Randy Sheridan: The original chain gang

An old book printed by the Daughters of the Revolution in 1906 includes a speech titled “The Sterling Furnace and The West Point Chain.”

Within its contents is the story of the fierce efforts by the Continental Congress to have commissioned iron workers forge chains long enough to place across certain rivers to keep the British at bay.

In this historical address MacGrane Coxe detailed the valiant efforts of capable craftsmen to build the 1,800 foot long chain that would be stretched across the Hudson River from West Point to Constitution Island.

In April 1778, the forged bulwark was in place, serving as an adequate obstruction and proving impenetrable by the enemy.

But that was not always the case because a couple of other chains hastily built two years earlier broke under the force of the opposition.

Weak links in the chain were devastating to a number of villages and towns along the river.

Isn’t that the way it is in life?

A team is only as strong as its proverbial weakest link, someone who causes the team to fail at its objectives.

No one wants to be considered a weak link, but the truth of the matter is that not everyone is cut out to do certain tasks. Sometimes they need to be prodded to improve and complete the team.

Others are simply not team players or strong leaders. Not everyone is cut out to be a leader.

They serve well as followers or assistants. That’s OK too.

Let’s be clear — just because you are a follower does not make you a weak link. Leaders would be obsolete without followers.

In recent years, the shroud of secrecy has been unveiled about the much heralded U.S. Navy SEALs, and that has generated a great deal of public interest.

People’s imaginations have been captured through numerous novels and movies about this well trained group.

“No group of men is closer to perfection in their chosen field,” said a former SEAL.

First commissioned by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, the SEALs have evolved into an elite group of warriors.

The general rule of thought is that these men are the best of the best.

The key to the success of the SEALs is their incredibly intense training, where they forge such a strong team spirit of utter dependency upon one another that some have referred to this a forging a chain.

It’s about strengthening people and developing teamwork.

Weapons change with new technology as well as the stealth methods of conducting operations, but little has changed about the intense mental and physical training of the SEALs.

The commander in chief of U.S. Special Operations Command, Peter J. Schoomaker says, “Everything but our core values are on the table; we have to be ready to change anything but those values to get the job done. The core value for a SEAL team is the people.”

Those people are tested, then tested some more.

Then comes Hell Week, which consist of five days of constant physical and mental challenges in which the trainees are kept awake and training for all but four or five hours during the entire week.

Only a certain kind of individual will apply for SEAL training.

Of those who apply, one in 10 is accepted.

Hey, the Navy recommends that potential candidates be running at least 30 miles a week and be able to swim the English Channel.

Recruits undergo 26 weeks, that’s right, you read correctly, 26 weeks, of intense stress that some say makes Marine boot camp look like a picnic. And Congress says water boarding is torture!

This experience eliminates weak links and at the same time forges the class into a real team that no written test could ever produce.

There is no easy way to prepare these warriors for the jobs they do.

They are the definition of teamwork. These men depend upon one another at a level that most of do not and could not understand. Their lives depend upon it.

Watching an old video on YouTube of skilled craftsmen carefully and meticulously employing the methods of bending, threading and welding as they built a massive chain made me realize how critical it is for us to allow the heavenly craftsman to forge character into our lives through life’s events.

The testing and examination on the massive sheet anchors that moored the great ships were performed by an expert.

Before the breaking point is reached, the ductility of the iron and the quality of workmanship allow the chain to become rigid.

Link by link, nautical fathom by fathom — great chains are crafted to withstand the ultimate test of service.

That’s what made the difference in the West Point chain and enabled it to withstand the force of the British ships trying to make it through the Hudson River to attack the Continental Army.

I guess you could call the blacksmiths at the Sterling Furnace the original chain gang.



Randy Sheridan of Burleson is a speaker, counselor and mediator. He can be reached at drsheridan@aol.com.

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