(SBA) - Father. Husband. Brother. Son. Commander. Coach.
There are many titles one can have in a lifetime. I pray I have fulfilled to the best of my ability those titles above. However, the one title I cherish and revere the most from a professional perspective is Warrior. I have spent most of my life defending this nation in one capacity or another, and being a warrior and serving with other warriors, has been my greatest honor.
Today, our President and his Secretary of Defense are focused on restoring the “warrior ethos” in the Armed Forces of the United States. I hope they know what they are doing, because I fear we have let the warrior ethos slip away, and that we will not recognize what it should be as opposed to what some D.C. brainiacs conjure up in the bowels of the Pentagon.
I am not entirely sure I know what constitutes the warrior ethos. All I can offer is what I was taught, what I learned, what I became and what I passed along to others.
I was a fighter pilot, and that imprint is indelible, unerasable and unchangeable. I learned at the knee of Gary Thompkins. Gene Musselwhite, Mike Dugan, Tony Cushenberry, Fred Williams and Jim Lowe.
I had the honor of being around Robin Olds and being mentored by Joe Ashy, the best Airman I ever knew. I flew with Gary Blank, Wayne Neet, Steve Rogers and Eddie Mankin. I had the opportunity to fly with Gordie Jenkins, Jim Ed Crouch, Gary Dudley and a whole passel of Bears who were warriors through and through.
I had the honor of commanding the best fighter squadron in the Air Force and had guys like Doug Utley, Mike Lambirth and Denny Hugo there to mold that squadron into something really special.
My classmate, Barry Bost, gave his life in service to the country while serving in the 70th Fighter Squadron. I flew with a brave young warrior named Tim Strawther, who went to war and galvanized his warrior ethos by becoming a brilliant young leader in combat.
I learned so much from men like Joe Redden, Joe Prater, Jim Williford and Steve Mosier. Barry Watts, Robin DeTurk, Lee Dixon and Jim Hale were great warrior work mates. Ricky Graber, Dick Lemon and Bob Dorsey were superb warrior colleagues.
There were so many who were gallant, brave and true.
There are dozens of others who should be mentioned but I would run out of space highlighting the contributions of all who wore the uniform and who were legendary warriors, men of steel. What separated these men from all others? What ethos did these men display in everything they did?
The warrior ethos is a complicated thing—a lot more complex than what can be put on a bumper sticker or some headline. It’s way more than just a pronouncement from some guy who happens to run the Department of Defense. Trust me, I am not taking anything away from SecDef. I’m just saying that the warrior ethos and warrior tradition is centuries old. It’s not something new and shiny we just happened to find on the beach somewhere.
Warriors are meticulous. They are focused on accomplishing their assigned mission while preserving their resources to the best of their ability. Warriors know their enemy inside out and contemplate every possible contingency. Warriors are masters of their required skills. They are confident and aware of more than just the enemy’s order of battle. They understand how their enemy thinks, how well the enemy is trained and how well supplied the enemy might be.
Warriors are focused on accomplishing their mission on the first try. This is so someone else will not have to do what they could not accomplish. Warriors are fit spiritually, mentally and physically. They expect other warriors to be the same. Warriors love peace more than others, because they know young people will fight and die in war.
Warriors honor their flag but understand that others may not feel that way. They take on the burden of defense of this nation because others cannot or will not share that burden. Warriors cherish family, God and each other. After all, it is that confidence in each other that makes a warrior greater than he or she is by him- or herself.
For warriors, trust is everything. Being able to trust each other is what gives the warrior the confidence and courage to take their efforts to human and machine limits. They will do their jobs, but they will also protect their fellow warriors. No one gets left behind.
The sun never sets on the American Flag. No matter where one goes in the world, the influence and imprint of the United States is felt everywhere. Our nation is strong, vital and robust. Our nation is filled with freedom loving individuals who enjoy that freedom because of all those who have gone before and all those who will come after the warriors who fill the ranks of our armed forces today.
I am a warrior—proud, confident, vigilant.
