Respect

This could be described as a teaching moment if for no one else but me. But I'll share anyway. The week of June 21 I spent 24 hours embedded with a unit of the Iowa National Guard at Camp Ripley in Minnesota. 28-hundred members of the Second Brigade Combat Team were going through the initial training as they prepped for deployment to Afghanistan this fall. After getting there in the back of a Chinook helicopter I quickly came to realize how I had under estimated members of the military.

Late June in northern Minnesota while cooler then most places can still be warm and humid. Such was the case when I was there and you would never know it to talk to the soldiers. This despite the fact that they all have to go through the paces of training with helmet and body armor on. I had to wear it too and was dripping wet in sweat in 30-seconds. Not a soldier was heard complaining.

But even more impressive was the universal response I got from those I talked to about being deployed to one of the toughest parts of the world. They all said they were willing to make the sacrifice so others would not have to. It occurs to me that these members of the Nation Guard in Iowa, have it down when it comes to servant leadership. They work to help others in either domestic or international settings who cannot help themselves. They work to better the lives of other people. They do so without a second thought.

Yes I learned something in that 24 hour period and I share it because I think we can all learn something from it.