Top 3 Lessons I learned in the Army

I am often asked if I liked being in the Army and what lessons I learned from my service. My initial response is that I loved every minute of serving my country. Yes, there were terrible days; by bad days, I mean getting shot at and blown up. But I would do it all over again, and I would not change one thing about my time in service.

The second question is a loaded question. Of course, there are lessons I learned from my time in the Army. So many I could write an entire book on these lessons! (**Mental note, jot down an idea for a future book.)

But since this is a blog, I will narrow down my novel of lessons to my top three.

1. Embrace the suck is one of those phrases that anyone who served in the military has experienced. Embrace the suck means that when the sh*t hits the fan, you get ready to be covered in all of it and keep on going. My first experience with embracing the suck was in basic training. I have written in past blogs that in basic training, the main goal is to strip you down so they can build you back up into a strong soldier, both mentally and physically. In training, it was not uncommon to hold your rifle over your head for an hour, and if you showed any weakness, the drill sergeant would make you start all over. Or, they would have you drop and do countless push-ups to 'rest' your arms before making you start over with the rifle-over-your-head routine. I learned that the human body can tolerate a ridiculous amount of pain, but you can't fight it. You can't cry about it. You have to embrace it all and keep your composure.

In the civilian world, embracing the suck can take many forms. Ever sat through a corporate meeting that could have been an email? Have you ever had customers walk into your retail store five minutes before closing, and you still give them quality service? These are lighter versions of Embrace the suck, but you get the point!

2. Adapt and overcome picks up where embrace the suck leaves off. Once you have sucked it up and gotten through whatever grueling task it was, you've probably learned something from experience. When I was smoked to my wit's end, and my arms felt like the fire would never be extinguished, I learned to keep my mouth shut—adapting and overcoming means you take a bad situation, learn from it, and try better next time. A great example is the year 2020. Think about all the times we all had to adapt to our new way of life to keep living.

My one bunkmate could not wake up in basic training to save her life. After several mornings of embracing the suck because of her deficiencies (the Army loves mass punishment!) I took matters into my own hands. I woke up earlier than the drill sergeants, got myself ready, and then started waking her up before the trash cans came barreling in to wake us up. Preparing ensured she was up and squared away before we had to toe the line for morning inspection; learning to adapt and overcome made me a better team player.

Another example of adapting to my situation was during my time in Iraq. Our missions would be extended during deployment due to bridges being blown up or too many IEDs. These extended missions meant we had no showers, clean clothes, and in some situations, no hot meals. (And no, I do not count an MRE- meal ready to eat as a hot meal!) All we could do was adapt to the situation, and our way of overcoming it was to make jokes about it. Smell like death? So does everyone else! Were we tired of cheese and crackers? Suck it up, buttercup; there's no more peanut butter to trade for, so eat your cheese and be ready to be constipated for a week!

In all seriousness, adapting and overcoming have helped me in the civilian world. I learned to roll with the punches when a project doesn't go as planned. Or when I had to work a twelve-hour day because half my team called off. I embraced the suck, adapted to the situation, and figured out how to overcome it.

3. This leads me to my final top lesson. Always forward. There is no point in dwelling on the past or trying to hash out why something happened the way it did. All you can do is move forward. “ Always forward" was the motto for my first company in basic training, and I have lived by it my entire adult life. Always forward means you have your eyes on the horizon or your goals in front of you. You stay focused no matter how many setbacks you encounter. No matter how many times you have to embrace the suck, adapt, and overcome, you do it so you can move forward.

Over the last sixteen years that I have been out of the Army, I have had my fair share of failures. Being passed up for promotions, screwing up projects, missing deadlines- you name it, I have been through it. I allow myself a quick pity party, but then I pick up the pieces and keep moving forward.

As I said at the beginning, I loved serving my country: the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. I am proud to be a Veteran and to have served with the bravest soldiers in the world.