DAVENPORT, Iowa. -- A First Army officer is passing the lessons he has learned in the military onto area youth.
Maj. Jason Anthony, First Army medical operations officer, was among those addressing eighth grade boys during Martin Luther King Jr. Mentorship Day on Thursday at St. Ambrose University. Anthony became involved with this event due to his membership in the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, one of the event sponsors.
Mentorship Day was held in a roundtable format, where men detailed their experiences, successes, and mistakes with boys who had the chance to dialogue by asking questions and talking about their plans.
"We discussed competence, determination, and the importance of seeing things through," said Anthony, a native of Gadsden, Ala. "We also discussed perseverance and personal responsibility. They established goals for themselves and the best ways to achieve them."
Anthony learned the importance of passing values onto the next generation from a high school teacher.
"One of my first mentors was retired Lt. Col. Carl Harrison, a JROTC instructor," Anthony recalled. "He tested my ability to persevere, he was open and honest with me, and allowed me to speak my mind, and was not afraid to correct me. I believe it's important to have male mentors working with young men and boys."
A key lesson from Harrison that Anthony passed onto the Davenport area eighth graders was the importance of not taking shortcuts. "I try to maintain that," he said. "It's much more difficult to reach the top if you decide to skip steps. Take one step at a time. If you skip steps, you're likely to fall back."
While Anthony and other men were there to mentor, the talk was intended to be two-way.
"They were receptive, and it fit into the lines of military doctrine and messages, because I'm very adamant about the training, teaching, coaching, and mentoring philosophy," Anthony said. "In doing so, I try to be patient, to individualize discussions, and make sure whoever I'm speaking with has my full attention. I want to hear what they say. It needs to be an interactive conversation."
And it was just that, he added. "They were initially reluctant, like most teenagers would be, but after the discussion started to take root and they realized we were not there to lecture, they began to dialogue and speak up," Anthony said.
Interaction like this can be crucial for boys that age, according to Anthony: "They need someone there to reiterate what's right and what's wrong and also give them flexibility to make their own decisions. They are getting to the age where it is their decisions that affect them the most."
His military experiences were in line with the message he delivered. "The Army Values are a cornerstone of mentoring youth," he said. "The LDRSHIP (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage) has been a huge part of my life and I find it easy to relate them to others. The military has seen a very big push for mentorship, with senior officers and senior NCOs reaching down and making themselves available to junior enlisted Soldiers and junior officers. I believe that is imperative, and the same principle was applied yesterday."
Anthony added it is important to contribute to the Quad Cities, which First Army Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, has cited as one of the most military friendly he's ever experienced.
"We need to give back, reaching out to the community with dialogue and actions," Anthony said. "You should reach outside of your organization and be active in the community.
For both community outreach and mentoring, the day was ideal, Anthony said: "You not only learn about yourself a little bit more, but you become a conduit for someone else's improvement. Functions like the Martin Luther King Jr. Mentorship Day are a perfect way to go about that."
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