Reflective Journal Part 3 When I attempt to picture myself above my current state, I envision myself as a retired First Sergeant who actively participates in policymaking on matters of national security. This will require a smooth transition to change by accepting the process of transformation rather than opposing it (Kegan & Lahey, 2009). I also think of myself as a person who takes the lead in promoting social change at both community and local levels. This is because military professionals must find something to do following their retirement. As a result of the challenges that I faced during my tenure as a First Sergeant in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, I am driven by the desire to be one of the members of top policymaking team in the military in order to push for the agendas of addressing such concerns. They include encouraging diversity in the army and ensuring that the military also takes part in other tasks such as conflict resolution. The current stage of my professional personal journey is that I am a newly retired First Sergeant. That being so, I see myself learning and using the knowledge and skills that I have acquired in military to push for policy changes in order to improve national security. In the event that I am in the final hours of my life, I would take a look back at the things that I did and smile at my achievements. I would be proud of the extremes that I went to protect my country from external aggression. I would also be happy about the steps that I took to disseminate intelligence information to subordinate units. The information was crucial for our successes in moving forward and overpowering our enemy soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. In light of the above, I want to be remembered as a patriot who was ready to risk his life by taking the lead in launching various operations that wiped out terrorist groups and establishments in the Northern parts of Iraq. I am proud that the little things that I did contributed immensely to our success at large. At the moment, I am a retired First Sergeant of the military. I believe that my personal career has not reached its decline. On the contrary, I am on the verge of soaring into new heights when it comes to issues related to military. In connection to that, I am in the process of advancing my level of education in military studies, especially when it comes to policymaking in the military. To achieve this objective, I will be actively taking part in motivational speeches that are meant to encourage extraordinary men and women in uniforms to improve their performances. In addition, I am going to promote and encourage social change at the community levels. My social change initiatives will focus on persuading community members to join hands and address social problems such as teen pregnancy, alcohol and substance abuse, insecurity and radicalization, as well as gun violence. When seeking to answer this question, the images that come into my mind is a person who is sittin ...

1. Reflective Journal Part 3
When I attempt to picture myself above my current state, I
envision myself as a retired First Sergeant who actively
participates in policymaking on matters of national security.
This will require a smooth transition to change by accepting the
process of transformation rather than opposing it (Kegan &
Lahey, 2009). I also think of myself as a person who takes the
lead in promoting social change at both community and local
levels. This is because military professionals must find
something to do following their retirement. As a result of the
challenges that I faced during my tenure as a First Sergeant in
the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, I am driven by the
desire to be one of the members of top policymaking team in the
military in order to push for the agendas of addressing such
concerns. They include encouraging diversity in the army and
ensuring that the military also takes part in other tasks such as
conflict resolution. The current stage of my professional
personal journey is that I am a newly retired First Sergeant.
That being so, I see myself learning and using the knowledge
and skills that I have acquired in military to push for policy
changes in order to improve national security.
In the event that I am in the final hours of my life, I would take
a look back at the things that I did and smile at my
achievements. I would be proud of the extremes that I went to
protect my country from external aggression. I would also be
happy about the steps that I took to disseminate intelligence
information to subordinate units. The information was crucial
for our successes in moving forward and overpowering our
enemy soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. In light of the above, I
want to be remembered as a patriot who was ready to risk his
life by taking the lead in launching various operations that

