Follow the leader

For some vets, their time in Iraq or Afghanistan was the highlight of their lives. R, the Coast Guard inspector, was a hero. He thrived on the adrenaline rush every day brought. C. was a mighty gunner and the trusted Sergeant who all his guys looked up to. E. was part of an elite group of Navy medics who became one of the Marines. M was a second lieutenant who led all his guys in Afghanistan and made it back. Nothing in life can compare.



The officers started out in a better place and they seem to have ended up in a better place. They are savvier at understanding the system. They know how to work within it and get ahead, not just in the military but in the civilian world as well. The enlisted men have a harder time. They are less educated, more suspicious of authorities, worried about seeking out help because they don’t want to be identified as screwed up.

“I check in on my guys still,” C said after being out for 3 years now. “I was their leader, I had their back, and in return, they had mine. Of course I still want to make sure they’re ok.”

For so many enlisted men your commander is so much more than just a final word. Soldiers live, breath, and die for their leader, and in exchange, their leader takes care of them.

Opportunity: Take over where the leader left off; watch over all the dispatched soldiers.