With the exception of some photos of myself, I will be using generic pictures for this post to keep the parties involved in this post private.
We had been training for a test of our skills that would have required us to go under the watchful eye of outside evaluators. This mission assigned to us, came in three parts.
- The ability to go into a new area and clear it
- The ability to set up our command post and communications
- Effectively engage targets while mounted in our vehicles and move our command post to a safer location.
This training took extensive work, and as part of it, our Soldiers had to be picked for specific jobs. Our combat engineers were chosen to go recon with our m113 a new area to set up our command post. This area would then need to be cleared with mine detectors while providing security.
The Soldiers that were chosen for this specific mission were high performers, and they would always go above and beyond what was asked of them.
I enjoyed getting to know each of my Soldiers, and one of them shared a story with me of how they saw service members in their country when a kid, saw the good they did for their community, and decided that one day, they would go to the United States and serve in the military. Decades later, this Soldier did just that, joined the Army and found himself in my company.
This Soldier would always volunteer for tasks, would study up for missions and was always curious to learn. This service member, was one of my best Soldiers.
That is, until he made a career ending mistake.
My time had come in my military career to become company commander of an engineering unit. For those that have not served, this brings with it great responsibility, as you are tasked with authority of all the equipment and service members that serve under you.
This was an exciting time for me, as I had served in the military as an enlisted Soldier for 8 years before deciding to become an officer. The time I spent as an enlisted Soldier, allowed me to learn the day-to-day grind that Soldiers go through,
The annoyance of the
"hurry up and wait"
the aggravation of a
change of mission
and the inside scoop on the
E-4 mafia
All of this, taught me how to empathize and speak with service members.
I thought that that would make a good officer alone, until I learned the challenges that comes with being an officer. It's not an easy position, and you are tasked with so many responsibilities, that you start to lose sight of what is important.
Me in Afghanistan
I made it a point to not lose sight, and I would always be there for my Soldiers, even if I wasn't their company commander anymore. One of those had come, when I had to make one of the biggest decisions of my life.
The Event
The office was quiet, my staff wanted to speak to me. I was unsure what was happening but I was certain it was something serious. My readiness NCO had asked everyone except for me and my First Sergeant to leave the room. What was said next, hit me hard.
Due to privacy reasons, this Soldiers name will remain private
"Sir, SPC Smith just tested positive"
I thought to myself, okay, well this isn't always a big deal, sometimes depending on the service member, we can demote them, flag them for promotion and perform other administrative actions.
"Okay, what are our options?", I said
"Sir, there are none, he tested positive for a class B substance. The only option he will have is to be released from the Army", he said.
I was in disbelief, this was one of my best Soldiers, how could something like this happen? I had to speak to him.
The next thing that happened was that the Soldier was called into our office, I read him his rights, and advised him that he could have a lawyer before proceeding. He wanted nothing to do with that process and decided he would come clean.
The story he had told me was of great concern. He had found himself with a group of friends he had just met through work. Being a reserve unit, each of my service members, including myself, have a full time job outside of the military. We end up living two separate lives, one as a service member, and another as a civilian.
This separation makes a lot of situations difficult especially when you go out with friends who do not need to have a drug test to remain employed. I am unable to go into specifics, as it will breach my oath to privacy, but his friends were careless and tricked him into ingesting a drug. He knew right away what had happened, and when he showed up to our unit, he knew he wouldn't pass. Being young, he did not know he could have approached us right away and told us before the test. Something could have been done, now, it's too late.
The decision
I had to make a choice and the paper was sitting right in front of me.
Do I believe his story and fight for him, or do I sign the paperwork to get him out of the military.
I took a stand, I believed his story and I knew others would see the same in him that I had seen.
It was a slim chance, but I filed to retain the Soldier, and waited to see what would happen.
The end of my service
It was time for a new Company Commander to lead the unit, as my 2 years of command had ended. The new Commander was an intelligent and experienced woman who I had known for the past couple of years.
She had looked over the roster of the Soldiers and met with everyone of them. Not knowing this Soldier, she was uneasy about my decision, and didn't see the value of retaining a Soldier who was clearly not committed. I told her that he was one of my best, and that she would soon see why I had seen that.
The result
10 months later, I receive an email from her asking for a letter of recommendation for the Army to retain the Soldier. I dropped everything, as I was at work and made sure to write the letter, to the best of my ability, and sent it.
It has now been a year, and today, I received the following text from the Commander.
This Soldier has a future. He can continue his career and serve in something he truly believes in. He serves because he wants to, and he is one of the best Soldiers I have ever met.
It is moments like this that I remember why I decided to become an officer, because having the experience of being an enlisted Soldier, I know how you can get caught up in situations you wish you never had been in.
This Soldier was given a second chance when the odds were against him.
Being that this Soldier is a high performer who loves the Army. This Soldier may become a senior enlisted non-commissioned officer one day, and with the lessons he has learned, and the support he received, may make him one of the best leaders in the military.
I look forward to one day seeing that.