COURAGE
By
Michael L. Wojciechowski

As an acting platoon sergeant in my last few years in the Illinois National Guard, as a leader you learn to power down. Some of the troops assigned under you are given tasks or missions. These are an essential part of the overall unit responsibilities and missions that are under the jurisdiction of the governor of Illinois.
And in doing so, they learn firsthand the meaning of leadership and responsibility. As a leader, you learn to accept responsibility and be able to delegate authority. Leading by example, not being afraid to still get your hands dirty if and when necessary.
In this training, it’s the start of the changing of the guard. Passing onto your troops what it takes to be a good leader. Getting your troops to complete missions not because they HAVE to, but because they WANT to. A sense of pride and accomplishment. And this sense is actually in both civilian and military lives.
The spark of inspiration for this article isn’t just because of my military experience, but also in knowing that not all generations understand the need of the passing of the military torch because it doesn’t always apply. I remember in the movie “The Help,” the mother of the main character tells her: “Sometimes courage skips a generation.” This dialogue to me didn’t mean how my two sons didn’t find the need to join the military. But in fact, their courage is in the form of being a father, husband and good provider. A roof over their heads, food on their tables and clothes on their backs. And not just only their basic needs either.
Courage comes in many forms, and not just in the military sense. But it’s the idea of knowing something you could fail at but attempt to achieve anyway. We learn by doing and in doing so, we learn a valuable lesson - a lesson that’s shared from one generation to the next.