By Ismael E. Ortega Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS Public Affairs

As the rest of El Paso was taking it easy on their Saturday morning, nearly 800 mo-tivated individuals ran, jumped and crawled through mud as part of the 5th Annual Old Ironsides Mud Challenge held here Satur-day

Hosted by Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Sports, Fitness and Aquat-ics Department, the popular race has been growing each year with more participants, more obstacles and more mud. This year the course was more than fi ve miles long and had 25 obstacles, not including the 18 that are part of the Air Assault Obstacle Course.

The race opened with some words of encouragement from Medal of Honor re-cipient retired Mas-ter Sgt. Leroy Petry, who gave an anecdote about a pen, tough obstacles in life and how you react. He in-structed the Mud Challengers how to make the pen a breathing apparatus and “suck it up” when the course got diffi cult. The light-hearted words were a fi nal send off before the participants took on the Mud Challenge.

As the race opened with John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme,” Soldiers from the 127th Aviation Support Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Di-vision, led the charge.

“We’ve been getting great feedback. Ev-eryone was loving it this year. The obstacles were challenging and very, very muddy this year,” Tina Lozoya, race co-director, said. “We went and actually got dirt from anoth-er location to bring out there because our biggest complaint that we had in previous years was, it wasn’t muddy enough.”

The race was open to active-duty person-nel, Department of Defense identifi cation holders and civilians. The race was bro-

ken into three waves, leaving every hour starting at 9 a.m. Participants started at the Air Assault Obstacle Course, which was followed by additional challenges spread throughout the course. From young chil-dren to 10-man teams, the Mud Challenge welcomed all participants.

“The course has gotten longer, it’s gotten harder and we put in more obstacles. It’s grown every year,” Lozoya said. “We built on it every year so attendance has grown.”

Volunteers from the 127th ASB, CAB, 1st AD, instructors from the Air Assault

School and per-sonnel from MWR ensured the participants were completing each obstacle safely with water stations were spread across the course.

The course took runners through a series of wet, muddy and physi-cal obstacles that the participants had to run, crawl or work togeth-

er to overcome. This included crawling through pipes submerged in muddy water, taking a dip in a frigid waters and scaling eight-foot walls.

The runners cycled through clean, mud-dy and dirt encrusted clothes like a revolv-ing door as they completed each obstacle the Mud Challenge had to offer. The fi rst 500 people to complete the race received a Mud Challenge shirt to commemorate their experience.

“The participants this year were awe-some, everyone had a really great time. We love seeing smiles coming across their faces, we love seeing the families doing it together,” Lozoya said. “There’s no way we could’ve done this without the support of 127th ASB, as well as our marketing, sponsorship and special events (sections) within the MWR. We all worked together as a team and we made it happen.”

FORT BLISS BUGLE • May 18, 2017 • 1B

Fort Bliss is El Paso andEl Paso is Fort Bliss.

Things to do ...Cool Canyon Nights: Cool Canyon Nights are back. The El Paso Band performs tonight from 6-9 p.m. The event is free at McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre. Patio performances begin at 6 p.m. with headlines at 7 p.m. on the main stage. Craft beers and food truck, vendors, photo booths and more also offered. Free. 534-0600

Alfresco! Fridays: FirstLight Federal Credit Union pres-ents Alfresco! Fridays featuring Brown Betty (classic rock) Friday at 6 p.m. One Civic Center Plaza. Alfresco! Fridays is a free event that showcases top regional talent perform-ing a fun, diverse mix of music including: mariachi, salsa, classic rock, cumbia, tribute, reggae, funk and other more. 534-0600

‘Little Shop of Horrors’: Coronado High School’s Drama Club presents Howard Ashman’s beloved sci-fi comedy musical at 7:30 p.m. today and Friday, and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, at the school’s Lee Ross Capshaw Auditorium, 100 Champions Place. Cost: $7 in advance; $10 at the door. 474-2952

‘A Night in the 40s’: Paso Del Norte Big Band, a 16-piece group, hosts 1940s style dancing and music, 8-11 p.m. Friday at Shundo Ballroom, 120 N. Paragon. The band will play hits from the big band era including Glenn Miller, Harry James, Artie Shaw, Perez Prado, Gene Krupa and more. Cost: $15. 532-2043, 203-7292, music@pdn-bigband.com or Facebook at PDNbigband

Gabriel Iglesias: The “fl uffy” comedian’s “FluffyMania World Tour: 20 Years of Comedy” is 8 p.m. Friday at UTEP’s Don Haskins Center. Age 7 and older admitted. VIP experi-ence available with meet and greet, autographed item and VIP lanyard. Cost: $30-$70 (Ticketmaster).

