The Village

"There is a saying in the Army about not sticking your nose in other soldier’s professional business. It’s called “staying in your lane.” There are times as a leader when you must step in. For example, if I see a soldier doing an unsafe act, it doesn’t matter what his job is or even if he is in my unit. As an officer, I am obligated to point out the safety issue and fix it, doing everything I can to keep soldiers safe, even if it means being the “bad guy.”


As the Battalion Signal Officer, I know how to stay in my lane. And it’s easy because I absolutely love my job and it keeps me very busy. I don’t need to go looking for things to do. I’m the dude people come to with their computer, radio, television and internet issues, to name a few. The soldiers who go outside the wire on patrols everyday have their lane. They are good at what they do. The mechanics have their workload, the intelligence analysts and the medics have theirs.


There are always soldiers at the leading edge of the battle, and there will always be those of us who maintain more of a situational awareness, constantly analyzing and modifying plans. In short, we support the soldiers on the leading edge. But as I’ve said, virtually everyone in my unit gets a chance to go out on combat missions, and every trip outside the wire must be treated as exactly that.


I left my lane again recently, and I’m glad I did. I went outside the wire on what I’ll call a school mission, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. It had absolutely nothing to do with communications. Our family support group back home has overwhelmed us with school supplies, clothing, soccer balls, and shoes for the children in the area. They are very supportive of us, our mission, and the people of this region. We went to a school in the deserts of Al Anbar and delivered a truckload of supplies."
Wordsmith at War