There is no honor in sending men to die for something you won't even fight for
yourself.
Don't just live, but live for a purpose bigger than yourself. Be an asset to your family, community, and country.
I learned there that the key was first to prioritize all the individual stressors and then act. I break it all down into the little things I can manage. The stressors that I can't affect, I don't worry about. The ones I can affect, I simply deal with one at a time.
Staying in my three-foot world became a mantra for me. It is liberating once you let go of the things you can't control. It seems to work for just about any situation.
The rule is, “When in doubt, load it out.” Of course the more you carry, the greater a toll it takes on your body, the slower you move, the harder it is to react quickly to a threat.
We were tools in their toolbox, and when things go well they promote it. They inflate their roles.