What a Month January 2010 Has Been!

What a month!

This month we have seen two rather amazing things occur. A year after President Obama took office, he has now addressed the country on the situation in Afghanistan and there has been a terrible crisis in Haiti. The President addressed some serious issues that have changed the face of the conflict and how the United States military will be working with the Afghani people, and he has led a charge to help those in Haiti. The people of the United States have responded with a fully devoted and leadership oriented approach to both of these issues and they need to be addressed.

Big Change in Afghanistan

The economic crisis still holds us worldwide, and there is no decision made on the health care initiatives yet. And I won't tell you that either one looks good right now. But we saw a good example of leadership from our President in his decision to engage the Afghanistan mission with new eyes. I can't tell you if I agree or disagree with our being there, but I can tell you that if there is going to be any progress towards leaving that country in the future, our Military has been given the right mission to train the Afghani troops.

When I served in Operation Anaconda in Operation Enduring Freedom 1 (OEF1), my battalion's job was to establish the air base at Bagram. We did so with very little in the way of actual participation or cooperation with the locals. And it is no surprise that we were constantly on guard against the possibility of the local armies or individual insurgents turning against us at any moment. We endured many rocket launcher and mortar attacks, we endured at least one 13 hour fire fight, a ten day mission out "in the trenches" against multiple insurgent enemy combatants, and an endless search for Osama Bin Laden. So there wasn't very much trust between us and the Afghani people really.

Now eight years later, we are still in the country but so much has changed. Today, our sons and daughters have another mission. They are working side by side with the Afghani people and the Afghani Soldiers. There is a new method of mentorship and Afghani Leadership has a new beginning. Before, the US Military members were the leaders of all operations. Afghan military forces were planned into OUR operations as "support" and we rarely expected them to even show up. Now, the Afghans are planning the operations (with a close watch from the US "brass" on the safety of our US Troops) and we are the support they need. In a recent article in ARMY magazine (publication of the Association of the US Army - AUSA), there was a description of the new mission from various company commanders on the ground in multiple areas of Afghanistan, and in these descriptions the commanders mention how closely our Troops are now working with the Afghani forces. It is a complete turn around, and it is probably the only way we could ever truly leave their country better than we found it.

The leadership and discipline it takes to work hand-in-hand with the former "enemy" is astounding to me. To our Army Leaders on the ground, it is really just another day at work, but I am truly honored that we, as a country, have the ability to teach our Warriors how not only to kill, but also to TEACH as a wartime mission.

Practicing What Leaders Preach

In 2001, New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington were directly hit by tragedy when the World Trade Center towers fell, a plane dropped out of the sky, and the Pentagon was hit on September 11th. Here we are nine years later, and we have seen another tragedy strike another nation - Haiti. Is it any wonder why the 82nd Airnorne Division was deployed within 24 hours of the incident and First Responders from New York City also spent a week in Haiti aiding  in the recovery of the human beings buried by the first and second waves of this horrible earthquake.

Here again I am astounded at the compassion and dedication that our people -- both civilian and military -- are showing. George Clooney hosted a telethon that has raised about $61 Million dollars as of yesterday's news (from Reuters). And we, as a people, have been greatly affected by this tragedy because not only is it horrible for the Haitian people, but their families have also suffered. And there sure are a great many US citizens with Haitian families who have been tramatized by these events.

So far, the US people have reacted with compassion and generosity in a time when the whole world is already suffering economically. We have poured out our hearts, donated our dollars, and offered our helping hands to try to make things better in Haiti. I am proud to call myself an American today more than ever with these types of leadership decisions occurring each day. Our people truly have leadership built into our way of life, and we have been stepping up to the plate in the right ways recently.

We Celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day This Month

As a side note, I also believe it is fitting that this is the month that we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. When Dr. King was alive he fought a dreadful enemy -- ethnic prejudice coupled with unbridled ignorance. Today, we see men and women of all colors working together to try to help one another in these times of crisis. And we see our country's leaders of all backgrounds and ethnicities fighting to make the US stronger and bring real assistance to other countries around the world in their time of need. As a country, we were forced to deal with our own wounds from 9/11 for the most part, and it was impressive how we came together as a nation to help one another through that hard time. Sure we had assistance going to war in Afghanistan from our allies, but our country rebuilt itself and its cities for the most part. We as a nation have been through and conquered a great many things in these last 10 years. Dr. King would have been proud of many of our accomplishments as well.

This Newsletter Is All Opinion
Remember, the political observations expressed in this newsletter are completely my own opinion. Any counter arguments are truly welcomed. If I come across as an optimist, tell me, and explain how you see it differently. Your opinion is clearly just as valid. Please express yourself in written form online on the amazingleadership.com website or by contacting me directly at keith@amazingleadership.com whenever you like. Getting some collaboration on your ideas will help you bring out the best in me, this site, yourself and all of those around you! Start today and tell a friend about Amazing Leadership.com as well!


Email: keith@amazingleadership.com