In 2011, at the commissary of all places, I had an experience that showed me the importance of our public duty as service members. I captured my thoughts about the incident, which I think are still relevant.
Following his imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps, neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl wrote:
“Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness.”
The other day, I encountered two people on opposite ends of the responsibleness spectrum and have some thoughts about how we, as military service members and families, should behave. My first encounter was a positive one.
I unfortunately had to return a loaf of moldy bread that I had purchased the day before. As I drove to the commissary, my sometimes skeptical mind admittedly imagined the various ways I’d have to prove that I had indeed bought the bread at the commissary — just the day before — and didn’t realize it was moldy until now. I had the receipt, I’m sure the video cameras saw me buy the bread, I was ready.
I made it to the customer service desk, where a very nice woman greeted me with a warm hello. I started to explain relevant facts, as if convincing a jury, but she had already grabbed the bread with a look of humorous embarrassment and told me it was no problem. Just go and exchange it. Wow! That was easy.
When I returned with a different brand and informed her that I would pay the extra $0.15, she immediately replied, “Don’t worry about it. Have a nice day!” Feeling a bit foolish that I was so readily prepared to defend my bread purchase, I returned to my car with a pleasant reminder not to assume the worst in people.
An Inconsequential Act?
Then, I had a clear view of a person (to remain genderless) climb out of his/her front seat and blatantly throw a half-burnt cigarette onto the parking lot pavement. This, as two children also climbed out of the car. He/She stormed off into the commissary, obviously in too much of a hurry to notice either the inconsideration of littering or the toxicity of second-hand smoke.
I very nearly rushed over to interject in this display of irresponsibility (only for the littering — someone else would have to sort out the smoking thing). But, I refrained. It wasn’t worth confronting him/her in front of the children when it probably wouldn’t change very much. I wrote a note instead:
“(Sir/Ma’am), please do everyone a favor and stop throwing cigarettes on the ground. Fort Leavenworth is our home. We’d like to keep it clean. Thank you.”
I placed the note and the 2-inch piece of trash in the person’s door handle and departed, feeling only partially hopeful that my actions would cause a behavior change. Incidentally, I see this happen at least twice per week. Among too many people, there is a lack of respect for the environment and our installations, in particular.
I saw one man in the Ramstein Air Base gas station line throw a used cigarette out the window in full view of a dozen people. I walked over, picked up the cigarette, told him “You dropped this,” and put it back in his car.
What people don’t realize is that a clean-up detail of Soldiers will eventually come along to pick up this misplaced garbage. Do we really think it’s OK to live like someone else is going to clean up after us? More importantly, neither the littering nor the smoking are the worst aspects of the problem.
What is Expected of Us?
As military members, the nation expects us to behave better than this. And I believe this responsibility extends to family members, as well. The nation’s citizens expect that along with the freedom we assist in providing for the country, that we also display a corresponding degree of responsibleness borne out in thoughtful, considerate, and moral behavior. Are we meeting that standard?
In 2014, patriotic supporters rallied behind a group of Soldiers who had to pay extra baggage fees on their return flight from deployment. Service members were wronged, citizens spoke up and the airline refunded the Soldiers’ money and changed its policy in less than 24 hours. Unlike the turbulent Vietnam era of 40 years ago, we live in a time when Americans will bend over backward to support the military.
What degree of appropriate behavior should they expect of us in return? Personally, I think they deserve a service member who doesn’t litter, returns a lost wallet, doesn’t put those citizens at risk by drinking and driving, and has the good sense not to endanger their children by smoking in front of them.
In light of Frankl’s words, because we service members do our jobs at the very genesis of freedom, we also bear the highest burden of responsibleness. Wearing the uniform is not a right, and it doesn’t entitle us. It’s a privilege, and one our nation expects us to honor by our actions.
Questions for Leaders
- How do you develop your subordinates to be good citizens and not just good service members?
- Do you believe that service members have a higher standard of civic duty than the civilian population?
- What do you do when you see inappropriate public behavior?