Pawns

Back in my submarine days, the junior officers on my ship would occasionally close the wardroom doors, and complain back and forth to each other about various things, usually involving senior members of the chain of command. It was a necessary release of frustration, and ironically served its purpose well, as after venting, we usually went back to work with a bit more enthusiasm. The joking name for these conversations was a "J. O. Retention Team Meeting." Today was one of those days where I really needed one of those meetings, but alas, nobody was around to complain to. Still, there are a few frustrating things about my job ... a few small things among many other more fulfilling parts, and occasionally those of us in the lower ranks of the military find ourselves feeling like pawns in the big chess game of life. That's actually not a bad analogy. Chess originated as a war game, and certainly the smaller pieces get moved around as necessary to protect, and sacrifice for, the more powerful pieces. It just would be nice to be, say, a bishop or knight instead of a pawn. Pawns can turn out pretty powerful, too, if they manage to survive all the way to the other end of the chessboard. Let me check that counter again...