Post # 14 -- Not on My Watch: Strive for Generational Impact

(A TRSC Perspective)

What if you believe nothing significant will happen “on your watch”?

What if you think the world will hold together just long enough for you to get through your life without any major disruptions?

Why bother becoming resilient?

Why spend the time, money, and effort?

The simple answer is this: life can change in moments, and you never know when those moments will come. It’s the same principle as owning a kitchen fire extinguisher or life insurance. Most people see the value. A few insist “it will never happen to me,” and maybe they’re right — until they’re not.

But there’s a deeper reason to pursue readiness, preparedness, and resiliency.

A reason that goes beyond your own lifetime.

You strive for resiliency so you can pass the knowledge on — even if you never need to use it in some dramatic way.

You will use small elements of resiliency in everyday life without realizing it. But even if you didn’t, the effort is still worth it, because resiliency isn’t just about you. It’s about your family, your children, your neighbors, your community, and your nation.

For many people in your life, you will be the role model and the educator.

You will be the link between older generations and the next.

And it only takes one broken link for knowledge to disappear.

People can read about resiliency, but that doesn’t mean they understand it.

It’s like canning food — most people know the concept, but very few could safely can a jar of tomatoes even if all the equipment was laid out in front of them.

Resiliency must be built before an event.

It must be trained, practiced, and exercised.

Reading about it afterward is of little use.

And the truth is, many younger people today are lost without their smartphones. They can’t navigate without GPS, can’t pay for gas if Apple Pay is down, and often don’t dress for the weather because they assume everything will work perfectly. Technology should be a tool — not a dependency. The absence of it shouldn’t make you freeze; it should prompt you to move to other options.

If you’re in your 20s or 30s, be the curious one in your friend group who owns a power station and solar panels.

If you’re in your 60s or 70s, be the “quirky old guy” with the odd hand tools that turn out to be exactly what a neighbor needs during a prolonged power outage.

Be that person.

Be the conduit for old knowledge to flow into the next generation.

The last 50 years have been relatively easy compared to the daily lives of people over the past 200–300 years. But we could find ourselves right back there — with all the challenges — through natural events like a major solar flare, economic mismanagement, or prolonged civil unrest.

History is clear:

Easy times create weak men. Weak men create hard times. Hard times are coming.

Learn from older generations now.

Pass that knowledge on to the younger ones.

Strive to have generational impact.

Challenge the younger people in your life to develop critical thinking and problem‑solving skills. Expose them to practical, hands‑on experiences. Encourage them to develop physical skills — cooking, camping, car repair, martial arts, firearms proficiency, defensive driving, construction techniques, wilderness first aid, and more.

There is no downside.

And this is where the message becomes personal.

It reminds me of the new country song McArthur, where four generations of men wrestle with legacy, sacrifice, and what it means to leave something behind. The chorus asks a question that every one of us should sit with:

“And when you pass on, what you gonna pass down?”

That line hits hard because it’s true.

Every generation inherits something — strength or weakness, wisdom or neglect, resilience or dependency. And we get to choose which one we hand off.

As Robert A. Heinlein wrote:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.

Specialization is for insects.

Final Thoughts:

Resiliency is a gift you build in yourself and pass to those who follow. Make your generation the one that strengthens the chain. Hard times always return. Strong families endure them. Build strength now - and hand it forward.

About the Author

Kevin McVadon is a retired Naval Special Warfare officer and senior advisor with more than 30 years of operational experience and 16 years supporting the Intelligence Community. Kevin comes from a family with a tradition of service: a grandfather who served in the Army, and a father whose 34‑year Navy career culminated as a two‑star Admiral. That legacy of duty, discipline, and stewardship shaped Kevin’s belief that each generation carries a responsibility to prepare the next.

Through Trident Resiliency & Strategic Consulting and the Front Sight Focus blog, Kevin helps individuals and families build calm, practical, layered resiliency — the kind of capability that strengthens households today and becomes a gift to those who follow.