Many of us go through our daily motions and routines, focused on the tasks at hand--this action, that suspense, tomorrow's briefing, next month's status call.  Whatever role you play, civilian or military, in this family, this organized machine we call Army, it's easy to get focused on microcosms and forget to take periodic glances at the big picture.  Whom do we support and why?  What is the overall mission, the goal, our collective sense of purpose?

One such opportunity for that glance, turned into an outright gaze for me, an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude and good ole' end-of-the-day purpose.  That opportunity was at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl 2010, this past January in San Antonio, TX.

I knew my event-"Army Skills Challenge".  I knew my timeline-in fact, I had a hard-copy with me.  I walked through the blustery winter cold from the hotel to the Alamo Dome expecting a great event with our All-American high school players, our Soldiers of the Year, and our Wounded Warriors (WWs).  On paper, it was all very simple and cut and dry.  But the reality of it all didn't quite hit me until I went outside to meet my WWs for the first time and escort them into the Dome. 

The spirit resonating from these guys is something I now find difficult to put into words.  They walked with pride and purpose, no matter their injury.  I could run a thousand miles and still not equal just ONE of their strides.  Single and double amputees, burned, bruised--they came out to play.  And play they did!

The hanging bags on the right were part of an obstacle course they went through against the Nation's top HS players.  (One of our WWs, not to be outdone, kicked the last bag with his prosthetic and raised his hands up in victory!)

Here are a few of our WWs warming up for the challenge.  (I wish I had more action shots to share, but these were taken from my phone and unfortunately, those came out rather blurry.)

Visiting with the players during downtime and sharing their stories, our HS All-Americans learned the true meaning of Army Strength-mind, body and SPIRIT!

Shaking hands with the players after the challenge was complete.

Col. Petrenko speaks to our All-Stars about what it means to be Army Strong, in sports, in school, and in life, referencing our WWs as a testament to that kind of strength.

Now you see why that glance turned into a gaze, I was completely in awe of these guys-their determination and spirit was like nothing I've ever encountered.  One of these gentlemen saw my Texas beanie and said "Oh, no!  You're a Texas fan?!?!!"  When I told him I graduated from UT, he got down into a three-point stance and said "That's it, let's go, right now, you're a girl, but I'm missing a leg, so it evens it out!"  Then we all cracked-up laughing.  That one phrase, that good humor, illustrates that very spirit I spoke of at the opening of this blog entry.

I have always been proud to support the U.S. Army and to be a part of an Army family, but that day, was a reaffirmation, much like renewal of vows is to a married couple.  That day, I saw the big picture so clearly, and no matter what I have accomplished in my now 29 years of life--education, radio, music, volunteer work-none of that is greater than this-the small role I play in supporting guys like these.  Our WWs, wounded in body-maybe, but in spirit-NEVER; our servicemen and women...our Soldiers.

So, if you were in need of some inspiration, there they are in the pictures above.  Feel free to to look back at these at any time...  

ARMY STRONG!  God Bless our Troops, past, present and future, each and every one...