Shinseki reflects on inspiring tomorrow's leaders during Moral Leadership Luncheon

Service members, civilian employees and community members packed into Fellowship Hall at Memorial Chapel on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base-Myer Henderson Hall Oct. 1 for the quarterly Moral Leadership Luncheon with special guest speaker retired U.S. Army Gen. Eric Shinseki.

JBM-HH Commander Col. Mike Henderson said that preventing domestic violence strengthens both families and the community.

Born in Hawaii about a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor that sparked the United States' involvement in World War II, Shinseki began his military service during the Vietnam War.

"Like others in my generation, I really grew up in Vietnam, which would shape and define my life in unexpected ways," he said. "I never planned on making a career of military service, and yet I ended up spending 38 years in the military."

Shinseki shared anecdotes from his time in Vietnam that illustrated the importance of leaders inspiring those under their command.

When he joined the Army, Shinseki said the U.S. military was in the middle of a massive expansion due to the Vietnam War. This expansion and immediate need for troops meant that many officers had to forego the required officer's training course, causing gaps in basic leadership skills - including a young 2nd Lt. Shinseki.

But Shinseki said he had a sergeant on his first deployment who found him, reserved the galley on the ship they were being transported on and trained him in the skills he would need to survive combat, skills he should have learned in the officer training course.

"I still remember them today," Shinseki said. "You can only imagine what that meant to me as we headed off to combat together ... Were it not for his influence, mine would have been a very short history in uniform."

Shinseki also recounted an incident during his second tour in Vietnam. He was commanding troops and one of his Soldiers - a sergeant - refused to go on a nighttime ambush. According to the Soldier, a newly assigned squad leader - the beneficiary of accelerated promotion programs - was unprepared for his rank.

"I could have recommended this young Soldier for court-martial," Shinseki said. "But he was the one person who figured it all out."

So Shinseki said he led the ambush himself, with the Soldier at his side. That way, Shinseki avoided punishing a bright and courageous service member, but he also didn't have to undermine the squad leader or sow the seeds of doubt and dissention in the ranks, he said.

The moral of the story? Decisions made at higher headquarters can induce great risk for those troops on the ground, Shinseki said.

"We who grew up in Vietnam have some appreciation for what young people and their families are going through in the military today," Shinseki said. "Vietnam was our test of stamina, will and determination."

Service required tough, uncompromising leadership to lead the Army out of Vietnam, just as it will take leaders to lead the force out of Iraq and Afghanistan and into the future, he said.

"It will take leadership to hold the force together," he said. "Equipment can be rebuilt, new acquisitions can be made; the Army will heal itself materially. But its resilience will require leadership."

He urged current leadership to talk to young officers and enlisted members, because those Soldiers will be the leadership of tomorrow.

"If you don't, they'll be lost to someone else's division - Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, Bank of America," he said.

Shinseki concluded his remarks with the story of Capt. Rocky Versace, an Army officer who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his acts of heroism while a prisoner of war during Vietnam.

"One lone soldier acted with unimaginable dignity, strength and courage in the face of unspeakable torment," Shinseki said. "It should remind all who command that there have always been young Americans like Rocky Versace in their formations, young Americans who rise and do the most magnificent things in the most frightening and painful moments. They represent an idea: no one can train them to act with such heroism... but their leaders can strive to be worthy of their courage and their sacrifice every day."