbase on Sept. 14. The unit was tasked with assisting returning the Marine Corps side of operations in Iraq to the U.S. Army — a mission successfully accomplished Jan. 23.
"This mission has our unit moving equipment from place to place, as well as setting up refueling points for helicopters, repairing landing sites and hauling fuel to remote locations," Dvorak said.
"We were so efficient in doing this that our deployment was shortened by several months!" He's expected back home shortly.
Dvorak became a senior member in CAP after a successful cadet experience that showcased his emergency services skills, particularly as a ground team leader. To help pay for college, he enlisted in the Marine Reserve two years ago.
He was attending St. Cloud State University when he was selected to augment Marine Wing Support Squadron 472, based in Willow Grove, Pa., for its mission to Iraq.
Convoy duty was intense and stressful, but there were moments of humor as well.
"I watched a Marine known for being clumsy get down from a 7-ton truck and catch his weapon sling on a fire extinguisher. which then began spraying purple fire suppressant everywhere. This Marine tried to stem the flow by sticking his finger in the nozzle. It was one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time," Dvorak said.
What he learned about leadership as a CAP cadet has served him well as a deployed Marine, he said.
"The Minnesota Leadership Academy's Basic Commissioned Office Course, and Maj. (Richard) Sprouse's series 'Learning to Lead' specifically, applied and were confirmed while I was in Iraq," Dvorak said.
He cited several points from that training:
- In CAP, a leader's first priority is taking care of his cadets. In the Marines, this sort of approach means doing simple things like making sure everyone is properly fed, housed and getting enough rest. Also important: Treating everyone fairly.
- Set clear goals and objectives. Marines always have a plan of action so personnel and equipment are not sitting idly by.
- Make sure your people receive praise and formal recognition regularly.
- Know your job. Nothing is worse than an incompetent leader who hasn't taken the time to learn his profession.
- Be confident. Don't be the timid leader who gives orders phrased as questions.
- Give respect to get respect. That’s an old cliché, but it’s true. "As a leader, take your subordinates’ suggestions into account, and if they are better than yours show your maturity and change your course of action," Dvorak said.
- An ineffective, poor leader screams and yells. Instead, set high standards and expectations and enforce them.
"Leadership challenges that come up in CAP are the same as the ones faced by today's military," Dvorak said. The biggest differences between CAP and the Marines are pay and the laws that apply on the military side, increasing the consequences of both positive and negative actions, he said.
"The experience in Iraq has been eye-opening, both as a follower and as a potential leader,” Dvorak said. "There is so much one can learn just by paying attention and then applying what you have learned.
“I look forward to getting back to the squadron in St. Cloud and doing just that."
