To ensure that he doesn't leave the team behind again, Plummer incorporated the idea in the "after-action review," sometimes called a postmortem in the corporate world.

The Army writes up such reviews following exercises and deployments, outlining what went right, what went wrong, how to sustain strong points and how to fix mistakes. "Then you incorporate that into any future training that you do," Plummer explains.

Be flexible. As Thode drove into Louisiana, he knew he might have to perform tasks outside his normal responsibilities. Sure enough, his clients called on him for jobs that had nothing to do with his software expertise. He helped one volunteer choose a computer from an electronics store. And he drove 150 miles to get cellular modem cards for America's Second Harvest.

He handled tasks large and small with equanimity. "Understand that rules and structure are there to support you in achieving the mission," he says, "but sometimes the base lines change."

Sidebar: So, you want to test your skills?