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                         February 1, 2002

Guard Duty -- Christmas 2001

Commentary by Col. Michael Haith
SCPME

This year, I received an unexpected gift at Christmas.

It happened while sharing guard duty with the Commandant early on Christmas Day at Stoney Lonesome gate. A number of us within the U.S. Corps of Cadets volunteered for a six-hour rotation to allow soldiers from our Military Police Company and the 1-69th Infantry to spend Christmas day with their families.

I signed up partly out of guilt. Before the arrival of the 1-69th, many NCO’s and officers from all across USMA volunteered to pull guard far more frequently than I had, including members of my own staff. So this was a way for me to do my share.

It wasn’t really that much of an inconvenience. As the parent of two college age kids, I knew they no longer wanted to get up at the crack of dawn to open gifts, so I signed up for the 0500-1100 shift. The kids would probably just be rolling out of bed when I got home. I had no real expectations except that it would be cold, there would be little traffic and that the time would pass slowly.

My unexpected gift was that it was none of that. Instead, my decision many years ago to stay in the Army was reinforced in several small but significant ways.

Initially, there was some frustration. As is the case sometimes, the "word" that volunteers were showing up hadn’t been received by some of the soldiers. When the Commandant and I arrived they had not expected us and therefore, there was a full shift already there. We fixed the SNAFU quickly; two soldiers from 1-69th were sent home immediately and they expressed their gratitude to us personally and enthusiastically. They told us they couldn’t believe a Brigadier General and a Colonel would do such a thing, especially on Christmas Day.

While I hadn’t expected or needed to be thanked, I was surprised at how good it felt to see the gratitude in their eyes as they headed to the New York City area to be home for Christmas morning. But not all the soldiers could go home. The guard post called for 4 soldiers and 1 MP. Two from the 1-69th and one MP from our own company remained there with us.

The two soldiers who remained were the team leader and the squad leader of the soldiers that went home. In my 26 years in the Army, I’ve served with soldiers from our reserve components before and frankly I sometimes wonder if they can internalize the values of our Army in serving only a few days a year. On Christmas Day that question was answered by these two NCO’s. In deciding which soldiers could go home, there was no hesitation.

The NCO’s stayed with us even though they had families too. In talking with them over the next several hours, it became clear to me they understood the duties and obligations of good leaders as well as any NCO’s I’ve ever served with. I learned that several soldiers in 1-69 were serving at great personal and financial sacrifice but they didn’t complain.

I now realize that "twice the citizen" is much more than a slogan. Later that morning their Platoon Sergeant, who had originally emigrated from Eastern Europe, came by on his own time with a breakfast sandwich for each of us, which he purchased with his own money. When I tried to pay for it, he wouldn’t accept it. He said in heavily accented English, "I take care of my people and today you are one of my people." How could I argue with that?

Likewise our own West Point MP’s frequently stopped by to see if we needed anything, often taking the opportunity to talk with the Commandant and I. They said they didn’t often get the chance to talk to a BG and a COL. I will miss those opportunities when my time finally comes to take off the boots and LBE. West Point is indeed fortunate to be served by these dedicated soldiers.

As I expected, the traffic was light. Most of the vehicles that came through our gate were there to drop off Christmas snacks for us; more than we could possible eat. People we didn’t know from the West Point community, retirees and civilians, taking the time on Christmas morning to say thank you.

These few words might sound a bit to melodramatic in light of all that has occurred since Sept. 11, but I wrote this short article simply to say thanks to those soldiers I served with on Christmas Day and to those who continue to provide our security.