Heroes
Recently, I’ve been fond of saying “just do your job”, or “JDYJ” for short. I’ve been frustrated by folks who have opinions on everything, who want to have a say in everything, or who believe they have the right answers to everything. In fact, I have to remind myself of JDYJ, because I sometimes fall into that very same trap wondering why everyone else can’t realize the obvious genius that I must be having answers to all the known (and unknown) problems at my job!
On my flight this week, I was able to spend a few minutes talking to someone who lives JDYJ. Sitting next to me on the plane was a young lady celebrating her 25th birthday. She slept most of the flight (five and half hours long), so I gained a life time of respect for her in about 10 minutes between the time she woke up and the time we landed. This young lady had just left Afghanistan – for the second time – and was arriving at home to celebrate her birthday, spend a few days with her family, and then head back to Afghanistan for another tour with the US Army. She wasn’t a soldier; she was a civilian with the Department of Defense. She was a Human Resources technician supporting our efforts in that remote part of the world. Her tours of duty were six months long, and she had just recently volunteered for her third consecutive six month tour of duty. She talked about her work there, her stop over in Dubai, her transit through Germany, her flight cancellations in Chicago, her RON in Denver, and then finally her last leg going home on her birthday. For that lifetime of learning in the 10 minutes we talked, she never once said anything negative, she never once indicated that she struggled with her deployments, and she talked proudly about her promotions and her desire to now get a college degree.
As I think back now on that conversation, she’s a great example of most of the folks I know – the real heroes that just do their jobs, regardless of location, regardless of situation, and even regardless of danger. She’s a great example of those who so humbly and non-descriptively provide the backbone of services that any organization (and in this case any nation) needs. She’s a great example of being the “trusted middle” of an organization, not living on either extreme of being overly vocal and critical or overly quiet and accepting. And she’s an example of someone that smiles in spite of setbacks or unexpected changes in circumstances and charges on in life knowing that the next day will offer new reasons for excitement and new opportunities for advancement.
I am so thankful to this 25 year old young lady for reminding me of JDYJ.  Her example was another lesson in life for me. Happy Birthday!