“I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and win where I fight.” These words were said by the great General Patton about battle when he was serving in the Army. Well recently I had to use these words as inspiration for my latest assignment. Being a soldier that comes from the great state of Michigan I grew up a die-hard fan of the University of Michigan football team. I saw the great team of 1997 get the shaft and share a national championship, and I was also around when the tragic day came when we lost to Appalachian State. A few weeks ago my boss told me I was going to have the “opportunity” to work with some great ROTC cadets at… THE Ohio State University. My first response was pretty clear, “sir, this is a bad idea”. His response was that it all builds character. So I remembered the words spoke by General Patton and decided I had a mission to do, I must do it. So here I am in Columbus, Ohio, and it turns out it’s not all that bad. Now obviously, I am being a little dramatic comparing OSU to fighting face to face with an enemy, but I was not excited at all to come here. Luckily my boss was wise enough to send a battle buddy with me, DS Grabner. He helped keep me calm for the first little bit while I got situated on campus and didn’t have any panic attacks. Our morning at OSU started with helping some young cadets on a variety of tasks; saluting with a guide-on, marching, and putting together the class A uniform. We helped them with our experience and tried to give advice to them when it was needed. It was nice to see that some college kids will get up at 0600 for an opportunity to further their education and hopefully become a leader in the Army (the female track team sharing the field with us was just an added bonus). After dealing with the cadets we got the opportunity to see the OSU Rock Ceremony. The Rock Ceremony started during WWI when at 11 am everyday they played taps to honor fallen soldiers. It has no become an annual tradition to honor veterans on campus at this rock. It was nice to see a post-secondary institution go out of their way to honor veterans. The whole Columbus area is very pro-military and very proactive in helping veterans. This was most evident when I found out the mayor personally talks to every veteran when they get discharged or retire to thank them and help them reintegrate into the local community. The day concluded with a great parade through downtown Columbus. It was amazing to see how many people braved the cold weather just to clap and thank their local veterans. Sometimes just a wave, smile, or handshake can make a veterans day. So do this when possible, everyday not just on Veteran’s Day. I guess after my day at OSU I’ll say this… Thank you OSU faculty and staff for all you do honoring veterans and….. GO BLUE!!!

Rock Ceremony