The following is a decision in which I was extremely confident of
the outcome and that my attitude towards the subject would be my decision to
join the military. At the age of 18 I had several options available to me. I
was a bright kid and school came easy to me. College was a likely course of
action however I didn’t feel like it would fulfill my sense of adventure. I
however was also in the wake of the September 11th attacks and had always felt
a strong sense of patriotism and nationalism. I joined the military partially
based on circumstances but predominately based on emotion. The was a flight
program within the US Army, the branch I would later join, that allowed for a
select number of applicants to join the military as a warrant officer and fly
helicopters. This was epic, at the age of 18 I was flying helicopters, at the
age of 21 I was flying helicopters in combat. I write this now on my 4th
tour overseas and haven’t a single regret for this decision.
A second
decision, one in which emotions got the better of me was in the command post on
my second tour. I had lost control of my emotions and control of myself. I
found myself engaged in a very tragic and combative state with a superior, to
the point we stepped outside to exchange blows. Not a shining moment but I
stand behind my decisions. We were command and control for a mission that went
bad, very bad. We had already lost a few Soldiers and had we not altered course
we would have lost more. My superior was operating off bad information and was
not receptive. I had to step on his toes to interject and it did not go well.
His emotions triggered mine and we fueled each other.
The outcome of
the first situation and decision is simple. I would make it again any day of
the week. I still feel a strong sense of nationalism and patriotism, probably
more so now than a decade ago. The second decision is almost an epic fail in
the emotional intelligence field. I regret having the situation get the better
of me. I’ve since learned and used that example as a teaching point for those
who I mentor.
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