Q-Blog #34 It's all about the soldier...

It’s all about the soldier…


In the past few weeks as we began our planning for fall and winter in Iraq one theme has continually repeated itself in conversations, “It’s all about the solider" (and the airman, the sailor, the marine). As we go into our third year supporting our customer’s as they fight this war, we must continue to renew our commitment and focus about why we are here.

As a team, as a group as an individual on the ground in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Africa we are moving toward a more mature environment yet we continually face unexpected challenges. Still, our focus and commitment must remain to those we serve; to bring a little bit of home to this place where death, injury and mayhem are daily realities.

I was asking a couple of folks about their previous experiences in what we call contingency areas…Bosnia, Kosovo, the Gulf War and OIF/OEF. It was incredible to hear stories about what individuals and groups did to insure we provided service and had merchandise available to soldiers. Creating a P/X or B/X out of whatever scraps of wood or metal you could use as shelving or pallets as floors. Stories of how people were dropped out in the middle of nowhere as the only American with a few third country nationals and built a P/X. How you wait for your re-orders of merchandise to come in to camp and how the soldiers line up for hours waiting to come in, they help you stock your shelves then shop and at the end of the day, the merchandise is gone.

We go where you go. That is what we say, it is our motto. It is what we do. And we do go where they go. You will see an AAFES trailer attached to a military vehicle in a military convoy arriving with the troops. If it is not a full blown P/X, or a tactical field exchange , than it is an imprest fund run by the military in areas where civilians are not allowed. You see soldiers carrying their merchandise in AAFES bags as they load up their tanks, Humvees and BlackHawks. We go where they go. It is why we exist.

This is my third time in a contingency area and each time I have been overcome with emotion by the simple “Thank You for being here” from a soldier, airman, marine or sailor. “Thank You”. Who would ever think that two simple words would create the flood of emotion that they do? Ask any person who has served our customer in these locations and they will tell you the same.

Often times, because of the environment we are in, you have to think and do things way outside of the box. You learn to do whatever is needed and when your focus is on the solider and serving them, you do the right thing. You do what you can to get what they want…because each day they go out and risk their lives. Each day you wonder if they will be back. So you do what you must to serve them. It is all about the soldier. And if you think it is about anything else, than you should not deploy. You should not work for this company. That does not mean that each of us does not have our own personal reasons for coming here….for being here. We do. But in the end, what you do in your job, what you do and work toward every day is all about the soldier. Period.

Hoooaah!

Robert