Since I have started writing this blog I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from individuals that have appreciated my honesty and candor. I can not describe how much it means to me that my words could somehow have an effect, even if it is on one person. I feel as though I have created a following on this blog and would like to utilize this entry to share the stories that I read, that humble me, that help me understand better. Below I will share a short story about the author and I, then suggest there book.
Nate and I stood half way up church hill on our way to the Army Football game. We had spent all morning crowded around a computer trying to figure out how to make the Leader Challenge program more appealing. We got almost all the way to the top and Nate stopped. We had been speaking about previous experiences he had in the Army and how he was doing. Now we stood in silence. Still silence, maybe five minutes of silence. Nate was hurting and even as a sophomore cadet I could see the pain in this prior Ranger Platoon Leaders eyes. Nate had seen some things and they were still effecting him that day. A year or so later Nate Self decided to put down on paper the story that had haunted him so bad. Not only did he share the entire story, start to finish, he included the after and how PTSD effected his life and marriage. The book is titled "Two Wars" and if you want to gain a better understanding of a traumatic situation that a Soldier encountered and how it mentally plagued him afterwards you must read this book.
"Kyle?"
"Yes, sir"
"Am I facing the wall or facing you?"
"Your facing me sir."
"Good good, have a seat lets talk."
I sat in the cramped commanders office at the West Point WTU. Across the big wooden desk was a family friend that was critical in getting me back to West Point. A fellow infantry officer, combat wounded, a father, and a husband. He smiled in a corky way and his eyes constantly blinked. His gaze was about two feet over my head and maybe 3 feet to the right of me as he spoke. We spoke for about an hour about staying positive, about how people said he would never run but he is running a marathon now, about faith, and just about general life issues. I remember thinking, "Wow I have never met such a positively thinking person in my life." What I failed to mention was, my family friend is Captain Scott Smiley. To some this may mean nothing to others a lot. "Scotty", as we all referred to him, was severely injured in Iraq when a suicide van packed with explosives went off in front of him. He lost site in both of his eyes. Scotty is 100% blind. His book entitled "Hope Unseen" is a phenomenal read about his struggles from being a perfectly healthy individual to accepting the fact that he will never get to see his wife and kids again, let alone anything in this world. Its is a great spiritual read that will leave you feeling, "Hmm my life is not to bad." Truly inspiring.
As I sat in the crowd at Ike Hall my firstie year I was beaming with excitement. Two of my all time favorite college basketball coaches were going to give a lecture to the Corps of Cadets. None other than Coach Bobby Knight and Coach K. I was anxious to see the difference between the two men and their leadership styles. I only remember a simple few things from that brief, one being Coach Knight exclaiming, "Piss on ethics!" as he cut off Coach K's attempt to real him in. But, Coach Knight did suggest a book. A book that he said every American should read. This book was "The Lone Survivor" by Marcus Latrell. I put that in a notebook and didn't think anything of it. I finally read that book several months ago and it rocked my world. Far to often we get caught up in the best fictional books out there, whether its Harry Potter or Twighlight, we read these making up our own non fictional feelings to these stories. Well this story is a non-fiction true story about a 4 man seal team that was over run and ambushed. The title gives away the ending of the story, but it is an incredible read and really portrays the spirit of the military.
These three books have been incredibly enlightening for me to read. I understand they are all military books but for the reader who is truly interested in understanding the military in a deeper sense, these are must reads. I encourage you to pick up atleast one and give it 20 pages of your attention, thats all it will take. Thank you all for reading.
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