Tuesday, August 25, 2020
I want to add my post to talk about my time with Ronald Blackledge as a young man, trying to step up the DoD financial management ladder some 3+ decades ago. Ron Blackledge, (sometimes after a couple of beers at the officer’s club we might call him Ronnie) and I were just beginning our careers in DoD financial management in the late 1970’s. I worked in a sister branch next to the one he was in. We passed frequently and I knew of his work on a daily basis. I recall these impressions:
---First, he was smart and competent in the DoD budget analysis arena.
----Second, he was artful in his ability to work for a demanding, exacting, yet fair boss. Ron always seemed to have the right answers, the best ideas and thus garnered respect from his bosses and colleagues alike.
---And third, he could seemingly always find something humorous, even downright funny, in the midst of perennial budgeting chaos and frustratingly stressful year-end close out moments. His cheerfulness carried over to his social side and he was welcome company at a party. I remember Ron, not as a jokester, but someone equipped with humor who could be counted on to lighten up even the most demanding moments.
By the end of the 1980’s I moved on and we never crossed paths again. Life is that way, unfortunately. I respected Ron Blackledge for the way he conducted himself, his graciousness towards me and for his good humor and kind spirit.
RIP Ronnie.
Randy LeGrand, RC Branch, FORSCOM, J8.
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