Image setting goes beyond uniform wear

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Ginger Schreitmueller
  • Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  They were young and in a hurry.

It didn't take much by looking at them to draw a few obvious conclusions. Short haircuts and unit logos on the sweatshirts gave them away. That's what made the events harder to understand.

Maybe they were going home on leave for the first time in a long while. Maybe they had just returned from "over there" and were anxious to be with family. No matter what the underlying need for speed was, those men were in a hurry.

Unfortunately for them, getting the jump on the seatbelt light didn't make the egress line move any faster. The slow down was due to the new parents seated in the first row of the airplane. Packed to the limit with a diaper bags, car seat and stroller, they were loaded down and moving slowly. The baby, all dressed in her holiday finest, couldn't have been more than 2 months old. Mom and dad were making their first trip on a plane with their child and had packed for every imaginable disaster en route.

The young men had managed to bully their way through the plane's aisles, but were now bogged down by the parents. The sound of their exasperated sighs could be heard throughout the plane.

Led by the young parents, the passengers walked toward the terminal. Reaching the stairs to go up, the young men saw their chance. They broke right and took the stairs with full force - nearly knocking over the mom dragging along the tons of baby accessories. Reaching the first landing, they bolted past the dad who was making the first trip up the stairs with stroller and baby in tow.

As I neared the mom, she yelled after them, "Apparently you don't mind serving your country, but lending a hand is another story. Don't they teach common courtesy in the military?"

I apologized for their behavior and offered to lend a hand. She hesitated, but I told her I remember my first airplane flight with my son.

"He was about 6 months old and we traveled from Texas to Guam. I had four times the stuff you have now, and no one helped. I remember the challenge of traveling, especially with a newborn."

She thanked me as I easily grabbed the diaper bag, small suitcase and car seat.

Walking beside me she went on and on about how rude those "military kids" were. At the top of the stairs, the parents thanked me for the assistance adding they wondered why military people were so rude.

I put the baby gear down and extended my hand, apologizing for the behavior of those three young men.

"I hope you don't judge all military people by the poor example of some. I would never have walked past without offering to help. I understand what it's like to travel with a little one, and my parents raised me a little better than that," I said.

I started to walk away, then turned back.

"By the way, I'm a tech sergeant in the United States Air Force, and I hope that's the image you'll remember about military people. Have a great trip and a wonderful holiday showing off the new baby."

Simple courtesy. It's not something unique to the military or the civilian communities. Whether in or out of uniform, things you say and do directly reflect on who you are.

Keep in mind, even out of uniform people can often tell by your dress and appearance that you are a member of the United States Armed Forces. Make sure whatever you do or say, brings the credit to the uniform you wear. (Courtesy Night Flyer News Service)