Fight for New Commander

I went to a new school with new people. I felt like an outsider. But these people, they didn’t understand my situation; they just thought I was quiet and shy on the first day because that was my

It was Friday, December 19th, 2003, in Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. Just six short days before my 19th birthday. A recruit screams, "Lights! Lights! Lights!". The overhang lights flashes to life, I look outside and see that was still dark outside. All 80 of my fellow recruits jumped up and began the preparation for our big moment. Racks were stripped of sheets and blankets, folded, and then set on top of the footlockers. As we did the last bits of field day, I imagined that we were somewhere between well oiled machines and ants. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. As we got dressed in our pickle suits I was shaking. To this day I don 't if I was from the sheer excitement or from nervous. The process of getting dressed was beyond tedious and deliberate. Socks, corframs, white shirt, long sleeve khaki shirt, shirt-stays attached from the bottom of the shirt to the top of the socks, tie, standing on top of a foot locker to step into our trousers, getting the help of your rackmate to help put on your blouse, and lastly putting on your cover.

Transitioning from Dilworth to Reed high was an eye opening experience; I became aware of the stereotypes associated with my

In any mission, the Commander is the most imperative participant. He or she guides the mission to the intended outcome. It is through the commander’s activities that the directed outcome is achieved. Through successful understanding, visualizing, describing, directing, leading and assessing the commanders of Soldiers are able to accomplish the directed mission and thus winning wars. Throughout the role of commander in the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Lieutenant Colonel Weldon Honeycutt attempted the complete these commander’s activities. (ADRP 5-0) The successes and failures of mission command he had, will be explained, giving a better understanding of the Battle of Hamburger Hill and the pivotal turning point in the Vietnam war.

"Where was I? What happened to me? Why did my nose feel so hard? Why was my orange and white uniform covered with bright red blood? Why did I feel like someone took my brain out of my head?" were the thoughts that ran through my mind the moment I opened my eyes.

Even though the drill sergeant told us to keep our heads down, I couldn’t help but peek my head up just to see what is out the window. All I saw was the beautiful blue sky with no clouds in site, and the sun just smiling down on us. The bus stopped at the destination, and I felt my heart stopped as if it was the last time I ever get to see the world. Out of nowhere the same drill sergeant with the mega phone was outside of my bus and started yelling at us with all his might. We could sense fear and terror in the atmosphere as the drill sergeant started pull us out of the bus one by one. The closer I got to the drill sergeant the clearer I got to see every vein and artery throbbing out of his neck and for every word he said you can see them pumping a heartbeat. Once I was able to get my focus from all the scatterings another drill sergeant was yelling at me to run up this hill that look as if it was Mount Rushmore but covered in grass and surrounded by privates but in a far distance look like ants. So I ran to the top acting like it was the end of my life and that I running away from the bulls like how the Spaniards do when they have their annual running with the bulls. Running to the top of the hill was harder than excepted. After finally reaching the top I stopped to catch my breath for my lungs felt as if they’re balloons and someone squeezed all the air out of

The next day I got commissioned to a higher rank, just like I had planned. I was the new Lieutenant General. The joy overwhelmed me however a put up a façade of sadness so I didn’t look so suspect. It may sound sadistic but I was happy, for their deaths lead to my upheaval. Now only one problem remained ahead of me…

I was running late, I had to rush from the parking lot to the check in station in the lobby of the Chicago Hilton. Once signed in and loaded on the bus, I finally had time to take in my environment. I was surrounded by wounded warriors from all different wars and I was here to compete against them. It was surreal to say the least. I was completely over whelmed with emotion and fear all at the same time. I had a little boo boo on the wrist and some of these heroes were missing limbs, or scared, would they accept me as one of their own or would I be an outcast. Only time would tell.

I felt alienated and in turn kept myself separated. I became so bitter that even when people did try to help me, I was rude and defensive. I could no longer relate to the day to day lifestyle of the other students. I was already an odd-ball to start, native in a predominantly white town, living near snob hill. This was just one more thing that made me so different than those around me.

The Belton high school USMC JROTC program is composed of an extremely diverse group of students from many different backgrounds and ethnicities. This makes taking leadership roles in the program seem challenging. As a leader in our program it is your responsibility to help all members work together in order to fulfill the objectives of the unit. As a new leader in the program this was a daunting task. I was unsure how to use the strengths and weaknesses of such a diverse group, but this was a challenge I was willing to take. As my time in the unit progressed and the challenges of working other cadets began I realized that most of the time having team members with different backgrounds was a good thing. There backgrounds allowed them to develop

As a freshmen at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) I have learned many things. Before entering this university I had different stereotypes about the environment, the students and the faculty stuff. By the time I had some interactions with the students and the faculty members, my thinking was changed about them. I was expecting discrimination and some other things. I have now realized that there is discriminations in this university. Moreover, I found this university a great academic place where an individual can improve his/her skills. In term of making friends, I have made some good friends and they are really helpful to achieve both my personal and academic goals.

Learning to cherish time more and to have such a deeper respect for the people whom you’ve never actually had a real conversation with were absolutely the smallest lessons I learned in this experience, and those are the biggest things to life. The things I came across in those months will forever surpass my knowledge, knowing that I will never be able to fully open this topic, even to myself. This event has forever impacted me in so many ways, emotionally and physically, and they are unexplainable. Sometimes you realize that the things you need most will be taken away from you, quicker than expected. Jerome Groover was my one needed

“Everybody get off my bus!” the drill sergeant screamed. I woke up terrified for my life. I picked up me stuff and ran towards the front of the bus. I broke left following the rest of the crowd. When I make it to the end my hearts racing, I could feel my heart beat in places I never felt before. There were packs of uniform blobs confused not knowing where to go. I decided to get into a formation not

Since I didn’t know anyone coming to Indiana University, I made an effort to make friends that came from different backgrounds than I did. The first person I made these efforts with was my freshman

One of my earliest childhood memories was in a huge playground with kids the same age as me, laughing and talking in a foreign language, except I was the only one lost in translation. The memory was of a time when my parents sent me to an all-girls boarding school in India at five years of age. Learning how to adjust to a new culture was difficult, to say the least. However, I have grown from this unique experience. I developed a new mentality to adapt to any situation, and truly believe friends can help support anyone through any circumstance. I also learned many new cultural experiences that influence my life today. It is these experiences at my boarding school that has shaped me into the person I am today.