Photo By Senior Airman Coda Doyle | Officer Kevin Valentine, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, and his son,...... read more read more
Two days before the 59th Presidential Inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden, I entered the public affairs office in the basement of the District of Columbia National Guard Armory. Just outside of the door, I heard a young private first class from the Tennessee National Guard on the phone with his child.
“I’m sorry I can’t be there,” he said. “But I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. I’ll be back home soon. I love you.”
Troops being called away from their families is a part of the job that is readily embraced by service members, albeit with great difficulty.
As a reserve force, National Guard men and women lead both civilian and military lives. Most National Guard members maintain full time, non-military employment. These citizen-Soldiers and Airmen have the benefit of leading relatively normal lives with their families – until they receive the call to duty.
More than 25,000 Guardsmen received that call this year to support the peaceful transition of power, during one of the most challenging times the nation has faced. The National Guard has a historic role in participating in presidential inaugurations dating back to George Washington. During the 59th Presidential inauguration, the National Guard assisted federal and local partners to help ensure a safe, secure and orderly inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala D. Harris.
In his inaugural speech, President Biden said, “In another January in Washington, on New Year's Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. When he put pen to paper, the President said, ‘If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.’ My whole soul is in it. Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this….”
When Biden said, “…my whole soul is in this…” in reference to uniting the nation, I immediately thought of the private first class, a young father, who didn’t say the words, but demonstrated with his actions that his whole soul is indeed in this – as are the souls of tens of thousands of other National Guard members, their families, their employers and a community grateful for their service.
One can't put one’s soul into something by oneself – it takes partnership and support of a common goal.
The Family
Family support is a part of the equation that equals one’s whole soul. I come from a family of service members. My father, an Army veteran, has found service after service as a police officer with the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
My father, who is a part of a civil disturbance unit, was one of MPD officers who were initially called to clear the U.S. Capitol building of rioters on Jan. 6. When I learned that the Capitol was cleared, I called him to check in on how he was doing. He was in the rotunda of the Capitol. Seeing him there with riot gear on was complicated, to say the least, but what made it even more complicated was when in the middle of our conversation he had to drop the call.
He’d made the mistake of rubbing his eyes. This reactivated the effects of the bear spray that the rioters used against him and his unit.
“Son, I’ve got to call you back,” he said. He dropped the call and flushed his eyes with water.
A couple of days later, while I was doing my rounds at the Capitol with my unit, I heard someone call out, “Junior!” It was my dad. We were both supporting the mission of protecting the Capitol and the peaceful transition of power – my father as an officer with MPD and me as a public affairs noncommissioned officer with the District of Columbia Army National Guard.
We captured the moment with a photo in front of the Capitol.
My father, and others in his unit, were later exposed to COVID-19 and had to quarantine. They were not able to work on the day of the inauguration, but his whole soul and my whole soul was in it.
I was raised that way, and I imagine the child of the private first class is being raised in a similar vein.
The Employer
Employer support is integral to allowing one to put one’s whole soul into the service to the nation.
On Jan. 6, I requested an alternate shift from my full-time employer, in order to respond to the call of the D.C. National Guard. My government lead, Danielle Nicholson, immediately approved it and offered her support for however long the orders were to last.
Another one of my leads and “work mom”, Jane Tyson, announced in a virtual meeting with a couple dozen attendees, “Whenever you meet with Kevin, make sure to use the video chat,” she said. “We all need to be able to see him and look at his eyes to make sure he’s getting enough rest.”
I received countless phone calls and emails of thanks and support for the work of the National Guard. I experienced what it means for an organization’s whole soul to be behind supporting the work of service members.
The Community
The National Guard received an outpouring of support from the community during this latest mission when National Guard units from all 54 states and territories were activated. This support was most often expressed through food. I don’t know that any Soldier or Airman has ever been so well fed.
Many people and organizations donated food that, at any given time, the drill floor of the D.C. Armory was filled with Soldiers and Airmen eating donated food from so many local restaurants, it was difficult to keep up with them all.
“Very often we are able to do the work we do because there’s always somebody from the National Guard that helps us with a truck to cross over a river; that in the middle of a hurricane help us with a helicopter to come to a remote location,” said Chef José Andrés, who runs a non-profit organization that responds to emergencies and natural disasters with food and water.
“We’ve been working together without realizing for many years and right now we are very happy that we are able to be next to you, supporting your efforts in Washington, D.C.,” Andrés said.
Guardsmen were even fed by members of Congress. It’s not often that elected officials buy food and hand-deliver it to service members.
Community members left signs at traffic control points, welcoming the National Guard to D.C. and thanking National Guard members for showing up.
Despite times of great difficulty, during this solemn mission, we were able to capture a glimpse of what it looks like for a nation to have its whole soul in this.
I can’t speak for all National Guard members, but I think many would agree that we’ve never been prouder to be in the National Guard than during this mission. We were called to protect the Capitol and ensure a peaceful transition of power.
I can’t speak for all National Guard members, but I think many would agree that we’ve never been more thankful for the support and understanding of family, employers and a grateful community who all worked together to allow us to put our whole souls into this mission.
Thanks.
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2021 19:04 |
| Story ID: | 387442 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON DC, DC, US |
| Web Views: | 308 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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