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Ok, so I forgot to mention in my original Week 3 re-cap that my ILE group also had a great, multi-day discussion about what the Army's role (or, more generally, the military's role) might be vis-a-vis our democratic society. Some of our readings discussed the two classic theories of the role an army plays in its society: the 'liberal' theory (which focuses on the army's responsibility to protect the democratic ideals in society) or the 'civic republican'...read more
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One of my long-standing topics here has been “leadership.” How do we develop it, how do we do it “right,” how do we make ourselves of the most value to those we lead? Well, it's also one of the topics we'll be talking about all through ILE. We started that discussion this week, and it's going to be a tough topic! Like most topics we've discussed so far, everyone in the class has got an opinion; but when it comes to leadership, we've got...read more
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Big Topics, Pt. 3 – “You listen to Jimi, but you can't hear Jimi.”
March 28, 2011
By: Major Benjamin Grimes
Believe it or not, our discussion of culture reminded me of this line in “White Men Can't Jump” (and inspired a re-watching that cut into my study time...). One of our readings said, basically, that realizing that culture plays an important role in military operations is not enough; we need to understand culture for that knowledge to have any meaning. The Army (and the military, generally) has been the Billy Hoyle of international relations, trying to operate in...read more
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Big Topics, Pt. 2 – “Why did you shoot those unarmed, starving civilians?”
March 28, 2011
By: Major Benjamin Grimes
I'll start with this: dealing with the media scares most Army officers. We are afraid of looking foolish, saying something stupid, being tricked, and, generally, not having control. This was all exposed this week during a “Military and the Media” panel session with a pair of local news personalities. Kimberely Scott and Brad Means gave up a few afternoon hours to meet with my ILE course to talk about what to expect when dealing with the media and they also offered...read more
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Big Topics, Big Thoughts – The Role of Media, Culture, and Leadership (Pt. 1)
March 28, 2011
By: Major Benjamin Grimes
My thinly disguised concerns about the value of the Army's “Intermediate-Level Education” (ILE) were for nothing. The first three weeks of my 15-week short course (the standard course is a full 10-month academic year) have been fantastic. I attribute this to both the quality of instructors in my small group (I don't think all four groups are getting our same experience here) and the collection of officers I spend my days with in the small group. Both of these were...read more
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We've kicked off the official academic session here at Fort Gordon (which will last the next 3-1/2 months or so) by "thinking about thinking." One of the overall goals of the course is to teach us "how to think, not what to think" (and this is an important difference in philosophy from some other military services) but I'm still sorting out how serious we really are about this. On the plus side, I have to admit my early skepticism is quickly being worn...read more
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Back in November, Don't Ask Don't Tell was all over the news; it was even beginning to develop a presence here on ArmyStrongStories.com – I mentioned it, and LTC Andre Dean posted a few times about (more about that later); since then, Cadet Ulrich and LT Harper have both mentioned it; 1SG Hynes and SSG Chase have both shared great, personal stories; and ArmyStrongStories.com resident super-star, LT Kayley Nammari talked about the personal blowback she's gotten (even though...read more
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With ILE just starting this week, I had plenty of time to check out was was happening at Fort Gordon this week. As it turns out, I was lucky enough to be here for the retirement of Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Thomas Clark. I say lucky because I had the chance to deploy to Baghdad with CSM Clark in 2005-2006 with 22nd Signal Brigade. It was his second trip to Iraq and he was the Brigade Command Sergeant Major, the senior enlisted member of the 1200-Soldier signal...read more
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I made the trip yesterday to Fort Gordon, GA, and signed in to start my stint at “Intermediate-Level Education” (ILE). While I'm not sure exactly what will be covered over the next 3-1/2 months, here's the official description: “It will prepare field-grade officers to serve on division, corps, echelons-above-corps, land component command, and joint staffs. Graduates will understand full-spectrum operations in today’s environment, know how to think,...read more
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With Black History Month ending in a matter of hours, I realized it's long overdue I added my two cents. I spent a long time growing up avoiding the issue of race. If I'm going to be honest with you – and with myself – I have to admit that I did everything I could to avoid examining who I am. (I think that my choice to become a part of the Army was part of that avoidance, but I'll get to that later.) Nonetheless, I hope, and I believe, that the last few years...read more
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Profile
Benjamin Grimes
| Affiliation: | Active Duty |
|---|---|
| Rank: | Major |
| Branch: | Judge Advocate General |
| MOS/AOC: | JAG Corps Attorney/27A |
| Location: | Tacoma, WA |
| Hometown: | York |
About Me:
MAJ Grimes has been in the Army since graduating from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1996, spending his first 4 years in service as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot before being selected to attend law school under the Funded Legal Education Program.
Since graduating from New York University School of Law, MAJ Grimes has served as an Administrative Law Attorney, Trial Counsel (Prosecutor) and Senior Trial Counsel, Brigade Legal Adviser, Trial Defense Counsel, and Judge Advocate Recruiting Officer. After earning his LL.M. from the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, he was assigned as the Senior Defense Counsel for Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in Washington state.
His previous assignments include Fort Rucker (Alabama), South Korea, Fort Campbell (Kentucky), Germany, Fort Myer (Virginia) and Washington, D.C., and deployment to Iraq as the Senior Trial Counsel for Multi-National Corps -- Iraq. MAJ Grimes is married and has two children.
Since graduating from New York University School of Law, MAJ Grimes has served as an Administrative Law Attorney, Trial Counsel (Prosecutor) and Senior Trial Counsel, Brigade Legal Adviser, Trial Defense Counsel, and Judge Advocate Recruiting Officer. After earning his LL.M. from the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, he was assigned as the Senior Defense Counsel for Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in Washington state.
His previous assignments include Fort Rucker (Alabama), South Korea, Fort Campbell (Kentucky), Germany, Fort Myer (Virginia) and Washington, D.C., and deployment to Iraq as the Senior Trial Counsel for Multi-National Corps -- Iraq. MAJ Grimes is married and has two children.
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