Warrior or Survivalist

Let’s look for a moment at the warrior mindset and basic survival instinct. Is it enough for a modern day warrior to be concerned solely with individual and unit survivability? Traditionally warriors have focused on martial skills that would allow them to win the fight and survive in battle.

Today I hear a lot of talk about being a warrior but is not a warrior someone who protects not only himself but his clan, his city, and his people?

It always confuses me when I hear stories about people planning to survive confrontation, emergencies, disasters and crisis only to disregard their friends, neighbors and community during and after the event.

I’m in noway, shape or form dismissing survivalists and preppers but in my book a true warrior is willing to lay down his life for a stranger.

I remember having a conversation with an employee at a hospital and they told me that the emergency room doctor had saved many more people then I had being a police officer and they wanted to know how I felt about that fact.

I explained to them that I understood their position and that I have always held doctors in high regard but I also explained to them that many of the lives I had saved came with a heavy physical and emotional price and on many chaotic occasions I risked my life to save them. I felt that risking my life to save complete strangers was and is the ultimate application of love and service to my community and country and I had never given it a second thought.

Saving lives is the most rewarding and satisfying feeling I have ever known in my 25 years of service and do you want to know something secret? They were all strangers. Yup, they were all unknown to me. Now with that being said, I’ve lost strangers, teammates and friends and we all know this cuts our soul deep but we live strong, pushing onward knowing we gave our all to help save them and we didn’t quite on them in their last moments of life.

There are of course many professions and common people that follow this ethos including but not limited to paramedics firefighters Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Sailors Coasties and Police.

Please make no mistake, we did not choose this profession for the accolades, we’ve chosen this profession because of personal honor and righteous application of good thorough service to our fellow man. So the next time your training or prepping, try to keep your community in mind and lets not forget the strangers who cant survive without us. Be the sheepdog in your community!

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)