Not quitting...

I originally wanted to write about the unfortunate event that happened this afternoon during drill. I lashed out in anger to an underclass when I suddenly lost my temper over my plebes inability to perform a simple rifle drill. In a previous entry, I wrote about my plebe's problem of not being able to cope up with the standards set for him. With the dismounted drill this afternoon, I further discovered other things that he is unable to do which are basic to every cadet. I realized that he is not able to perform the manual of arms the way it should be performed. His whole body moves when he raised his rifle, he can not put a snap in each movement and it just seems that it's not a cadet performing the drill when he does it. Other cadets were already gathering around him as they laugh at his inability. For my part, I went to him and decided to personally supervise him. I performed the drills in front of him to become the example. The other cadets, I mean one cadet (a yearling at that, my underclass), just did not think that I was serious at teaching him. He kept on bugging the plebe, teasing him and stopping him from teaching the plebe. Already impatient because of the plebe's performance, I lost my temper and lashed out at the yearling. In my loud voice I reiterated that I just can not give up teaching this plebe because he is my responsibility. Realizing that the others were already looking at me, my classmates went to me and grabbed me for me to regain my composure. I guess I got the message across and I made certain realizations on my own. Somehow with my lashing out, I made the point that we just can not give up in doing our job even if it is to someone who seems not to learn the things we are trying to teach.

When we are a plebe, it is easy to raise up our spirits because we need to survive. I remember how I try to improve my morale then by just looking at the PMA seal to remind myself that no matter how hard everything is at least I am in PMA. Words of Don't Quit is just so alive as we try to wrestle with the daily pressures or the seemingly insurmountable compliances. It is easy really because we do not have a choice. As plebes, we just need to survive. But then as we go higher in rank and be given different responsibilities, doing our job is something of a choice, giving up becomes an option. To illustrate this, I will go back to my plebe. As I said he can not do anything the way I expect him to do it. For most of the other cadets, including the yearling I got mad at, he was hopeless and he'd rather laugh at his deficieancy. He had a choice at doing his job, that is to teach him or just laugh at the plebe. Either way, he goes on with his life and maybe graduate in three years time. But I realized that the same attitude we show towards training when we were plebes should also apply even if we are no longer plebes. I mean, the CAN DO attitude, if I may call it, is more important to the upperclass because by this time he already has a choice. I realized that in situations where the plebe is hopeless that I must not quit at teaching him. Somehow, I felt that I should espouse that attitude more now that I am an upperclass, a squad leader at that because now other people's lives are already at stake. Doing ones job as a plebe makes us continue and become upperclassmen but doing ones job as a squad leader affects the life of people, underclass cadets.

I am running out of time I will continue writing about this topic tomorrow....