#makeartillerygreatagain

This morning I left rather early for the Drop Zone. I took the drive a little slower, I sat on the tailgate of my truck, in the dark, overlooking Fort Bragg’s famous Sicily Drop Zone. I watched the sun come up over the DZ. I am sucking in every last drop. This may very well be my last jump as a Paratrooper in “The DIV”, if I am not rehired after CGSC. A CH47 Army Aircraft as my last exit, how special is that? I am trying to take the same care of the moment as I do while watching my young son on his daily adventures in his little life. These moments are special, they are fleeting and numbered. I have now served in the 82 ABN DIV longer then any other unit or organization. I have also lived here in the Fort Bragg area, in the same home, longer then any other place in my life (15 years). Life. We built a life here. A real life. A special life with my wife Kelly, my son Ari, and the Paratroopers, leaders, and friends in this historic site. I was given the command, “GO!” The static Safety lifts her arm out of the way to let me travel down the ramp. I walk off, into the fall. The chute opens at 8,000. Everything goes silent. I look at the canopy then to the Paratroopers around me. It settles and I see it. The sun just peaking over the tree tops. “What a perfect June morning”, I thought to myself. I savored the moment under canopy. It will be my last. The 10,000 things are finally gone, if only for 30-40 seconds. It’s finally calm in my head. I am free. The Fifth Point of Performance is flawless as was the entire jump. I took time after my landing to pack my chute and finally bury my wings on the Drop Zone. It was a little emotional. As I leave, possibly to never return, know this. I was here. I lived it, I loved it, all of it. Every second. The good and the bad. I will find the path back, or I will make one. This is our home. Home. Kelly, Ari, and finally DIVARTY thank you. I love you. Calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de SDNZ, out. #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #DeathFromAbove #319afar #Paratrooper #MassTheFire #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #jumpfightwintonight (at Sicily Drop Zone) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cezdj9SLe0E/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Omaha Beach- Normandy, France. I live a #charmed life, I know that. It is hard oftentimes to keep things in #perspective. Making this trip has really helped re-center me. To truly appreciate what I have, how I live, and the amazing people I surround myself with. I appreciate the #freedom I am afforded and the cost of that freedom. The best part of this trip? I’m here with my friends, close friends, friends that I will have for the rest of my life. People that understand me and I can relate to on very personal levels. In ways that not even my wife could understand, and she knows me the best of anyone in the world. We are making amazing memories together. I love them and I pray they know how much being here with them, to experience this means to me. DIVARTY, a team, a family. Calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de CB55, out. #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #SendIt #DeathFromAbove #redleg #319afar #warfighter #Paratrooper #LiveReady #MassTheFire #OnePercentDaily #leadership #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #WarriorsWanted #ContinuousFlowState #porsche #jumpfightwintonight #canopykid #canopycartel (at Omaha Beach- Normandy, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeUWgUsr6s1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

My 82d cup is overflowing. Words are unable to express my pride and honor to be here at our Mecca. It is truly one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I feel as if now, after making my hodge to Normandy, France, I have finally earned the title, Paratrooper. In a few short days I will have the honor of descending, under T-11 canopy, onto the Drop Zone of the Greatest Generation. If that wasn’t enough, I have also been granted the additional honor of a lifetime. I will be one of the Jumpmasters that will deliver America’s most valuable assets to that Drop Zone. The sons and daughters of our storied Division. I feel as if this is a second home for all of us. The people of St. Mere would also agree. We are intertwined by our mutual history. This privilege I have been afforded ranks second only to the day I married my beautiful wife, and the day my amazing Son was born. It has been one hell of a ride. I feel…complete. Airborne, All the Way! Calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de CB55, out. #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #SendIt #DeathFromAbove #redleg #319afar #warfighter #GMTMaster #Paratrooper #LiveReady #MassTheFire #OnePercentDaily #mission #leadership #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #WarriorsWanted #ContinuousFlowState #porsche #jumpfightwintonight #canopykid #canopycartel #EnterTheFrey https://www.instagram.com/p/CePVOcYrBR5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

“You must realize that fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.” - Will Smith as General Cypher Raige in After Earth The neuroscience is intriguing to me: to what extent is fear hardwired in the brain? Behavioral therapies can successfully eliminate or reduce phobias to specific items or situations, but can one suppress fear in general? Most appear to have limited control over fear. We as Paratroopers face this daily. Fear of exiting the Paratroop Door from a rocking C130 in the middle of the darkness. Into the void and the unknown of what is below, within the serenity of the suspension under canopy. Somehow, we just figure it out. We just “Get Over It”. It becomes our choice to fear it, or embrace it as life. The reminder that we are here, alive, and apart of the universe and our mission. As you know, I love music. The song, “Get Over It” by OK Go is about how life can throw so much at you, but you have to work through your problems and not obsess on them. Not to fear them. Make the choice. Calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de SDNZ, out. #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #SendIt #DeathFromAbove #redleg #319afar #warfighter #GMTMaster #Paratrooper #LiveReady #MassTheFire #OnePercentDaily #mission #leadership #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #WarriorsWanted #ContinuousFlowState #porsche #jumpfightwintonight #canopykid #canopycartel #EnterTheFrey (at Center of the Universe, Ft Bragg NC) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdygNHNLnlJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

