I hired my first secretary at Fort Riley, Kansas. The trick to surviving and succeeding is gathering good people around you. I think having the right secretary is a big deal.
When I arrived at Fort Riley, I inherited a sweet elderly lady, who had been an institution at the JAG Office. She wanted to retire, but was kind enough not to walk out the door as I was walking in. After a comfortable period of time, she let me know that she was retiring and we started the process to select her replacement.
I don’t understand the process. Don’t have to. Eventually, some admin office on post sends over a bunch of personnel files for us to review. These files have already been reviewed by someone and it has been determined that the individuals whose files were forwarded are “qualified for the job.”
One of the good people in the office was my Admin Officer, Mr. Frank Maloney, a young warrant officer. Mr Maloney and I selected three or four of the applicants to interview. A couple had been on post for a number of years and had excellent reputations, so I was fairly confident I would end up with a really good secretary.
Another woman, who was working over at the Army Reserve Headquarters, had excellent evaluations, but had changed jobs about five times in the last six years. Frank and I were concerned about that, because we were looking for stability. What we were doing was a time consuming drill and we didn’t want to be doing it again in a year.
The first couple of interviews went very well. Frank seemed to know the right questions to keep everything on track and I was feeling fairly comfortable with the process. Then, the young lady from the Army Reserve Headquarters showed up (thankfully, I don’t remember her name, but I will never forget the interview). She was a very attractive young woman wearing a see-through blouse and a lace bra! Mr. Maloney and I struggled through the interview. Have you ever tried to make eye contact throughout an entire 30 minute interview?
We asked her about changing jobs so often, and she explained that she also had been going to school. Her class schedule sometimes would interfere with her work schedule causing her to change jobs. She assured me that schooling and scheduling were no longer a problem and that she would be a devoted secretary. Egad!
I used to refer to the prettiest secretary in the office as the “Queen Bee”, because there was always a lot of activity buzzing around her desk. The males in the office could always come up with some bogus reason to be there. If we had hired this gal, I think the JAG Office would have become the most popular building on post. We might have had to set up a “take-a-number” system.
After she departed, Frank and I just stared at each other. Finally, I said, “Frank, if I hire her, I think the next 90 days will be the most exciting in my military career. I also think they will be my last 90 days.” We agreed that another applicant was better qualified and put the matter behind us.
Two weeks later, I dropped by the Officers’ Club for Friday night Happy Hour. There she was, sitting at the bar, wearing a bright red tube top. She was looking right at me and pouting. I walked over to her trying to look sad or sorry or something. Frankly, I was trying to look appropriate for a person who had not hired her. She finally spoke. She said, “It was Mr. Maloney, wasn’t it?” What could I say? I said, “Yes, it was Mr. Maloney.”
After a few minutes, I finally got around to telling her that she raised issues by dressing the way she had. Always the teacher, I explained that she should probably dress a little more conservatively when she is interviewing. I should have saved my breath. She knew exactly what she was doing and if I didn’t appreciate the way she dressed, it was best that we both knew it up front. I realized that one of the purposes of the interview process was to inform and she believed in full disclosure.
