Talking with the troops
Working next to an army base, I get a lot of military men and women coming into the shop. Like any other segment of the population, they come in all shapes and sizes, all types of personalities, all kinds of backgrounds. Today’s media doesn’t often have a lot of respect for those who it reports about, other than the fact that they help to boost ratings. Those who serve in the army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard and national guard are reduced to statistics and icons, to help support the latest headlines about the war efforts. One of the things which has impressed me about the troops, though, is something you normally don’t hear about from the media: confidence and respect. Okay, so that’s two things.
With rare exception, each of the troops I talk with in the shop are strong individuals who have personally benefited from their service, whether they’ve mentioned that they appreciated the experience or not. You can tell from talking with them that their nature may be introverted or extroverted, laid-back or crazy-go-nuts, loud or quiet, but regardless of their nature they stand up straight, look you in the eye and treat you with respect when they speak with you.
One serviceman that I worked on recently spent most of the time under the needle calling his friends back home to let them know he’d just graduated and would be going home. He told each of them that they wouldn’t recognize him because of the changes he’d gone through. He said you just can’t understand what it’s like until you go through something like that yourself. I believe him. When I look at some of the kids in town, I see a huge difference in the way they act compared to the troops that I talk with every weekend who are just a year or two older. Thankfully, I am able to get to talk to the troops every weekend. It makes me feel not so bad about ignoring what the media has to say when it mentions them.
And, it makes me even more sure that the best way to support our troops is to bring them all home safely.
-Alex
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