The Buddy System by Mike Quick

As a soldier I listened carefully. I wanted to survive and I wanted to get back to my wife and my life back home.  As the drill Sargent talked about the “Buddy System” I listened carefully.

In the Army the person next to you is your buddy. Soldiers must always have a buddy and a best buddy.

The first thing I learned in the Army was to always have a buddy and a best buddy. In our first formation we were instructed to shake hands with the person next to us and make that person our best buddy until we could find another best buddy. The drill Sargent told us to be prepared, at any time, to provide our best buddy’s name.

As I studied to learn scuba diving, mountain climbing and snow skiing, I listened carefully.  

The first and last thing scuba diving instructors preached to me was ALWAYS DIVE WITH A BUDDY.

Mountain climbers always need a buddy on “belay”.

Smart snow skiers (especially cross country skiers) always have a buddy.

I read that Boy Scouts, Alcoholics Anonymous and most other well organized groups recommend that people always have a buddy.

It seems that while most organizations see how important buddies are, most people fail to understand how important The Buddy System is.

As I researched “The Buddy System”, I was surprised to find very few books about the topic. As always, I find looking inside books at Amazon most cost effective.

While I don’t necessarily recommend buying too many books, I strongly recommend reading the free “Inside the Book” section of the best books.

So far, the best book I found about The Buddy System was published by Oxford University Press. “Buddy System” by Geoffrey Greif is a book that is focused on four types of buddies.

I find the “Buddy System” book interesting and educational. Most importantly, I think people need to focus on details concerning why The Buddy System is so important.