Living Among Quiet Heroes
I felt so proud to be an American this week. I say this not only because it is true, but because, in all reality, I just haven’t felt proud to be an American much at all in the last few years. Please don’t let that be a commentary on my patriotism, it’s just that everyday life: the cost of gas, insurance and medications, the red tape, the political banter, it’s all kind of wearing on me.
But then I met Pam. As a citizen reporter it’s my job not only to report on the news, but to find the news. In my brief time working in this position, I have found very quickly that the person, who puts a face on the subject, really makes it newsworthy. Hence, Pam Ellison…or should I say, Major Pam Ellison of the National Guard became my newsworthy face this week.
It all started as a point of interest from our Executive Producer: MTV Research has found that 70% of our viewers age 14-24 know somebody who has served in Iraq. Major Ellison answered my email in response to a media request and was more than happy to get me started with a story on her unit, a unit that coincidently is deploying for the second time in two years; this time to Kuwait.
What started out as a simple meet and greet ended up being, for me, a crash course on the military. I am sure that like most civilians, we find the military difficult to understand (I can’t begin to tell you how many acronyms they have!) but Major Ellison explained to me in layman’s terms, not only how the National Guard works, but how it works specifically in this state, and on our island.
The National Guard is made up of men and women who serve in somewhat of a part-time capacity. They have other jobs beside their work with the National Guard, but they serve one weekend a month after their initial training. Additionally, Pam explained to me, “We serve in a three-fold capacity: 1) to the community at large, to serve underrepresented populations, 2) to the governor of the state, when natural disasters are occurring within their state, and 3) to the federal government when soldiers are needed to deploy due to war.
Like you, I was surprised by that first mention. The National Guard in Maui works with junior and senior high schoolers to continue on in their education and provide them with life skills. Major Ellison’s position is to work with these students who are low-income and TANF populations in order to see that they grow up to be able to attend college and lead productive lives. I got to see firsthand the way that this program has affected the small and tight-knit community of Hana, in east Maui, by attending the graduation ceremony of twenty or so, students.
On hand was not only parents and teachers, but the Lieutenant Governor who flew in as keynote speaker, then stayed around after the ceremony to “talk story” with the graduates. The students that I interviewed were proud of their accomplishments and believed wholeheartedly that this program equipped them to be better adults. Otto, a thirteen year old graduate that I interviewed spoke about his studies with enthusiasm, “I learned how to balance a checkbook, manage money and run a household,” he said. “Now I have been accepted to a boarding school on the other side of the island.”
The second capacity of the National Guard is to serve the state when natural disasters have occurred. Just in this last year, the National Guard in Hawaii was sent to serve the community of Kula in upcountry Maui, when floods and mudslides were causing whole houses to tumble down mountains. They brought equipment by the Super Ferry from Oahu to Maui and helped to restore the area and assist the local populace. Not only was their work manual in clearing debris and restoring infrastructure, but the National Guard provided food and clothing to those that needed it during this time.
Thirdly, the National Guard is on hand to be deployed when the country is at war. Major Ellison explained to me that the military attempts to deploy units in five year cycle, but that this Maui based unit had just gotten back from Iraq two years ago, and was being deployed again this fall, this time to Kuwait. I was blown away by the candidness of my four interviewees, all who expressed some nervousness about going, but none of whom complained or seemed disgruntled about leaving behind their families to serve us, the American people, in another country.
In a political year where we are all, daily, being exposed to a not-so-American America, I walked away from my lessons on the military quite changed. I recognized that day-to-day I live and work next to those who have been trained to keep my safety at the forefront of their thoughts and actions. Somehow, over the years I have forgotten the legacy of heroism-how proud I was of the everyday citizens of New York in the wake of 911, our continued fight to see civil liberties expand here and abroad-that was, and is, our America. Major Ellison, a newsworthy story in and of herself, showed me that we are, everyday, living among quiet heroes in uniform.
See the video at: http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF00989DFC001700990EEB/