Marine drill instructor yelling beside a formation of tired Marines at sunrise beneath the title “Hurry Up and Wait,” with the caption “Formation at 0500. Step off at 0900."

Hurry Up and Wait: The Art of Waiting Professionally

Hurry Up and Wait

There are few military traditions more dependable than being told to arrive early so you can wait for someone who told you not to be late.

Formation at 0500.

Show up at 0445.

Step off at 0900.

At 0915, somebody finally wants to know why everyone is just standing around.

Some lessons from the Marine Corps stay with you forever.

Time management, apparently, is one of them.

The Truth Behind the Joke

“Hurry up and wait” is practically its own military operating system.

You learn quickly that on time means early, early means earlier, and the actual start time may have only a theoretical relationship with reality.

And somehow, after hours of waiting, the final instruction is always delivered with the urgency of a building evacuation.

That part never gets old.

Well...

It gets old.

It just gets funny later.

Field Note

There are experiences you spend years complaining about and even longer laughing about.

Sometimes humor is how we recognize the people who were there with us.

If you know, you know.

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