Times of Trouble; Day317; Fort Hood Tragedy

Psa 9:9  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Psa 9:10  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Times of Trouble:
Perfect timing for the word study today- it comes synonymous to the tragic incident in Fort Hood Texas. I was stationed in Killeen, Texas for approximately 3 years and when I heard on the radio about the shooting, it hits home right away.  I know almost every corner of the Army base.  Killeen was our home for a while when my daughter Brittney was still 2 years old.  I really have so many memories and good times and bad times from that small town.  Being a soldier is not as simple as it might look as displayed on TV or news coverage or any publicity stunt produced by the department of defense.  It might look really cool when guys are jumping out from the airplane or rappelling down from a low flying helicopter or having a rucksack and an M16 on the shoulder or driving an M1A1 Abrams tank or running around early in the morning for daily physical training.  The really hard part of being a soldier is not the physical aspect of it but instead on the psychological and emotional well being.  Physical toughness can be acquired immediately after boot camp but mental toughness of being a soldier takes some time to develop especially when you have a family. Soldiers are not well compensated also and there is always a financial hardship in a soldier’s life. Other things to consider is the stress level during the deployment.  I was fortunate when I was there in Ft Hood because I was assigned to the III Corps Headquarters Group of which most of our duties was just to support the high military ranking officers for their daily needs. ie. transportation, logistics, maintenance etc.  The rest of the group in Ft Hood are either member of the 1st Cavalry division and 4th Infantry Division. Those guys in that unit always has something unusual on their plate and they are always on the move, always training and always deploying.  On the other side of being in the military is the family.  If you are in the military, your spouse becomes a member of the family also.  I can still remember how my family was unable to rest and relax during the weekend because of unpredictable training exercise that lasts for at least 2 weeks at a time (being away from home is a norm).  I have to be away for 2 weeks and Britta has to find a baby sitter to take care of Brittney while she goes to work.  Civilian life is too easy (I think). Now, I normally gets a 3-day weekend and not even have to worry of any deployment or being temporarily assigned to go somewhere.  Being deployed is the hardest part of a soldier’s life especially when you have a wife and a child.  When in combat, there is always somebody beside you and soldiers tend to bond to each other when placed in difficult situations.  But place a soldier away from his family, that soldier will cry and break down.  I’ve seen and heard it so many times and even experienced it myself.  In September of 1992, I was in New York after the boot camp and had my orders to be deployed to South Korea for 1 year hardship tour (no family), while going back to New York from Fort Knox, Kentucky, my emotions/morale was fine but during the time when I have to say goodbye to Britta (departure from JFK to Korea), I cried so much and I question God why did He allowed me to be separated from her again.  The emotion is really hard to describe.  At that time, she was 7 month pregnant of Brittney.  To me, going away like that was the hardest I’ve ever experienced while I was in the military.  I’ve survived difficult situations, slept wet in a sleeping bag, walked miles and miles for several days and been deprived from any comforts for weeks but the hardest part of being a soldier is being separated from his family.  That is why most soldiers I know don’t really have a true smile in their face.  Other stress factor I’ve learned is infidelity in the military.  Most of my friends had marital problems and when they come home from deployment and then learned that the spouse is doing something else, sometimes they snapped.  It is really hard to detect an emotionally troubled soldier.  We are trained to maintain our composure, we are trained to ignore outside factors and focus on the mission.  Hardly I’ve ever heard a comrade tells me his personal problems.  People in the military, they are just emotionless individuals but when put at the end of the rope, they sometimes just do crazy things.  I was thankful I was already a Christian believer when I joined. I had the advantage of faith and whenever I have troubles I just got to a secret place and pray.  The things that happened yesterday was a tragedy and I don’t think that those are preventable.  It happens all the time because we live in reality and we experience problems day to day and we always react in ways sometimes unexplainable.  The person pulling the trigger was in trouble, he has problems and made a mistake of choosing violence over resolving his problems peacefully.  If only he knows that there is a “place of refuge”.

Below is a the Soldier’s Creed that every US Military knows. I carried this card all the time while I was still in the service to remind me of my duties.  Read it, it is worded elegantly and if taken seriously,  you will never hear/seen a news like that – a soldier out of control and the sad part, he was an officer.

The Soldier’s Creed

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.  I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.  I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

To all good soldier’s out there, be encourage and let this tragic incident be a lesson learned.  You have a job do.  Be safe and adhere to what you signed up for.

MIT (Most Important Task
1. 3Mile Time Trial
2.
3.

0000, Sleep
0100, Sleep
0200, Sleep
0300, Sleep
0400, Sleep
0500, Breakfast; journal; 3Mile Time Trial
0600, Leave for work
0700, At work
0800, At work
0900, At work
1000, At work
1100, At work
1200, At work
1300, At work
1400, At work
1500, At work
1600, At work
1700, At work
1800,
1900,
2000, Dinner
2100,
2200,
2300, Sleep
2400, Sleep

LOOKING BACK – YESTERDAY
What went well?
1. Less mistakes at work.
What didn’t go so well?
1. Sad story of a soldier.
What would you do differently next time?
1.
Conclusion:
1.