Thankful.

David has been having a lot of trouble where he is at. He has been getting in trouble and getting "smoked" a lot. He pretty much had given up on doing things write and was being very forgetful and just not wanting to be there. He was even talking about trying to get out of the Army once he got home and he was very depressed and despondent. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried to do right he was always in trouble. He got in trouble again one day for something that was not his fault and another Sargent walked by and saw what was happening again and told David's Sargent to transfer David to his squad. David said that the Sargent did not like the way that David was being treated. David was then transferred to another squad and since then has been doing amazing. His mood has improved. He is no longer a gloomy Gus and his outlook on his career is 100% better.

For the last couple of months (since David starting having so many problems) I have been praying and praying for Heavenly Father to help him out. I told David to pray and one day when I mentioned it he finally told me that he started praying again and reading the scriptures again. Shortly after he started to pray and read he was transferred. I am grateful that the change happened for David and that the prayers were answered.

Back to the squad thing, David mentioned that he felt sorry for one of his old squad mates. I asked why and he said that since he is in a new squad this other guy is getting smoked a lot and is in trouble a lot. The problem with that squad is the guys are letting their rank go to their head and get cheap thrills from torturing the lower ranking guys. It is a shame that happens because it makes the guys not want to do right, it makes them just want to give up and get out of the Army. It does not foster a sense of belonging or of loyalty.

That reminded me of a quote that I really like that I saw on David's new Sargent's FB wall.

"Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership. "
-Colin Powell

Also, on a happy note (for me) I talked David into going to the ball and because I didn't want him to change his mind I ran out today and bought my dress. That way if he says he does not want to go I can point out that I already spent the money on the dress!!!! haha