One of the members of the Silent Brigade.
I just finished reading a thread on another website about Lobby Day '20 which was an open armed march on Richmond that I am proud to be a part of. For details go to my Jan 21, 2020 post.
I followed an organized company sized group up to the Capitol as did a lot of us. I knew that almost every one of those guys had been in the shit before. Some had service in Afghanistan, while there were more than a couple of the brawlers that had scuffled in Fallujah a couple of years earlier. The battle of Fallujah should probably be called the Brawl of Fallujah from all firsthand accounts I have read and heard. It was a slug fest, but I digress.
Anyway my eye caught one of the 'platoon sergeant' types with his guys. I knew he had recently retired from the 82nd Airborne as a platoon sergeant and a couple years or so later he was running a platoon of sorts.
I'd briefly spoken with him earlier and we'd spoken on the phone a couple of times. He was the real deal and I watched for a few minutes as he spoke with his people.
He didn't carry himself as some Hollywood tough sergeant, nor was he shave-headed and back when he was on active duty he would not be caught dead looking like he did there. He was shaggy headed and bearded and was just starting to put on a 'civilian pound' or two. Still, he was in pretty good shape.
Yet there he was, with his people. He actually reminded me of somebody's grandmother taking the grandchildren to church on a Sunday morning.
Remember how Grandma would fuss over a necktie or adjust the bow on the granddaughter's dress? If she was an Irish grandmother she'd wet her fingers with spit and stick an unruly hair to her grandson's head. That's what this guy reminded me of.
I'd watch him adjust a man's web gear that didn't need adjusting as he spoke to him or maybe do something like button a man's pocket that didn't need buttoning. I knew what he was actually doing. He was communicating by touch. The act of touching one of his charges gave the man a little more confidence. It made things more personal. It let his people know he cared about them. I also knew he was giving them real confidence by steeling them with the truth.
Had one of his people asked him what the odds were of having the rally turn into a horror show, he'd have probably said something like "Better than average. That's why we're here. I don't even have to tell you I'm counting on you because we both know I can."
I'm sure he could take one glance and see one of his people was a little keyed up and grin at him and simply say something like, "Settle down, Jimmy. It's gonna be OK." and Jimmy would settle down.
Things he did were real. He meant it and he gave his people a little more confidence to face whatever laid ahead. He fussed over his people like somebody's grandmother even though he didn't look it.
It was fascinating watching a real platoon sergeant dealing with his people and I only got a couple of minutes to watch. I marveled at his confidence a couple of times during the rally.
When I was driving home and entered the PA turnpike it hit me and hit me hard. I actually pulled over for a few minutes because it distracted me too much to drive safely.
That platoon sergeant was probably far more scared at the time than I was! He had every good reason to be. He was scared for his people. He'd been through hard combat in Afghanistan and knew about casualties and fear, sweat and blood. He also realized there was a damned good chance things could go sideways yet there he was bringing out the best in his people.
That man was terrorfied. He just had to be. If he wasn't he was stupid and he was anything but that. I doubt I could have rammed a steel rod up his ass with a jackhammer because it was probably so puckered up.
Still, he didn't show it a bit. That's when I realized how he had overcome his own fears. He had simply channeled his fears into positive energy by helping his people overcome their fears. He became too busy with his people to worry about himself.
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen is true grass roots leadership at its finest.
For what it's worth this one guy was not alone. There were others like him. They all showed their different leadership styles. I singled this particular man out because he was the most visible one to me.
I saw a lot of interesting thing on Lobby Day 20.
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