Cav unit raises bar for leadership development

By U.S. ArmyApril 2, 2015

Cav unit raises bar for leadership development
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Retired Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris, a wounded warrior, motivational speaker and author spoke at the leadership professional development program's Living Legends series hosted by the 3rd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Di... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cav unit raises bar for leadership development
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Retired Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris, a wounded warrior, motivational speaker and author gets inducted into Order of the Spur after speaking to Soldiers with the 3rd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Feb. 9 at Fort... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cav unit raises bar for leadership development
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Retired Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris, a wounded warrior, motivational speaker and author spoke at the "Living Legends" series of the 3rd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division's leadership professional development progra... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cav unit raises bar for leadership development
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Retired Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris, a wounded warrior, motivational speaker and author, used short anecdotes and jokes in between his stories to lighten the mood of the audience Feb. 19 at Fort Hood, Texas. Soldiers in the 3rd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Ar... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HOOD, Texas -- When the 3rd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division decided to create a new leadership professional development (LPD) program, they knew it had to be special.

"This is the first of a long series of LPDs that we are going to do in the battalion called 'Living Legends,'" said Cpt. David Rice, a San Antonio, Texas, native and commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Eng. Bn. "The idea being that we have Soldiers out there who have served in the past all the way from World War II to modern conflicts that they have incredible stories to tell. We want to bring them out here to share these stories, so they don't get lost along the way."

This LPD program put both experienced and junior leaders into a class together to help them cultivate new ideas and expand their critical thinking skills.

Their first speaker brought with him a message of resiliency and how he uses humor to overcome adversity -- even after being the only survivor of an improvised explosive attack on his vehicle.

Traveling down an Iraqi road on Feb. 19, 2007, retired Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris described the scene at the massive explosion lifted their Humvee into the air.

"We were traveling as safely and cautiously as we could, and my truck was hit with over 700 pounds of explosives," he said. "It shredded that vehicle."

The immense pressure of the explosion virtually destroyed the entire vehicle, Harris explained.

"When the blast happened, it blew three of the four Humvee doors off, my door being the only one remaining on the vehicle," he said. "The entire top of the truck was blown off and the back hatch with it."

As Harris continued to describe the event that took place, Soldiers sat on the edge of their seats, their unblinking eyes fixed on him, waiting to hear about the actions following the attack.

"There were two blasts," he said. "The first blast was an IED. They figured I was dead. Then a secondary blast, an AT4 [that was stored in the Humvee], exploded inside of the truck and caused a fire ball, which burned me even worse."

Even though Harris suffered multiple severe injuries, he was able to pull himself out of the vehicle and start directing the other Soldiers in the convoy to pull security. He then noticed the Soldiers were staring at him.

"Everyone was amazed that I was still alive and for that matter that I was able to take myself out of the vehicle on my own accord," he said.

Only after seeing his reflection in another Soldier's glasses, did Harris realize how terrible his injuries were.

"I remember looking at my hands," he said. "And my first thought was a little selfish. I was thinking, 'Man, I better get a day off for this.'"

Harris' face cracked into a big smile as laughter filled the motorpool bay.

"I wasn't mentally prepared for all of this [stuff]," he said. "But I'm still trying to be an NCO."

While the wounded were being transported back to base, Harris used his sense of humor to calm another Soldier.

"He was saying 'I just want to go home,'" Harris recalled. "He was freaking out. I said, 'Adam, listen to me. Quit bleeding on me man.' He snapped back to his senses."

"I'm sorry, Sergeant Harris," Adam replied. "Worst day of my life."

From the moment of the attack to the morning where Harris stood in front of the Greywolf Soldiers, he said he experienced many trials where his resiliency was pushed to its limits.

After being transported to the hospital for treatment, he was put into a medically induced coma for 48 days.

Harris underwent a long and rigorous recovery, after having suffered burns more than 35 percent of his body, along with numerous other injuries.

Dealing with these traumatic changes, he described different situations where he was struggling and depressed.

But throughout his time in the coma and his ongoing recovery, his family remained by his side.

While he was describing this chapter of his life, the motorpool bay door opened and Harris' son ran over to join his father in front of the Soldiers.

"My children have played a huge role in my recovery," he said, holding his son Glenn in his arms. "I was thinking of things that I wasn't able to do anymore. It hit me later on that the only thing that mattered was the things I can do."

Harris underwent a long and rigorous recovery, after having suffered burns on more than 35 percent of his body, along with numerous other injuries.

Slowly but surely -- and with the support of his family -- he changed his way of thinking, becoming more optimistic, facing the challenges of his recovery process head on.

"I think his messages go two ways," said Rice. "It's therapy for him, first of all, to share his story. The second part is where the Soldiers out here are taking that message of resiliency and looking at the obstacles in front of them and how they can overcome them."

During his time speaking with the Soldiers, Harris told several stories, including a few funny anecdotes from throughout his ordeal, which highlighted a central theme of bouncing back from adversity.

"I think Staff Sergeant Harris embodies the idea of resiliency," Rice said. "You are not going to find somebody who has gone through as many significant trials and tribulations as he has. He is comfortable with who he is, where he has been, and quite frankly the man that he has become."

At the end of Harris' presentation, Soldiers lined up to shake his hand and to thank him for speaking to them.

"I will never forget him," said Spc. Ju'Ron Proctor, a Soldier who was present for the Legend's story. "He shows a lot of strength."

While shaking hands, Proctor said to Harris, "To see you take everything and be upbeat about it made me look at my situations. If you can do it, it makes me think I can do it in any predicament I might be in."

"You can do it," said Harris. "You can do it, brother."