i had the honor and pleasure to take care of a fine man last night. regardless about how you feel about the war or conflicts in general....he is one damned fine person. he is a higher ranking person in charge of a lot of soldiers. when he took command i'm sure he made a vow to take care of all his men and he is one that follows through. he was wounded in '07 and could have easily sat the rest of that tour out (pretty significant injury), but instead he rehabed quickly and made it back to his troops. this was his third deployment with his men. while out on a mission they were hit by an IED. he lost both of his legs. i spent a lot of time talking to this fine man and his concern was first and foremost to his men and family. he is considered a VIP at the hospital, but during our discussion i made it clear to him (and he was VERY happy to hear) that he was getting the same treatment from me that i gave to all the men and women i take care of. it was great to hear that he wanted no special treatment. when i introduced myself he told me that if we were clearing a building...i would take his lead, but since we were in "my house", he would take mine. i went online and searched his name (he has been in the news a few times)and read some of the comments to the news stories. i was amazed to see that there were many replies from both the officers and enlisted. no higher compliment can be paid to an officer than to have the support of the enlisted. we discussed his future and he sees it as an oppotunity to inspire troops once again. he says that he would like nothing better than to be standing in front of troops (with his prosthetics) and be able to tell them that since he was able to do it, THEY CAN do it. what an inspiration, not only because he is the leader of young men and entrusted with such a great responsibility, but because he will make a positive out of whatever life gives him. i thank God for sparing him (he has a wife and younger daughters) because i am sure he will become an inspiration to the rest of the people with whom he comes in contact with. i would gladly follow him into that building........... |