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Ssg Frazier Legacy

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In this paper, I will be explaining what a legacy leader is and the impact one specific leader had on my career and the Army. In December of 2011 I reported to Joint Base Lewis-McCord and was assigned to 1/17 IN BN part of 2nd Striker BDE Combat Team. I had arrived at a unit that was preparing for a hard deployment to Afghanistan after a vigorous training cycle. I had walked in to my office to meet the team I would be leading into a combat zone that had zero experience, except for SSG Frazier that had a “been there done that” attitude. SSG Frazier was not as focused as a leader should be when prepping for a deployment with new Soldiers. The area that our unit would move to was the area that the Taliban was founded by Mullah Omar in Zhari District Southern Afghanistan (RC South). I had to quickly adjust to a high operation temp of a unit getting ready to deploy with little to no experience. After meeting SSG Frazier, I decided to meet the BN Commander and CSM to get a better understanding of the mission and expectation from the leadership. When I …show more content…

He showed me that if I shared my own mistakes with my soldiers, it would mitigate them from making the same mistakes I had made as a young soldier. I realized that talking to the soldiers at their level and giving examples of my accomplishments and failures instilled a certain trust and understanding. We all, as Soldiers, make mistakes; but we are not defined by the mistakes we make but by the actions we take afterward to improve ourselves as Soldiers. Great leaders are not defined by their accomplishments, but by the positive effect they have on their soldiers and the Army as a whole. CSM Dotson embodies what a leader is by upholding high standards, being honest and humble as well as effectively communicating to all Soldiers, enlisted and officers alike. I can only hope to follow his legacy and leave my own

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