I can’t quite remember his name, it was like Higgins or something. That’s what I’ll call him anyway. We were a bunch of bald-headed privates in our first week of basic training. That sentence sounds funny out of context. The drill sergeants herded us under the tower we just repelled from for our next task, a high up obstacle course of ropes and nets that made my stomach flip upside down, in a good way.

Higgins looked like he was gonna curl up and die. He stood barely over five feet tall, if that, and was skinny enough that the ugly glasses on his nose were his only distinguishing feature. The recruiter who brought him in must’ve really wanted that office backpack for good numbers or something, because this kid was never meant for the army. Weak body, zero resolve, you’ve gotta admire signing your life away but service should never be open to some people, especially an MOS like combat engineer. Brawn, assertiveness, confidence, all void in little Private Higgins. Maybe there’s a little circle of laughing recruiters in Hell somewhere. I can see it.

The drill sergeants showed us how to do the course by doing it themselves, leading in patronizing example. I remember feeling a little overwhelmed, Basic was emotionally exhausting. I held my motivation close, though. Just home from living in South America and the craziness of that experience, I felt like I could conquer anything. I wanted to conquer everything.

Higgins looked like a turtle without a shell that day. The drill sergeants took advantage, identifying him as the weakest member of the hundred-something group. 

“Higgins! You’re first! Get up that rope!” [Edited and paraphrased for language]

The rope came down from a near vertical wooden wall that led to the rest of the obstacles. He grabbed hold and tried to climb. His arms trembled after a couple of feet and he stumbled down. He tried to mumble about not being able to do it, but the sound had a hard time getting out of the shaking frame wearing camo.

Fast forward a few attempts, the biggest drill sergeant shook the ground as he stomped and screamed at the shaking private. “Higgins! I’m coming up behind you, and you do not want me to catch you!”

We’d felt the drill sergeant’s hands before. The man was an ox of a human. He looked like he was birthed straight out of an 80’s action movie or a Gears of War video game. I still have a couple scars on my hip from where he tightened my repelling harness. “RUN HIGGINS! CLIMB!” We screamed in fear for his life.

Higgins took to the rope like an Olympian, climbing with a strength he never knew he had. He did every obstacle with little hesitation, but quaking from shaved head to foot with the storm of a screaming real life action star thundering through the obstacles behind him. “I’m gonna get you Higgins! Don’t you dare stop!”

The little private reached the bottom of the course in the glory of our cheering enthusiasm. We all couldn’t wait to get through the course ourselves. Suddenly it looked fun. It was also near time for chow and we wanted to finish and eat. Those ten minute meals were valuable. But that was some of the most pride of ever seen in someone’s eyes. The victory of little Higgins.

There’s a moral to this story, and the reason I’ve been thinking about it. The scope of a person’s capability is only as strong as whatever is lighting his/her hind-parts on fire. Sometimes, a little tough love is the best thing you can do for someone.

Fin