In light of recent conversations and e-vents, I looked up the definition of the word lifestyle. In its simplest form: “the way in which a person lives”. Then I looked up the word career and it read “an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life with opportunities for progress”. I am increasingly disinterested in people running around saying they’re leaders based on what they do for a living. They think because they’re in charge of “X” or “Y” they’re a leader. Leadership is far more than an activity based on the position you hold. Leadership is a lifestyle that is part of you 24/7. Leadership is a lifestyle that is part of who you are whether you’re at work or at home changing diapers or taking out the trash. True leadership is not something that is turned on or off like a light bulb. True leadership is not something you can wake up on weekends and decide not to do. A true leader is a leader in everything. This doesn’t mean they’re leading everything.  No, it means they are aware of who they are and the role they may be called on to play at any moment, whether it be helping a neighbor or planning a Joint Forcible Entry (JFE). The person who realizes leadership is a 24/7 lifestyle is the type of person others want to be with. True leaders are those who know the measure of their leadership is not in what they do. It’s in what those around them do. Those who view leadership as an activity are the ones who are typically guilty of big heads and toxic characteristics. Your challenge — and my challenge too — is to not be guilty of activity-based leadership, but rather to be one who makes leadership a true lifestyle. Calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de SDNZ, out. #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #SendIt #DeathFromAbove #redleg #319afar #warfighter #GMTMaster #Paratrooper #LiveReady #MassTheFire #OnePercentDaily #mission #leadership #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #WarriorsWanted #ContinuousFlowState #porsche #jumpfightwintonight #canopykid #canopycartel #EnterTheFrey (at The Shadow Realm) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcT-VdKLieu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Best job I ever had…Calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de SDNZ, out. #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #SendIt #DeathFromAbove #redleg #319afar #warfighter #GMTMaster #Paratrooper #LiveReady #MassTheFire #OnePercentDaily #mission #leadership #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #WarriorsWanted #ContinuousFlowState #porsche #jumpfightwintonight #canopykid #canopycartel #EnterTheFrey (at Sicily Drop Zone) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb7YZS2LVeU/?utm_medium=tumblr

“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.” – Winnie the Pooh I hadn’t seen Matt since 2007. I did the math, that’s 15 years. 15! He texts me one night, out of the blue. He’s here, at Bragg. The center of the universe. He asks, “Do you wanna get together? No is a perfectly acceptable answer.” I can’t believe my old friend would even suggest that I wouldn’t drop what I was doing. I had to see him. I needed to see him. It was good for the soul. It was good for my sanity, loneliness, and overall mental health. We have gone through things together that most only experience in the pages of a novel. Bound by bonds formed as young officers in combat. These bond can’t be broken and neither time nor distance can weaken them. I can promise this right now. It will not be another 15 years before I see my battle buddy, my friend, and ultimately my brother again. I love you my brother. Calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de CB55, out. #friendship #brothers #family #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #SendIt #DeathFromAbove #redleg #319afar #warfighter #Paratrooper #LiveReady #MassTheFire #mission #leadership #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #WarriorsWanted #jumpfightwintonight #canopykid #canopycartel #EnterTheFrey (at Huske Hardware Restaurant and Brewery) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbvx6DrLfsL/?utm_medium=tumblr

Merriam-Webster defines era (noun) as: 1a: a fixed point in time from which a series of years is reckoned. We sat with our backs to each other in silence, working. We turned. We identified the same thoughts, witnessing history unfold before us. We spoke about my early departure for PCS. CB6 told me he was hesitant in sending me home too soon. “Maybe we can all go home together?” It was a question and a statement. This moment in time is NOT lost on us. A historic moment, that we are privileged to be apart of. The time has come to move on. This is marking ‘the end of an era’ for us personally, and for the DIVARTY. We agreed, we need to exhibit “tactical patience.” Taking it one week at a time. It’s also tied to emotion. We are all so close. We spoke about the DIVARTY in whole, including the team back at Bragg. The fact that we’re in the greatest division in the world. That we may never see our beloved division again, once we leave it. For me, Bragg has been home since January 2008. The fact that we have a unit that’s what every unit should be. The right command, the right people, the right culture. A tribe. Time is moving us toward an end point. Time (sigh). We all know what I think about the subject. No, none of it is lost on us. Fortunately, for me & my family it has been decided that I will leave for home a bit earlier than the rest of the Cannonball team (forward). However, I’m not truly be leaving them. A part of my soul will stay with them until they return. Together. We are always together in spirit. A tribe. As I have stated before, “on the Drop Zone, all we have is each other. It’s all we need, it’s all we ever needed, each other.” Airborne, All the Way. Wishing you calm winds & soft landings…we’ll see you on the Drop Zone! de CB55, out. #BeBetter #MakeArtilleryGreatAgain #MakeAirborneGreatAgain #aatw #wetsu #LifeIsTooShortToBeALeg #airborne #SendIt #DeathFromAbove #redleg #warfighter #GMTMaster #Paratrooper #LiveReady #MassTheFire #OnePercentDaily #mission #leadership #BringingSexyBack #TheDivision #WarriorsWanted #ContinuousFlowState #porsche #jumpfightwintonight #canopykid #canopycartel #EnterTheFrey (at Undisclosed Location) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbBMQn1v6eH/?utm_medium=tumblr