Why We Fight

[♠SARKID♠]

I just finished watching the movie "World Trade Center".  For those who have not seen it, it follows the stories of 2 port authority police officers trapped in the rubble of the towers.  A substory in the film follows an ex-marine (John) who goes to the towers to do his part in the search.  He had a line that really moved me.

John - "I've gotta go down there."
Pastor - "Where?"
John - "New York."
Pastor - "You cant, they're only letting emergency services in there."
John - "I spent my best years with the Marines.  God gave me a gift to be able to help people; to defend our country.  I feel him calling on me now for this mission."
Pastor - "Then why don't you listen?"
John - *Nods*

It made me wonder why ES personnel do what they do.  Not just CAP, but firefighters, police, the military, everyone.  To quote another movie, Ladder 49, Chief Kennedy has a very memorable line.
"People are always asking me how is it that firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is running out. Courage is the answer."

What motivates you?  Why are you a part of an organization like CAP?

My answer is simple.  I want to help people.  I want to be able to say that I put someones life before my own, and that I truly did something heroic.  I want to be the guy who saved a pilot from the burning wreckage of an aircraft, or someone who brought aide to hundreds of hurricane victims, or brought home a three year old to her parents after she had been missing in the woods for a week.  I come from a line of lifesavers.  My dad is a firefighter and EMT, my brother is a firefighter, my stepmom is retired police, my cousin is a fire chief, my other cousin is an EMT, my uncle is retired AF, and every other cousin on my dad's side has done time in Iraq.  My whole family has done something to save somebody and I want to have the opportunity to do so too.

"If somebody was to write a book about your life, would anyone read it?"

[Flying Pig]

Ive have thought about this question off and on over the years. My time with CAP has been limited until the past few months.  When I was on SWAT, there was no greater adrenaline rush then to have my pager go off. .   There is something surreal about getting all geared up and walking past your fellow officers and into the perimeter with your non SWAT partners patting you on the shoulder whispering "Go get 'em". I enjoy the comraderie that usually accompanies people like us.  There is something about being part of a team where all I have to do is look at your facial expressions to know what you are thinking.  The aspect of watching another team member not think twice about going through a door because he knows your right off his shoulder watching his blind spot.  The trust of giving the thumbs up to your team leader and having him not question you because he knows you did it right.
Tying a Double Loop figure 8 and watching your partner hook in for a helo extract off of a cliff and noticing he did not hesitate to hook into a knot he didnt tie.

On your dream of being able to rescue someone. There are those who dream of wealth, power, fame, prestige.  You are someone who dreams of saving somoenes life.  It doesnt get any better than that.  I say train, train, train. When your time comes, you will only get one chance. In our line of work its not a matter of if, its when.  I actually had the opportunity as a police officer to rescue someone from a burning car.  The driver was actually on fire.  The sad thing was, I was standing at the door prying it with pry-bar and I couldnt get him out.  Ive been at a bedroom window breaking out the glass to get in as a husband executed his wife in front of their children, then put the gun in his mouth.  Who knows, maybe we kept him from killing the kids.  Although we dream of the big call, your day may come but all the training in the world won't matter.  You just never know.  You wont do anything heroic on purpose.  It will just happen. Heros aren't people who run blindly into situations.  Heros are people who know the danger and still make the decision to go.

Why do we do it?   I think its about being part of the solution.  The conditioning, being alert.  Being the sheepdog and not the sheep.  I think its just a part of our make up.  I dont think its something that can be taught.  You either have the drive or you dont.  When your day comes you will be the vote that breaks the tie.  You may be a seasoned vet, or one day off training.

[mikeylikey]

Why do I do it?  I am a firm believer that every person has a duty to serve their country for an unwritten time period.  I don't care if you are a police officer, fireman, postal worker, volunteer park ranger, military person etc.  Everyone has a responsibility to this country to make sure it continues to exist.  I would support a mandatory 2 year "service obligation" for every single kid graduating High School.  "Service obligation" is not necessarily the military, but anything that benefits the country.  I also am a firm believer in bringing back a limited draft for both men and women.  But that is my idea, will differ from everyone Else's.

