This week while I was working on analysis referencing a new Drill Instructor (DI) outreach program, I had flashbacks to my early days in the Army and my basic training days. The DI program is new one and allows DIs to visit high schools and other national events to talk to young adults about fitness, strength and various other topics while addressing fears about Army service. Drill Sergeant Alvin was nightmare for me and when you are 18 years old it is multiplied. Always said, that the enemy is scared of him and many like him. At times, the fear of failure ran through my mind at basic training. Many challenges for me; however, the Army provided opportunities that I would never have been given (leadership, travel, friends, family, education, etc).

I played sports in my young days but never ran more than a mile or did any pushups, also had a fear of heights to an extent and I never fired a weapon for that manner. Drill Sergeant Alvin took an 18 year old boy and transformed me into a Soldier and a man; he assimilated me into the institution. In fact, I failed my first PT test at basic training and failed my first weapons marksmanship firing range. Of course, in the end I passed basic training through working hard, but failure and being a Soldier are two things that do not go together as I thought when I was young. However, now it's more like, Soldiers will go through adversity and what we do after that adversity as a leader and team member are more critical than the actual moment of missing those goals.

Drill Sergeant Alvin, as I have never forgot his name, installed values, discipline and team work into us that Summer in 1986. I remember him as an eclipse and built like a brick house. His biceps were so big that he cut his sleeves of his battle dress uniform so his arms would fit. At the time, again to the young, you are wondering why this man is yelling, screaming and torturing you and the others in the platoon, but as you grow in the Army you understand that it is a right a passage, an opportunity to teach common skills necessary to succeed in the Army and a means to build a team from the ground up. He was always around even when you didn't see him and he must have made an impression on each of us, specifically me, because after 20 years he still is burned into my memory. He set the conditions for me to succeed and others later in our Army careers.

The Army has the best education and training enterprise in the world and it shown in the numerous programs and spend levels ($0.5B; conservative estimate) for those programs which are available around the world to its members. This may not come across to the public but education, values and team work are core elements of our institution. The education element allows the lifetime development and growth of its Soldiers, Officers and Civilians by providing various opportunities in its "BE, KNOW, DO" framework. An institution that has a place for everyone who wants to serve will transform, teach and challenge you - ultimately making you successful and strong (Army Strong)!