2. wiped out terrorist groups and establishments in the Northern
parts of Iraq. I am proud that the little things that I did
contributed immensely to our success at large.
At the moment, I am a retired First Sergeant of the military. I
believe that my personal career has not reached its decline. On
the contrary, I am on the verge of soaring into new heights
when it comes to issues related to military. In connection to
that, I am in the process of advancing my level of education in
military studies, especially when it comes to policymaking in
the military. To achieve this objective, I will be actively taking
part in motivational speeches that are meant to encourage
extraordinary men and women in uniforms to improve their
performances. In addition, I am going to promote and encourage
social change at the community levels. My social change
initiatives will focus on persuading community members to join
hands and address social problems such as teen pregnancy,
alcohol and substance abuse, insecurity and radicalization, as
well as gun violence. When seeking to answer this question, the
images that come into my mind is a person who is sitting with
top leaders in the country to develop ways of solving the
insecurity challenges that we face on a regular basis.
As a retiree, there are various habits that I need to let go. One
of these habits is learning to assess orders, and then follow
them. The path to good leadership requires learning from past
mistakes and history (George, Sims, McLean, & Mayer, 2007).
Usually, officer training leads to a slightly dissimilar mindset
from the enlisted person, but one which is still founded on the
presumption that every person around is within a fixed chain of
command and understands their roles and authorities clearly.
For far too long, I have been wired to follow orders without
evaluating them. This weakness may affect me in my future
career life in other areas. Therefore, I am working towards
rectifying this habit in order to regain my sanity and rational
mind. This is because good leadership requires soberness of the
mind and the capacity to empathize with followers’ feelings
rather than merely issuing orders to be followed (Goleman,

3. 2008).
References
George, B., Sims, P., McLean, A. & Mayer, D. (2007).
“Discovering Your Authentic
Leadership”.Harvard Business Review. Boston: Harvard
Business School Publishing.
Reprint Number R0702H.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. (2008). “Social Intelligence & the
Biology of Leadership”. Harvard
Business Review. Boston: Harvard Business School publishing.
Reprint Number R0809E.
Kegan, R. & Lahey, L.L. (2009). Immunity to Change: How to
Overcome it and Unlock the
Potential in Yourself and Your Organization. Boston: Harvard
Business Press. ISBN
978-1-4221-1736-1
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4. Guided Journal Part 2
What makes me feel frustrated is the thought that I cannot find
better avenues for exploiting the knowledge and experiences
that I have amassed as a First Sergeant in the Pennsylvania
Army National Guard. Since my retirement, the transition has
been a little frustrating; especially while in the military I
practiced emotional and social intelligence which help to have
made my unit one of the best in the 28th Infantry Division.
Waking up to a civilian life is so unusual to me. In such an
environment, there are various predicaments that I grapple with.
For instance, I struggle to fill the empty puzzle on whether the
military knowledge and concepts that I had acquired over the
years can be applicable outside a military or war-tone world.
This hard question continues to confront me as I try to find
meaning in a new world.
My vital source of energy is the desire to deal with the
challenges that I faced in the past and present moments. As a
responsible and law-abiding citizen, I feel that I am obliged to
make a difference to the society in many ways. For instance, I
hold the view that I am responsible for ensuring that people live
in a safe environment that is free of conflict, crime, violence,
and poverty. Furthermore, the American society is increasingly
becoming morally degraded as more and more people get into
drugs and other social problems (McMichael, 2016). These
challenges are what give me the energy to continue to live and
contribute to social change. One of the challenges that I had
was that I underestimated the wealth of knowledge that came
with operating in a military environment. However, the sudden
realization that I was multitalented drove me to re-examine
myself and seek a better future for myself and my community. I
believe that I can use this knowledge to improve what I love
most: engaging in motivational talks and speeches.

5. Military leaders often exert high command to their
followers (Taylor & Roscoe, 2010). What holds me back from
achieving my dreams is the fear that I may fail in the process.
Being an individual who has held a leadership position in the
military for a long time, seeking ways of doing things without
leadership privileges in a different environment, sends feelings
of fear and uncertainty. The task of engaging in motivational
talks and encouraging current military personnel to improve
their skills and work hard is not also easy, since it requires
constant research and practice.
One of the problems that I faced that shut down my mind was
the loss of a soldier. This is because it killed my motivation to
continue to lead my unit. I found myself in a situation where it
was hard to put on a face of strength when I know that there is
nothing different that I could have done to avoid this problem.
On one occasion, I proposed to my colleagues that we go to
engage in a constructive discussion and listening to encourage
team cohesion. Managing diversity and team cohesion can
sometimes be challenging (Taylor & Roscoe, 2010). My team
was composed of people from different races, and
disagreements ensued about team composition. It was a tough
issue for me to address since it was likely to attract criticism
from dissatisfy members.
One incident that shut down my open will was a situation in
which I was in problem and I needed assistance from my unit
members. However, being the First Sergeant, the thought of
seeking assistance was like sending a signal that I was
incapable of handling some problems. Captain Abrashoff
defines a good leader does not force his ideas on his juniors but
listens to every person’s opinion on what is the most favorable
way to handle certain situations in order to achieve the best
results (Abrashoff, 2012). Therefore, pride sometimes held me
back from achieving my dreams of becoming a good leader.
References

