Knowledge

As a senior NCO, I had the opportunity to influence many Soldiers over the years. Sometimes, however, my junior Soldiers impressed me instead of the other way around. One young Soldier affected the rest of my career — and even saved my life — by insisting on rehearsing rollover battle drills.

I don’t know why it took such a tragedy to confirm what our superiors had been telling us about wearing our Kevlar and seat belts. That accident changed the unit’s whole attitude. Our sergeant’s old war stories were now our reality. We finally got it, but we learned our lesson the hard way.