Walter Cartwright - The Handoff: Preparing the Next Generation of American Warriors

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The Handoff: Preparing the Next Generation of American Warriors

by Walter Cartwright

Copyright 2019 Walter Cartwright

ISBN 978-1-63393-768-0

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.

Review Copy: This is an advanced printing subject to corrections and revisions.

Published by

210 60th Street

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

800-435-4811

www.koehlerbooks.com

INTRODUCTION

Im a young man. In my two decades alive, Ive lived life fast and hard. Im not an expert on combat because Ive yet to experience it, so the bottom line up front is that this book holds no answers about that experience. However, the lessons Ive learned preparing for military service started when I was very young, and its those lessons I will share with you in these pages. Our journey along the warriors path begins long before we know it, and your time before you join the military is critical to building yourself into a resilient, ethical team player.

As a fourth-generation Army officer, I was fortunate to learn from many veterans in my own family. I remember sitting in a car outside of a hardware store with my grandfather, a retired field artillery (FA) officer, when I asked him, with all the ignorance a child can muster, if he had ever killed anyone in Vietnam. He didnt get angry with me. He didnt scold me and tell me never to ask a veteran that question. He simply looked at me and said he didnt know. He said artillery pieces fire at targets that are too far away to see with your eyes. I pressed him further.

Did you ever fire your rifle?

Yes.

So, did you kill anyone with your M16?

He paused, and then he patiently deconstructed his combat experience for me in the gentle, loving way that only a man at peace with himself can do. He told me he didnt know. At night, in the jungle, the enemy had a lot of places to hide and use for cover, and even more complicated was knowing whose bullets were whose when everyone was shooting in the chaos. He ended my interrogation by telling me the enemy sometimes took away their dead and wounded to keep American forces from knowing the results of the firefight.

I was satisfied, and my grandfather was cemented in that moment as my boyhood hero. And he still is, even though hes now traveled over to the other side. Looking back, I think the question I was really trying to ask him was, What was it like? I didnt know what it meant to serve besides what I learned from movies and books. I wanted him to tell me the real deal. I wanted him to guide me down the path he himself traveled when he was younger.

From as far back as I can remember, I knew that I was going to join the military. It was impossible to even consider another option for my future. Two of my great-grandfathers served: one was a career Army Air Corps officer who transition into the Air Force, and the other was a Navy surgeon. Both of my grandfathers served, one a career FA officer (mentioned above) and the other enlisted in the Navy. My father was a career Army infantry officer, my uncle a retired Marine Corps officer, and another uncle retired from US Customs and Border Protection and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wanting adventure and to contribute to my community, in my junior year of high school I joined a local volunteer fire department in a suburb of Southwest Baltimore. As an EMT I responded to heart attacks, strokes, drug overdoses, domestic violence calls, motor vehicle crashes, suicide attempts, choking babies, hypoxic babies, elderly people breaking their hips, and many other emergencies.

After high school, I attended a military college on a scholarship, where I played rugby and traveled around Europe. I studied at Frances military academy, Lcole Spciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, at the Republic of Moldovas Alexandru cel Bun Military Academy, and at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, attending with Columbian cadets from La Escuela Militar de Cadetes General Jos Mara Crdova.

I graduated summa cum laude and as a distinguished military graduate from Norwich University in 2016. I then commissioned into the infantry as a second lieutenant and quickly attended Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course, Ranger School, and Airborne School. A year later I deployed as a rifle platoon leader.

At twenty-three years old I deployed to the Horn of Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As we prepared for our deployment, I took time one day to look across the platoon formation and simply take in the moment. We were young. A motley group of teenagers and twenty-somethings preparing for our first deployment that would take us halfway around the world to a new land, culture, and enemy.

Throughout this book, I position myself not as an infallible know-it-all but as someone who has dedicated a lifetime to preparing for military service and is trying to teach future soldiers the lessons Ive learned. The faster you take what Ive learned and improve upon it, the better you can prepare yourself in ways that took me years to achieve.

The late President Ronald Reagan summed up preserving the great American experiment best: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didnt pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our childrens children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. I have no intention of living in an America that isnt free. This book is a handoff to you, the next generation, so that you will do the same, and do it better.

Your time right now matters. You arent in the military yet, but your time will come. Maximizing the opportunities you have, building strong relationships, and sharpening your mind NOW will better prepare you than just sitting on the couch, drinking energy drinks and eating chips. This book is a call to action, so set high standards and meet them. Demand more from yourself because I guarantee others will demand much of you while you serve. So, keep this conveniently sized book in your back pocket and pull it out when the mood strikes you, or quickly binge-read it and get down to business. Any way will work because, after all, youve got time, and its up to you to decide how to spend it.

I dont make the magic sauce for how to succeed in the military or life. I just have a deep commitment to seeing the next generation defend my freedoms while I drink a beer on my porch, rocking away, watching my grandkids play in peace.

CHAPTER 1

LISTEN TO THE WHISPER

People join the military from all walks of life. Some sort of wind up in the service, pushed by circumstances until the military seems like a good option for a steady job, medical benefits, and opportunities for education. But for some, joining the military has been the aspiration of a lifetimethe end result of conscious decisions leading them right to where they want to be. This book is for those who are beginning their journey as a warrior.

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