Allow me to introduce US Army Captain Kristina Jordan. Kristina made her way into the hearts and family of H5H after stints with the Buffalo Wild Wings Brand in Buffalo, NY and Las Vegas, NV. She was a server at our Bdubs Limestone Road location in 2014-2015. She was incredible with the guests and her confidence/commitment was unsurpassed. We knew that she was destined for great things, and we are incredibly proud that she made the choice to SERVE this great nation.
She is a BWW loyalist and posts photos quite regularly on social media cooking and eating meals with our amazing sauces and seasonings. I met up with Kristina recently at Limestone BBQ and Bourbon for lunch.
So, here’s the question that I asked her: Why Do you serve?
Hollywood and Recruiting Advertisements represent armed forces service as a glamorous and consistently dangerous occupation. They flash modernized equipment in some intense setting to high-speed music and Soldiers who look like they live in the gym. That is not what it is like to serve nor the meaning of it.
I returned from a deployment to Ukraine in September, freshly divorced, jaded and tired, and once again, I asked myself “why do I serve!?” As a US Army Commissioned Officer, my response could be any number of carefully crafted, leadership-tailored answers. However, as I progress through the ranks, grow more mature, and am introduced to different leadership styles, I realize that I exist to serve others. It seems that this realization should be common sense since “selfless service” is a condition to Army membership.
The Army is governed by rules, regulations and The Army Values. The Army’s definition is “Selfless Service: put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own” (Army Doctrine Publication 6-22 Army Leadership and the Profession). One will be discharged or punished if she or he cannot meet the Army Values.
Sometimes everyone forgets that regardless of uniform and rules, we are all human. And to be human, we all have to serve each other. To serve is synonymous with leadership. Leaders know that they stand on the shoulders of those who serve them. In return, leaders serve those whose shoulders they stand on. Choose to serve because serving is leading to something greater than yourself.
“The highest destiny of an individual is to SERVE rather than rule.”
#SERVE
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