[Pylon]

Service to one's country is certainly applaudable; people do it for a variety of reasons.  Classes in psychology (and to a lesser degree, sociology) would give you a better understanding of some of those reasons.

As was aptly pointed out, service to one's country isn't necessarily military service.  It might take the form of other positions of public service, including law enforcement, EMS, fire, Peace Corps, volunteer community service, etc.

Many people have been advocates of a U.S. Public Service Academy or similar sort of public sector/civilian service institution akin to the military academies.  It's an idea that does hold a lot of merit and is worthwhile of consideration and further concept development.

[mikeylikey]

Many people have been advocates of a U.S. Public Service Academy or similar sort of public sector/civilian service institution akin to the military academies.  It's an idea that does hold a lot of merit and is worthwhile of consideration and further concept development.

I seriously hope that we see a public service academy created withing the next 10 years.  If you took everything military (fighting and tactics) out of the military academies today, you would have an awesome leadership school.  One might even say lets send people to the service academies, split them into two groups (military cadets, and public service cadets) when the military cadets go to law of war class, the public service students would go to public service law class.  (I just made that class up, not sure what classes would be taught).  No reason we could not use what institutions are already in place.

[Pylon]

I seriously hope that we see a public service academy created withing the next 10 years.  If you took everything military (fighting and tactics) out of the military academies today, you would have an awesome leadership school.  One might even say lets send people to the service academies, split them into two groups (military cadets, and public service cadets) when the military cadets go to law of war class, the public service students would go to public service law class.  (I just made that class up, not sure what classes would be taught).  No reason we could not use what institutions are already in place.

Some people are working hard towards this goal:
http://uspublicserviceacademy.org/USPSAproposal.pdf

[mikeylikey]

I seriously hope that we see a public service academy created withing the next 10 years.  If you took everything military (fighting and tactics) out of the military academies today, you would have an awesome leadership school.  One might even say lets send people to the service academies, split them into two groups (military cadets, and public service cadets) when the military cadets go to law of war class, the public service students would go to public service law class.  (I just made that class up, not sure what classes would be taught).  No reason we could not use what institutions are already in place.

Some people are working hard toward this goal:
http://uspublicserviceacademy.org/USPSAproposal.pdf

Mike, thanks!  That is a good read.  However the following stands out (almost insulting)

Why not create a ROTC-type program that could be instituted at colleges around the country?
The military's ROTC program is an effective supplement to its officer training at the academies, but it is precisely that: a supplement, not a substitute. The military academies serve as flagship institutions for leadership development, and they offer an intense culture of service that is hard to replicate on other campuses. Without the military academies, the armed forces would lose an essential part of the spirit and culture that make the American military such an effective fighting force. If we want our civilian institutions to be similarly effective, we should provide an institution that develops future citizen leaders with a similarly intense service experience. Following the ROTC model would be expensive and unwieldy, and the government could not replicate the intensity and hard-core culture on hundreds of traditional college campuses across the country. More importantly, refusing to create a Public Service Academy sends the message to our young people that public service is somehow less important, less legitimate, or less
patriotic than military service. Strong civilian leadership is as essential to our nation's long-term strength as military leadership is, and the federal government must provide a civilian institution on par with the ones created for the military.

Reading the document, I get a funny feeling.  This is not what I was expecting when I thought about a "Public Service Academy".  I thought the graduates who leave the Public Service Academy would be placed in middle management positions in the Federal Government just like Military Academy graduates are placed in Middle management in the Military.  Instead, this group proposes that graduates could go off and teach or be police officers.  I think we do not have a problem recruiting police or teachers in most communities.  I was hoping that these graduates would be the the ones who would eventually work their way into the SES of the Federal Government.  They would eventually be the leaders in civil service. 