6. Abrashoff, D. M. (2012). It's your ship: Management techniques
from the best damn ship in the
Navy. New York: Hachette
Hughes, M. J. (2012). Forging Napoleon's Grande Armée:
Motivation, Military Culture, and
Masculinity in the French Army, 1800-1808. New York: NYU
Press.
McMichael, P. (2016). Development and social change: A
global perspective. New York: Sage
Publications.
Taylor, R. L., & Roscoe, W. E. (2010). Military leadership: In
pursuit of excellence.
New York: Read How You Want.
Reflective Journal
1. Current Self: Key Competencies and Accomplishments
As a First Sergeant in the United States Army, I have managed
to realize various accomplishments and competencies. For
instance, during the period that I served as an Operation
Sergeant I presided over the task of disseminating intelligence
information to subordinate units and other concerned
government bodies. Thus, I received the 28th Infantry Division

7. unit award for the important role that I played in providing key
analytical contributions to the intelligence evaluations and
quality control for the troop’s intelligence summary. In
addition, I took the lead in various operations meant at wiping
out terrorist groups and establishments in the Northern part of
Iraq. In the process, I distinguished myself through the efforts
and steps that I took to make sure that my troops effectively
maneuvered through the enemy’s landscape in a timely fashion.
I also performed my duties excellently to ensure that national
and organic assets were well coordinated and to offer up to date
data to my field forces as we moved across the enemy’s
landscape.
Prior to my retirement, I received commendations from many
leaders for the exceptional performance when I showcased my
situational problem-solving and analytical capabilities,
professionalism, as well as integrity in all situations during
operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. On top of that, I have
gained expertise in sticking to safety standards and policies that
have been established in the Department of the Army Safety
Manual. For that reason, I was lauded as one of the sergeants
whose forces reported minimal accidents and safety problems
while in operations. Apart from these skills, I am a competent
diplomat. I hold the view that the concept of diplomacy is in
line with the need to collaborate and encourage participation of
various key parties involved in coming up with and
implementing the operational processes ahead of fruitful
completions.
2. Emerging Self
Being a retired sergeant, I envision myself in a situation where I
will be mentoring others to improve their talents and
capabilities in the military. This requires communication skills,
which I have not fully developed. Discovering authentic
leadership needs devotion to developing oneself (George et al.
2007). My interest in improving my communication skills rests
in the fact that I am likely to actively take part in activities that
require a lot of public speaking. This is because I have received

8. many invitations from my former military units to provide
mentoring lessons to upcoming sergeants. Therefore, I am
looking forward to becoming a good orator. I hold the view that
the key to improving one’s skills is to actively practice
consistently. In the same vein, I look forward to practice the art
of public speaking. One of the ways that I intend to go about
this challenging task is to take the opportunity to express
myself in the best way that I can every time that I am granted
with this opportunity to deliver a speech before a large crowd or
group.
3. The Crack
News of my sudden retirement after many years of service came
with shock and excitement in equal measure. I felt as though I
was shifting from high experience and active service to an
unimagined life of rest with nothing to do. In the process, I was
able to sit down and recollect myself on what I could do with
the remaining period of my life outside active service. It was
from this experience that I rediscover my ability to conduct
research and develop policy recommendations on how to
improve talent and leadership skills in the military. This is
because I believe in resonant leadership that supports others by
creating a positive work environment (Boomer, 2013). Today, I
engage in motivational speaking and researches on effective
ways of improving the efficiency and performance of
extraordinary men and women in uniform.
References
Boomer, L. (2013). Are you a resonant leader? Emotional
intelligence isn’t just feel-good stuff.
It’s about the bottomline. Landscape Management, (8), 24.
George, B., Sims, P., McLean, A. N., & Mayer, D. (2007).
Discovering your authentic
leadership. Harvard business review, 85(2), 129.