I don't post over here very often, but I wanted to share a personal moment with y'all.
I'm the Honor Guard Commander at my AFROTC Detachment, which among other things means that I'm in charge of flag detail. For the first few weeks of the semester I'm there for every Reveille and Retreat helping the new cadets learn the procedure and making sure everything runs smoothly. What I want to tell you about is what happened this morning after Reveille.
I saluted the flag, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and Article 6 of the Code of Conduct(a personal thing), and marched away. At this point it was just me, the Stars and Stripes, and a massive empty field. I hurt my right leg last week in training, so I was walking with a limp while cleaning up and making sure everything was in proper order. I returned to my truck, which was facing the flagpole, and I sat there for a moment and thought about what a privilege it was for me to be so involved in a very old tradition. I know, I'm sappy.
I was about to leave when, out of nowhere, a man with a prosthetic right lower leg came around the corner. He was wearing jogging shorts and what looked like a PT sweater, his hair was military cut, and he had a massive black beard. I watched him for a minute, absolutely certain at this point that he was military, and he began to walk toward my truck.
I stepped out, walked toward him in my ABUs and said thank you. We talked for a minute, and I found out that he's an active duty Army 11B retiring next month. He wished me luck in my career, I congratulated him on his retirement, and then I left. I only spoke to him for two minutes, but I know for a fact that he's one of the bravest people I will ever meet.
Hopefully one day I can meet some of you in person and hear your stories, but for now I feel the need to say thank you to all of you who post here. You continually and consistently remind me that this is absolutely what I want to do with my life.
I'm the Honor Guard Commander at my AFROTC Detachment, which among other things means that I'm in charge of flag detail. For the first few weeks of the semester I'm there for every Reveille and Retreat helping the new cadets learn the procedure and making sure everything runs smoothly. What I want to tell you about is what happened this morning after Reveille.
I saluted the flag, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and Article 6 of the Code of Conduct(a personal thing), and marched away. At this point it was just me, the Stars and Stripes, and a massive empty field. I hurt my right leg last week in training, so I was walking with a limp while cleaning up and making sure everything was in proper order. I returned to my truck, which was facing the flagpole, and I sat there for a moment and thought about what a privilege it was for me to be so involved in a very old tradition. I know, I'm sappy.
I was about to leave when, out of nowhere, a man with a prosthetic right lower leg came around the corner. He was wearing jogging shorts and what looked like a PT sweater, his hair was military cut, and he had a massive black beard. I watched him for a minute, absolutely certain at this point that he was military, and he began to walk toward my truck.
I stepped out, walked toward him in my ABUs and said thank you. We talked for a minute, and I found out that he's an active duty Army 11B retiring next month. He wished me luck in my career, I congratulated him on his retirement, and then I left. I only spoke to him for two minutes, but I know for a fact that he's one of the bravest people I will ever meet.
Hopefully one day I can meet some of you in person and hear your stories, but for now I feel the need to say thank you to all of you who post here. You continually and consistently remind me that this is absolutely what I want to do with my life.