Nothing is over, nothing.

Reminder to self, watch Rambo, First Blood. We Warriors who study war and political science know that the Jihad against so-called Infidels is not over. Last August, we left Afghanistan and news of our presence is Syria, Iraq, and the Horn of Africa is very light to non-existent. The news from the current conflict in Ukraine covers page 1 in all outlets and page 3 through 5 are all about which political party did what to whom.

This focus on other things causes a distraction to the need to continue to be prepared to fight this fight. Such is how it goes in Chapter 3 of our lives, post-Service. No longer faced with 0600 runs in the dark, training in Battle Drills 1 through 6 every day, rigorous attention to detail cleaning our weapons, and resilience to handle it all with a smile and grunt, we lose focus on being a Warrior and relegate it to page 6 of our lives.

Just like news or fads like high-and-tights fade over time without us recognizing it, so does our Warrior Spirit. No longer faced with a rigorous schedule starting with Physical Fitness Training, we choose to sleep in a little late and vow to “work out later.” We get up, go to work, hopefully, grab a protein bar for breakfast, and hop into our car, now sitting on 1/8th of a tank and grumble off to work to stress hard over what seems to be a highly important matter of why your boss is nagging you. Sound familiar? Me too.

When things no longer become a matter of life or death, a matter of letting down your brethren, a matter of trying to maintain your equipment impeccably or risk it failing, we drop our guard. It is natural. Let’s face it, it is unbelievably stressful to maintain perfection for our whole careers and then, when it is over, keep it up. Also, we no longer have a need. If your bed isn’t made perfectly, tight and square, no leader is going to yell at you, so relax. If you don’t do PT before work, and then are too tired to do it after work, it is OK, no bad guy is going to chase you anyways. And worst of all, if we no longer need the resilience of a dog on a bone, we let it relax, and our stress level starts to go up.

So, who cares if I can’t max the new Army Combat Fitness Test? Or as I like to call it, SMA Dailey’s Attempt at Leaving a Legacy like General Shinseki Test. But I digress. I care because we swore an oath to defend this Nation. That oath never expires, right “former-Marines?” No, we aren’t going to suit up and charge into the front lines. But we are here to lead, to set the example, to maintain ourselves under pressure, to help our fellow man and woman, to protect the marginalized and bullied, to stand up for those who need our help

We can’t do that if we are a blubbering mess. Remember, just because you no longer wear the uniform, doesn’t mean you aren’t still a Warrior. Clark Kent could still lift a car one-handed even without his cape. Maybe you are just having a hard time finding meaning. If so, read this. Regardless, it is important to maintain ourselves as Warriors, leaders, protectors, heroes. It is no less important to protect marginalized members of our society than the people of war-torn Afghanistan. In fact, they are our people, so one could argue they are more important when it comes to fulfilling our oath.

We can only be that Warrior if we continue to practice resilience, maintain our body and mind, and remember to never leave a fallen citizen. It isn’t that hard. Take the dog for a 2-mile walk, no time limit. Stop and smell the grass like the dog does. One of my favorite exercises is yard work. Cutting trees, planting a garden, mowing/weed whacking the lawn, trimming the hedges (to clear fields of fire). This may not build massive biceps but it builds decent strength if not at least maintaining what you have. A basic Warrior home gym is simple and cheap to build. Weight vest (or plate carrier), medicine ball, sandbags (full, for you Air Force Warriors), and a pull up/dip bar. Combine that with body-weight exercises and you can maintain and build muscle, endurance, and physical and mental resilience.

While we don’t need to maintain our vehicle like we were about to go through motor stables inspections, we need to keep it clean, serviceable, and ready to be used in an emergency (aka keep at least a half tank of gas at all times). Remember all that extra stuff you got issued that you didn’t turn into those miserable picks at CIF? Why isn’t it packed and ready to go in an emergency? Convert it from a pile of memories into a Bug Out Bag with food, water, fire, first aid, and shelter that could be grabbed in an emergency. Do you have a safe with all of your credentials in it, like car registration, titles, licenses, etc? Great! In an emergency are you going to carry that with you? If the answer is a “hell nah” then digitize everything and download it to your devices like cell phone or tablet. In an emergency, the internet may go down, but your device will still work. Remember, Battle Drill #1, React to Contact, is just the beginning of the next few Battle Drills. Don’t be stuck in BD#1 because you aren’t prepared to execute another Battle Drill.

Are you protecting your Nation’s marginalized citizens? Do you intervene when you hear racial or bigotted epithets (Marines, I provided a link so you could see what that word means, you’re welcome)? No? Didn’t you swear to defend this Nation against all enemies? Isn’t the biggest internal enemy to this Nation bigotry and and hate right now? So, stand up for them. If you don’t is your oath valid? I don’t care what side of the political spectrum you fall on. Common decency is apolitical. We served alongside every race, gender, religion, sexual preference, and creedo, willing to protect them at the cost of our own life. Why won’t we at least intervene in these wrongs now? Maybe you did end your oath. If you aren’t willing to do this, maybe you should stop pretending you are a Warrior. Was Leonidas simply a great fighter? No. He was a leader, protector of right, slayer of wrong, a leader for good. He, and many of his Warriors laid down their lives against an overwhelming force to prevent his women and children from being enslaved by ignorant bigotry. A Warrior protects those who need protecting. Many of us may have a great hate for a certain religion due to a bunch of extreme members of that religion having killed our best friends. Understood. But do we stand up for the 2 million Uyhurs who are enslaved, raped, murdered and imprisoned in north-western China? I would hope so. Separate your personal beliefs that prevent you from doing right.

I have covered addiction on a couple of occasions, most recently in My Two Best Friends Want To Kill Me so you already know the importance of maintaining a control over that. You can’t be a Warrior, proper, if you are in your cups or hitting the pipe all the time. And don’t tell me you used to do it all the time in Chapter 3 of your life. If you were anything more than an E4 and getting hammered every night, you WERE NOT at 100% the next morning. It WAS affecting your leadership and performance. Fact. You just didn’t know it. Now you do.

So, let’s get back to doing instead of just being. The Soldier’s Creed still applies in Chapter 3 as it did in Chapter 2, just a bit differently. You still serve the people of the United States, you still have equipment and yourself to maintain, and you are still a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. Or aren’t you?

—SGM DTB—