This may sound irrelevant but I can explain. Military service has its own challenges for those including myself who are serving. Leaving loved ones behind during deployment is one challenge. However, I am talking about another challenge brought on by military service that almost no one talks about: When the good leaders we soldiers met and loved end their term of service. You know that one leader who genuinely cares about the troops and is all about the troops in deployment status and in peace time. You know that one leader who everyone at the unit has mad respect for and has a rapport with and is everyone’s favorite NCO. You know that one leader who stands up and defends soldiers who are being mistreated by others in the unit. You know that one leader who is willing to share their wisdom and experience with new soldiers from serving in the military for quite some years way back before our time in military service was ever a thing. During my time in the Army, I met that one leader with all these four qualities. Everyone in the unit including myself love her. She is our favorite NCO leader. She has served in the Army for a long time since the 1990’s and has shared with us her wisdom and expertise gained from her experience in the military and has supported us. We are motivated to attend weekend drills when she is here. She kept the unit together and welcoming. She gives soldiers advice One-On-One Heart-To-Heart Conversation style to stand up for themselves and speak out when something is not right at the unit in peacetime and our current deployment. We also help her when she needs a helping hand. I got emotionally attached to this NCO when I met her at the time I was new to the unit. She has served in the Army since the 1990’s to present. Well…This is her last deployment with us. She will be retiring soon after the deployment ends. I am teary eyed as I am typing this. When she first announced that she’d be retiring during a meeting with the females during our summer annual training in 2023, we were all shocked. Some of us were a little saddened to hear this news 😢. We will try to make her last deployment a meaningful one for her before we say goodbye. Military service is a sacrifice most times. Other times military service is an emotional roller coaster. It will make you laugh sometimes and other times it will make you cry. Farewells due to retirement/ending enlistment terms to the good leaders we met and loved when they were here with us fills us with a lot of mixed feelings. It’s a bittersweet moment. We Army folks stick together. Even though I have not played baseball as a kid or watched it on tv, I find this Hey Arnold episode a sentimental one.
This may sound irrelevant but I can explain.
Military service has its own challenges for those including myself who are serving. Leaving loved ones behind during deployment is one challenge. However, I am talking about another challenge brought on by military service that almost no one talks about: When the good leaders we soldiers met and loved end their term of service.
You know that one leader who genuinely cares about the troops and is all about the troops in deployment status and in peace time. You know that one leader who everyone at the unit has mad respect for and has a rapport with and is everyone’s favorite NCO. You know that one leader who stands up and defends soldiers who are being mistreated by others in the unit. You know that one leader who is willing to share their wisdom and experience with new soldiers from serving in the military for quite some years way back before our time in military service was ever a thing. During my time in the Army, I met that one leader with all these four qualities. Everyone in the unit including myself love her. She is our favorite NCO leader. She has served in the Army for a long time since the 1990’s and has shared with us her wisdom and expertise gained from her experience in the military and has supported us. We are motivated to attend weekend drills when she is here. She kept the unit together and welcoming. She gives soldiers advice One-On-One Heart-To-Heart Conversation style to stand up for themselves and speak out when something is not right at the unit in peacetime and our current deployment. We also help her when she needs a helping hand. I got emotionally attached to this NCO when I met her at the time I was new to the unit. She has served in the Army since the 1990’s to present. Well…This is her last deployment with us. She will be retiring soon after the deployment ends. I am teary eyed as I am typing this. When she first announced that she’d be retiring during a meeting with the females during our summer annual training in 2023, we were all shocked. Some of us were a little saddened to hear this news 😢. We will try to make her last deployment a meaningful one for her before we say goodbye.
Military service is a sacrifice most times. Other times military service is an emotional roller coaster. It will make you laugh sometimes and other times it will make you cry. Farewells due to retirement/ending enlistment terms to the good leaders we met and loved when they were here with us fills us with a lot of mixed feelings. It’s a bittersweet moment. We Army folks stick together.
Even though I have not played baseball as a kid or watched it on tv, I find this Hey Arnold episode a sentimental one.