As far as what they wrote about ROTC, that program produces more Officers each year than the Academies combined.  ROTC also produces the Citizen-Soldier, Citizen-Airman, and Citizen Sailor that our modern military is based on.  Once we moved to the "ALL-Volunteer" military, the services changed to the "citizen-soldier" system.  No one is forced to be a professional soldier or airman or sailor anymore.  Military Officers need the well-rounded education and experience that college and university life provide.  Anyway, that is my only two gripes about the entire document. 

I would support the initiative if they changed the model slightly and put the graduates into the federal Government, or at the least, State Governments.

[thefischNX01]

I'm in it for the money. 


Kidding.....

I think that it's the people.  I have made more friends in my 3 years in CAP then my 3 years in college.  I think that's because there is a similar goal within CAP as opposed to the College life, of which there are as many goals as there are individuals.  Even in my Fraternity there are different people with varying interests.  I am the only one who is a pilot, and only one other person has any interest in aviation.  Yet in CAP, there is usually a shared love of Aviation and helping people.  As a result, there is an instant camaraderie that develops and makes you feel at 'home'. 

But what makes me drive 3 hours across the state in the middle of the night when I get the call there's a mission?  I think that it's a unique thing that makes us human; a willingness to put yourself on the line to save someone else.  It's a romantic image; a man or woman rushing into a dangerous situation to save another, but it's one that has a basis in reality.  I just know that if I was lost, I'd want someone looking for me.  I figure it's worth it to return the favor. 

[aveighter]

Why not create a ROTC-type program that could be instituted at colleges around the country?
The military’s ROTC program is an effective supplement to its officer training at the academies, but it is precisely that: a supplement, not a substitute. The military academies serve as flagship institutions for leadership development, and they offer an intense culture of service that is hard to replicate on other campuses. Without the military academies, the armed forces would lose an essential part of the spirit and culture that make the American military such an effective fighting force.

My two AF ROTC grad active duty sons would have something to say about that.

The service academies are tremendous institutions but they are not the be all and end all.  The younger one actually chose a 4 year ROTC scholarship over an academy appointment after a visit to Colorado Springs.

[flyboy]

While I think it's good for us to feel good about our CAP service I think we have to be cautious about too much patting ourselves on the back.  A lot of people doing  a lot of different jobs save lives. I used to work in an ER and think that the things we did there were miraculous. I felt like I worked with heros, but one of the Docs point out to me one day that we really made very little impact compared to the garbage man.  Likewise with the plumber or the guy who runs the sewage treatment plant.  The disease that is prevented by modern sanitation has saved far many more lives than all the physicans in the world, yet few people seem to look up to the folks who do the dirty jobs.

[Slim]

Ive have thought about this question off and on over the years. My time with CAP has been limited until the past few months.  When I was on SWAT, there was no greater adrenaline rush then to have my pager go off. .   There is something surreal about getting all geared up and walking past your fellow officers and into the perimeter with your non SWAT partners patting you on the shoulder whispering "Go get 'em". I enjoy the comraderie that usually accompanies people like us.  There is something about being part of a team where all I have to do is look at your facial expressions to know what you are thinking.  The aspect of watching another team member not think twice about going through a door because he knows your right off his shoulder watching his blind spot.  The trust of giving the thumbs up to your team leader and having him not question you because he knows you did it right.
Tying a Double Loop figure 8 and watching your partner hook in for a helo extract off of a cliff and noticing he did not hesitate to hook into a knot he didnt tie.

