Choose two topics, one from two different lessons and use these topics for your essays. Reflectively express why these topics are important to you and how you will implement what you learned from BLC

SPC WELCKER - 3

Reflective Essay – Noncommissioned Officer 2020

What does it mean to be a Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) in 2020? Based on my learning in our Basic Leader Course, it means to be empathetic and resilient. Leaders who develop the skills of empathy and resilience early are best prepared to fight our Nation’s wars and win the conflict both abroad and at home. War is conflict and with conflict comes suffering, pain, and loss. Broken bodies, minds, and hearts are not easily healed. The consequences of conflict distress the soul and may crack the foundation on which Soldiers build their lives. They can even be fatal to Soldiers who are unprepared for such challenges. Because war is inevitable, the NCO of 2020 must always be ready, not only to fight and win abroad but to fight and win their own unseen struggles and to support their fellow Soldiers.

The NCO of 2020 must understand and exercise resiliency and empathy. They must know what empathy is, where it comes from, how to obtain it, and when and how to apply it. Moreover, resilient Soldiers are better able to show empathy than non-resilient Soldiers; the skills go hand in hand. They help us win in our places of work, our homes, and our communities before, during, and following our Nation’s victories.

Empathy begins with the ability to observe and recognize the needs of others; but in order to do so, an NCO must have established relationships with each Soldier. Empathy comes from listening. It comes with time and attention. We show empathy by focused eyes, listening ears, paraphrasing for understanding, asking questions, clearly detecting the emotions of Soldiers and expressing our understanding in unmistakable language, relating to Soldiers’ experiences, finding common ground, and assisting the healing process through acts of selflessness and generosity. Is that not what we owe our fellow Americans, our Brothers and Sisters in Arms? Nevertheless, all of this takes work; and it does not come by merely learning the definition of words. It comes with the development of skill through year-in-and-year-out practice. It happens when we hunt for small, daily opportunities to show empathy to our Soldiers and others and pursue those opportunities with energy.

But where do we find the strength to show empathy? We find it in resilience. No one can be truly empathetic who lacks resilience. Resilience is the ability to “bounce back.” It is the ability to cope, to deal with life’s stresses, to move forward with a positive attitude, a clear mind, and ingenuity. We speak of the ingenuity of prior generations, but where did they get it? We lose it when life is easy. We get it when life is hard. Prior generations suffered hardships unfathomable to the present because our society and its institutions have been so long at ease, we have forgotten what it means to be resourceful, to make do, to see what is good and worthwhile in life, to find happiness in a blade of grass or the touch of wind or around an old out-of-tune piano, singing and laughing together with our loved ones. When life is all pleasure and no joy, when it is nothing but endless competition and covetousness, we erode our resilience, our ability to “bounce back.” I am a religious man. I find my resilience in God. God gives me the ability to be resilient and with that resilience I am empowered to strengthen others through empathy.

I can implement what I learned in our Basic Leader Course about empathy and resilience by practicing empathy with the Soldiers in my unit as well as practicing resilience through enduring hardships and hunting for a positive perspective in all areas of my life. The obstacle to implementing these skills is my own unwillingness. However, I can gain the will to implement and practice the skills of empathy and resilience by asking God for help, making the effort to act, and having faith that God will support me. In order to overcome the obstacles ahead, to withstand the inevitable distress that comes with serving the United States of America and in standing for freedom in the world, an NCO in 2020 must be equipped with both resilience and empathy.