A few things I want to address:

1. Not to belabor the mall point, but one of the big stories in the NY/NJ area right now is the death of a man after a vicious and senseless carjacking at a mall in NJ. He was ambushed loading gifts into his car, which means, obviously, that he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings and neither was his wife. and an FBI Task force was created to capture the four perpetrators.

Did Steph need time away? Yes. Were the guys right to be worried? Yes.

2. I read the reviews to 98. Not going to comment on those. However, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: PLEASE stop equating what Steph does for the company as a sign of her emotional growth! Two totally separate issues!

The easiest way to keep the two separate is by asking yourself this: If Steph were to walk away from RangeMan after the San Antonio trip, what has changed about the way she conducts her life? Is she more aware of threats? Is she aware of her enemies and their locations? Is she ready to make the hard choices about her life and how she wants to live it without being forced, manipulated or going to ‘Denial’ first? Is she prepared to do what’s necessary to safeguard her life without hesitating about it? Is she prepared to do what’s necessary to protect someone else’s life without hesitating about it?

That’s what her life requires, let alone a life with Ranger. Is she there yet? I think this talk with Tank should have illustrated that she’s not quite there yet.

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OK, I lied. I’m going to address the two biggest issues raised in the reviews I read.

3. There was an issue raised about Les using Steph as bait for the Miami Port Sting. As illustrated in ‘A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste’ and in chapter 100, Les paid Steph the ultimate compliment by treating her as another RangeMan (or RangeWoman in Steph’s case). She’s trained, she’s prepared, and she was willing to execute his plan. Did he expect her to be taken? No, but he also factored in the ‘Plum Curve’ which said that she might be.

Les treated her like his equal. She had the freedom to back out at any point but she didn’t. Steph had choices and she was willing to do what was necessary to carry out the plan. Ranger treated her as his woman who needed to be protected and sheltered at all costs. Les was not cavalier with Steph’s life. He treated her as an equal, which is why the mall thing and its aftermath stung him so much.

Sexism at work: Either Steph is trained and prepared to fight like everyone else or the training was useless and just for show. It’s the same fight our women in the military face, like those who just completely the Marine Infantry course but won’t be deployed like other infantrymen. What was the point of training them to the same standards if they still aren’t good enough to fight?

From a USA Today Article:

“The women who complete the infantry training will not be able to serve in the infantry, since that and other ground combat fields, such as tanks, artillery and special operations, remain closed to women. However, their records will reflect they completed the infantry training, the Marine Corps said.
Military leaders have said the services will not lower physical standards as they open the ground combat specialties to women.
“Whatever we do, we are not going to lower the standards,” Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff, told USA TODAY in an interview on Monday.”

So they underwent the same training, passed, and it’s on their service record, but there’s a presumption that standards might have to be lowered if more women can’t pass at the same rate as men? smh.

Steph’s passed RangeMan standards at the same requirements as the men, but she shouldn’t be treated like the other men? It’s fine for her to risk her life in a club distraction but not in Les’s plan, which essentially was what the port sting was?

The Miami Port sting was one huge distraction. Steph’s a pro at those, but every time she does one she faces the same risk of death, rape, kidnapping, mutilation, etc. She’s always come out OK but it’s always been her choice to do it. Why should Les hesitate to use Steph for it?

Food for thought.

4. BLT’s attitude to the company. I think it slid past everyone that the guys do not blame Steph for the state of affairs in Trenton or all over the company. Bobby’s mental musings were pretty clear in that. BLT firmly blames themselves and one other: Ranger.

However, they are aware that Steph was a factor. Not the cause, but a factor and they’re determined to make up for their lack of leadership. They’ve discussed how they plan to do it. They know what they have to do and they appreciate Steph’s leadership within the company. If they were ‘done’ with her, they’d fire her or not look to retain her once the year was over. That’s not their thinking at all. They want her to stay. However, they’re also considering what happens if she chooses to leave and making plans for that.

One of the most important things for any company to do is institute strict controls over the use of company resources. For example, some companies are lenient over the use of paper, pens and ink. My company allows the employees to order printer ink and paper from Staples as long as we don’t go overboard. However, if the company starts belt-tightening, I’m sure that’s the first expenditure that will get cut. When I worked for the state, private mileage on state vehicles had to be calculated to the 1/10 of a mile. The company I work for just wants to know how many miles I drive my personal vehicle.

I share that to say that Steph’s use of the men, the cars, and their time, if she’s not a RangeMan, is something that they’re finally going to start regulating. It has a cost and that’s what drove Trenton down. They’re stopping that pain at the source and, as the owners, they’re perfectly within their rights to do that. It’s also a check on Ranger. If the company reserves don’t dip because one branch is being dragged down, then Ranger doesn’t have to do ops anymore. That’s also important to the brotherhood. Their brother is important to them.

Factor, not cause. Steph used RangeMan resources but they allowed it. They’re stopping it on their side if she leaves. If she stays, this never needs to be addressed. She’s a RangeMan. They’ll protect her. They’ll protect her if she and Ranger are in a relationship. However, if Steph leaves and she and Ranger go back to whatever they were doing, she’s not a RangeMan anymore. They guys are cutting off the spigot of assistance.

To which, I’d like to give you two quotes:

‘Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.’—Aristotle

And

‘I am sorry to think that you do not get a man’s most effective criticism until you provoke him. Severe truth is expressed with some bitterness.’ Henry David Thoreau

The guys have been provoked, starting with NYC. They’ve woken up to their own failures, faced them, and moved to address them. Some of you believe they sound very bitter and to some extent they are. What matters, however, is how they verbally address that.

You’re flaying them for their thoughts. My thoughts are not always pretty, but thankfully, I rarely say exactly what I’m thinking. 🙂 Again, as demonstrated in Chapter 100, Tank’s thoughts and what came out of his mouth are entirely different.

Often, we go into a conversation with one set agenda but, if we really listen to the other person as they speak, we come out with an entirely new understanding. That happened between Steph and Tank. That was important.

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I guess, ultimately, that what I’m getting at is that this is the difference in their thinking. The guys see their choices even when no one explicitly states them. Steph’s thinking doesn’t include that. Not yet. She sees, “This is what you have to do,” and forgets she has choices.

The guys feel back up to their game. They’re ready to move forward. They’re getting their old skills and abilities back, feeling nimble and ready to move forward. Tank’s recommitting himself to the NCO creed. He’s apologized to all of the XOs and is ready to move forward, but as we’ve seen in chapter 100, he’s also including Steph in his mission. It’s important to him that all his men (and women) have what they need to do the job.

Les is having the time of his life messing with the FBI, gang bangers, and Javi. He’s mentoring his strategists again and having fun and feeling playful, a change from the Les at the beginning of this story. Bobby’s changes have been less apparent (so far) but they’re there. For Bobby, nothing is more important than the company.

The guys also see Ranger’s changes and for the men who know him and know him well, they are all remarking on them. Ranger’s changes might not seem huge to all of you but, as I said in A LONG Time Coming, Ranger’s breaking down years of training in opening up to Steph. He doesn’t have to talk. He doesn’t have to call. He’s pushing himself to do that because Steph is important to him. That’s not something to be dismissed lightly.

As far as Steph changing her entire lifestyle and freedoms: again, she has choices. No one is forcing her to do anything. What she chooses to do (or not do) is entirely up to her.

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I know that today is the last day to shop for gifts, so everyone, please remember to be careful! Let’s all go home safe and sound to our loved ones.

Finally, can I just say, as the author, that reading the reviews and KNOWING what’s coming up sometimes literally kills me? 🙂 Merry Christmas!