On your dream of being able to rescue someone. There are those who dream of wealth, power, fame, prestige.  You are someone who dreams of saving somoenes life.  It doesnt get any better than that.  I say train, train, train. When your time comes, you will only get one chance. In our line of work its not a matter of if, its when.  I actually had the opportunity as a police officer to rescue someone from a burning car.  The driver was actually on fire.  The sad thing was, I was standing at the door prying it with pry-bar and I couldnt get him out.  Ive been at a bedroom window breaking out the glass to get in as a husband executed his wife in front of their children, then put the gun in his mouth.  Who knows, maybe we kept him from killing the kids.  Although we dream of the big call, your day may come but all the training in the world won't matter.  You just never know.  You wont do anything heroic on purpose.  It will just happen. Heros aren't people who run blindly into situations.  Heros are people who know the danger and still make the decision to go.

Why do we do it?   I think its about being part of the solution.  The conditioning, being alert.  Being the sheepdog and not the sheep.  I think its just a part of our make up.  I dont think its something that can be taught.  You either have the drive or you dont.  When your day comes you will be the vote that breaks the tie.  You may be a seasoned vet, or one day off training.

I'll echo these same sentiments from the fire and EMS side of the street.

I can't even begin to describe the rush I get when I'm crouched at the door, line in hand, ready to go in.  The inside of a burning building is more hostile than anything man-made.  Heat (upwards of 1500 degrees at the ceiling), smoke, noxious gases; all things that can kill you without warning.  The sound of your breathing in the air mask, the pounding of your heart, heightened senses.  And knowing that you're going to be the one to go in and beat the animal into submission.  Knowing that your brothers and sisters on the line behind you aren't going to leave you, that they'll die themselves trying to save you if something happens.  Above all else, I enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I tamed nature.

The same goes in the EMS world, to a lesser intent.  To have someone tell you what's wrong with them, evaluate the signs and symptoms, and know what's going on, sometimes just by looking at them.  It's glancing at your partner and knowing that s/he's thinking the same thing, and knowing what he's going to do and say.  I had a partner I worked with so long that we completed each others thoughts and sentences.

The camraderie is what keeps me in it, and the chance to make a difference.  I have saved lives, five to be exact, and there is no greater feeling than knowing that someone is walking the face of this Earth because of something you did.  But it's the hundreds, if not thousands, of people that I've touched in my career, that make a difference to me.

[PaulR]

Why do I do it?  I am a firm believer that every person has a duty to serve their country for an unwritten time period.  I don't care if you are a police officer, fireman, postal worker, volunteer park ranger, military person etc.  Everyone has a responsibility to this country to make sure it continues to exist.  I would support a mandatory 2 year "service obligation" for every single kid graduating High School.  "Service obligation" is not necessarily the military, but anything that benefits the country.  I also am a firm believer in bringing back a limited draft for both men and women.  But that is my idea, will differ from everyone Else's.

I agree with you word for word.  Bring back some of FDR's New Deal programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), and the  Civil Works Administration.  People take things for granted when they are simply handed down to them.  I feel that the benefits of this fine nation are best relished when earned.

[mikeylikey]

Why do I do it?  I am a firm believer that every person has a duty to serve their country for an unwritten time period.  I don't care if you are a police officer, fireman, postal worker, volunteer park ranger, military person etc.  Everyone has a responsibility to this country to make sure it continues to exist.  I would support a mandatory 2 year "service obligation" for every single kid graduating High School.  "Service obligation" is not necessarily the military, but anything that benefits the country.  I also am a firm believer in bringing back a limited draft for both men and women.  But that is my idea, will differ from everyone Else's.

hmmm.....perhaps those that "collect" welfare and food stamps, and never have worked a day in their life, would be a good candidate for forced labor.  I mean come on, work for food.  If you can't then they should take your 12 babies away from you!  Most of those people are just buying crack or booze.  Ya.....if you receive supplemental income from the FED, you should not be allowed to buy alcohol or cigarettes!  The whole welfare system as it is now.....SUCKS!  Put the masses to work, for food, not FREE $$$! 

I agree with you word for word.  Bring back some of FDR's New Deal programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), and the  Civil Works Administration.  People take things for granted when they are simply handed down to them.  I feel that the benefits of this fine nation are best relished when earned.