Issue link: https://let.epubxp.com/i/303456
37 www.officer.com May 2014 Law Enforcement Technology LEADERSHIP E very time we teach "The Winning Mind" in the U.S. we begin the class with The Pledge of Allegiance. We ask attendees to remember who we're serving and why as we all recite it together. It's one of the rituals we engage in during training to help nurture our own sense of mission, and that of our students. In the 1990's Dr. William Zieverink was interviewed by my husband Dave Smith on the Law Enforcement Television Network for a video training series on "survival." Dr. Zieverink, now a neuropsychiatrist in Portland, Ore., talked about his research as a young army psychiatrist. He recalled survivors tend to have three common traits: faith in a loving God, a strong family identity, and a deep sense of mission. In talking with Vietnam War POW camp survi- vors, Dr. Zieverink found that the ones who had the strongest sense of mission tended to be the most mentally healthy, as well. These men not only survived, they eventually thrived. This unwavering sense of mission is essential to our ability to survive and overcome adversity. Remember when you first became a cop? You were going to help people, keep the community safe, put your own life in peril to keep the peace. You want- ed to put burglars and drug dealers and child molesters in jail. You were on a mission! How about when you became an FTO, or a detective or a sergeant? Training rookies, solving complex cases, or being a great team leader became your new mission. A sense of mission simply means that your life and what you do matters; that sure sounds like law enforcement, doesn't it? So do we ever lose sight of our mis- sion? Of course! There are plenty of cops who have lost their sense of mis- sion and just see police work as a means to an end; the "end" being a paycheck and maybe a pension. We get burned out, beat up and worn out, and some- times we wonder why we ever put on a gun and badge in the first place. Never let fatigue and cynicism and administra- tive stress negatively impact your ability to win on the street and WIN at life! Don't forget how essential you are. Take a minute to reflect on the role of law enforcement in a free society. People who do not feel safe aren't really free; we protect their property, their communities, and often their lives. Most folks inherently need to trust their law enforcement officers in order to feel secure. In our society we have earned that trust, and the vast majority of us are angered when a bad cop tarnishes all of our badges by violating that. Whether they act like it or not, your community needs you. Think about all the things you've done, or will do, in your law enforce- ment career. If you hadn't been there, who would have helped that battered wife finally leave her husband? W ho would have written that teenager a speeding ticket so that he changed his Rediscover your sense of mission BY SGT. BETSY BRANTNER-SMITH LET_37-38_Leadership0514.indd 37 4/18/14 2:12 PM