Over the course of this last year, I learned a lot. It was my first year out of high school and I didn’t know what to expect. I shipped out to One Station Unit Training in August of 2016, to become a Military Police Officer for the Missouri National Guard. Those twenty weeks were the longest, and most educational, weeks of my life so far.
The first nine weeks I learned to be a soldier. I learned how to work as a team, how to properly maintain a weapon system, and how to be as efficient as I can be. Red Phase, the initial three weeks of training, where you learn how to operate on minimal sleep and to look out for each other. Red Phase is about tearing down the individual, removing that “it’s all about me” attitude. 
I didn’t learn a lot in Red Phase, however, White Phase is where I learned that working together and having others’ backs is the best and most efficient way to get a task done. While the training portion of White Phase is all about marksmanship, it’s where the whole idea of being a team player set in, for me at least.
When someone screws up, everyone is punished. We would ask why we would have to do push-ups, or more commonly flutter kicks, when Private Joe was the one who fell asleep. It was because we didn’t keep him in check, we didn’t wake him up.
Can you relate?
I need my students to know that they are my priority. It needs to be clear that the lesson at hand is the focus. Yes, our objective is to have another year under our belts, but we don’t have to wish our year away.
Do not allow the media to desensitize you.
Do not allow yourself to think you are above the law or regulations established for the protection of our communities.
Intentergy 