Of course, I took offense to his statements and I would always respond by saying something to justify my behavior.
Shortly after high school, I joined the U.S. Army and became a U.S. Army Paratrooper. It took a tremendous amount of courage to be a soldier in an elite unit. Parachuting from airplanes required a great amount of discipline and attention to detail. On several occasions, I attempted to communicate aggressively with my superiors. Each time, I found myself on the receiving end of a stern tongue thrashing or some other form of punishment. It didn't take me very long to become an assertive communicator. I learned that as a young soldier in the military, I wasn't fully allowed to be involved in the decision making process. The orders that I was issued were based upon my superior's experience in dealing with dangerous military situations. I developed the mentality of being a worker bee and executed all of my tasks without asking too many questions or causing any waves. This was the first time in my life that I wasn't in charge or had the ability to influence other into following me. As I climbed the ladder of promotion, I became part of the decision making process. It didn't take me long to convert back to my old ways of being an aggressive communicator. I was a Sergeant who would bark orders and demanded everyone to follow the orders. I can remember on several occasions, I was asked the question, "Why do we have to do this?" I would always respond with saying, "Just do it." .
As the years passed, I have gained a sense of maturity and the unique ability to be aggressive and assertive when communicating with my superiors and subordinate soldiers. If the situation involves the possibility of injury or death, I issue orders in a very aggressive manner and demand that orders be executed promptly with little margin for errors or lateness. I believe in taking the lives of my soldiers very seriously.
