Leadership

Leadership through experience

What is leadership? What are values? While most people would probably give a definition out of the dictionary on these questions I would like to answer them based off of my experience in the Army and my upbringing. I’ve been in the Army for sixteen years and have been deployed numerous times. I have served as an Airborne Ranger and Infantrymen throughout my career. I believe that leadership isn’t defined by a book. Leadership is instilled in us from the moment were born. Values are not something that can be taught to you overnight and once you complete basic training you all of the sudden have moral and ethical values. Values are something that you are brought up with from your upbringing and built upon as you grow into adulthood.

Before I decided to join the military I was a high school teenager with a chip on my shoulder who thought I knew everything. I grew up in a broken home where my dad was on drugs and in and out of prison. It was primarily just me, my two sisters and my mom. My mom worked a full time job, was the sole provider, and tried her best to take care of us. It was very challenging living in those conditions without having a male role model for me to look up to or get the mentorship and guidance that a young man should have. My only refuge was going to my uncle’s ranch to help him out in the summer time.

I was having a difficult time my junior year in high school. My older sister had a baby, my twin sister was the bane of my existence, the house was crowded, and I had no place to escape. My grades in school were slipping because of my chaotic home life, and I was hanging with the wrong crowd. My life was turning upside down and it felt as though there was no escape. I started to not care about my future and found myself cutting classes that I was normally engaged and interested in. I literally gave up on myself and didn’t care about my future.

During spring break from school, I received a phone call from...