Art in the Park: El Paso Parks & Recreation Depart-ment’s Spring 2017 arts and crafts fair is 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Memorial Park’s Reserve area, 3100 Copper, with continuous entertainment, food vendors and children’s activities. Admission is free. 240-3325

Patriotic Celebration: The Bruce Nehring Singers present the pre-Memorial Day weekend concert at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 3500 McRae. The 28-member chorus will be accompanied by Bruce Nehring, organ and the brass quintet, with a color guard opening the program. The concert features various patri-otic and sacred songs. Free. 532-5874

EPSYO Season Finale: El Paso Symphony Youth Or-chestras present their 2016-2017 Season Finale Concert on Sunday, at 7 p.m. in El Paso’s historic Plaza Theatre. Led by music director Dr. James O. Welsch, the concert will feature the winners of the 2016 and 2017 EPSYO Con-certo Competition. Cost: $13 for adults and $8 student/senior/military general admission. online at www.epsyos.org or 532-3776

Disney on Ice: ‘Dream Big’: With Tinker Bell as the guide, audiences will follow eight Disney princesses through Sunday at the El Paso County Coliseum, 4100 Paisano. Performances are 7:30 p.m. today through Fri-day, and noon, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Today’s performance in Spanish. Ages 2 and older must have ticket. Cost: $22, $28, $55 and $65 (Ticketmaster). 533-9899, disneyonice.com or countycoliseum.com

Brushstrokes: Join Mickelsen Community Library Sat-urday from 2-5 p.m. for their social art class. This month’s theme for the club is Full Bloom Beauty. The class is open to DOD ID cardholders ages 10 and older. Registration is required. Space is limited to 10 participants, the fee is $15 and it includes all supplies as well as instruction. 568-6156

MYC Paws Party: Bring your friendly pooch out to party Saturday from 1-3 p.m. at Milam Youth Center. You and your best friend will have the opportunity to learn basic commands, practice on the agility course and compete in the doggie fashion show. It’s open to DOD ID cardholders. 744-2449

Wagon Trails Market: The Wagon Trails Market at Old Fort Bliss Replica is back. Enjoy this unique shopping and eating opportunity every Friday from 4-6 p.m. through Aug. 25. There will be vendor opportunities for those inter-ested in selling products or crafts. Food and beverages will be provided by the Old Fort Bliss Chuck Wagon. 588-8482

History Preservation Month: ‘Preserving Our Plac-es’: The National Trust for Historical Preservation has des-ignated the month of May as Preservation Month, dozens of events are planned in El Paso County. For more informa-tion on the events email ronleiman2@gmail.com or shel-leysutherlandsss@gmail.com.

Downtown Artist and Farmers Market: The City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department’s market for area artists and regionally grown agricultural products is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. each Saturday in the Union Plaza District along Anthony Street. 212-1780 or elpasoartsand-culture.org

Garrison command recog-nizes DA civilians ■ 5B

All Army boxing coach teaches deployed Soldiers ■ 11B

WBAMC exceeds patient care benchmark ■ 9B

Old Ironsides Mud Challenge Soldiers, friends and family dive in

Photos by Ismael E. Ortega / Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS Public AffairsSoldiers, service members, friends and family take part in the 2017 Old Ironsides Mud Challenge here Saturday. The Mud Challenge took the participants through a grueling fi ve-mile course fi lled with a series of muddy, watery and physical obstacles to overcome.

“We’ve been getting great feedback. Everyone was loving it this year. The obstacles were chal-lenging and very, very muddy this year.” >> Tina Lozoya

Medal of Honor recipient, retired Master Sgt. Leroy Petry, speaks with the participants of the 2017 Old Ironsides Mud Challenge here Satur-day.

Soldiers, service members, friends and family take part in the 2017 Old Ironsides Mud Chal-lenge here Saturday. The Mud Challenge took the participants through a grueling fi ve-mile course fi lled with a series of muddy, watery and physical obstacles to overcome.

By Jonathan LeBlancFort Bliss Bugle Staff

Deployment can be a challenging time for family and friends of service members. For spouses, taking care of the children, extra tasks and responsibilities around the house is a heavy load to carry. It is also a time of uncertainty and change for children of ser-vice members.

Linda Burns, a counselor at General Co-

lin L. Powell Elementary School here, put together a support group for children with deployed parents.

The Deployment Club was created and each day, students prekindergarten through fi fth grade can meet up and talk with one an-other. The children have found they are not alone and fi nd comfort in seeing others go-ing through similar situations.

“These students are sharing and connect-

ing with each other, talking and discuss-ing their feelings about their parents being gone,” Burns said.

Powell elementary, which is comprised of more than 90 percent military-affi liated stu-dents, defi nitely had a need for a great sup-port outlet such as the one Burns built.

The club has more than 40 students par-ticipating, with new requests coming in reg-ularly.

Burns’ original vision for the club was to have students to write cards and send them out to their deployed family member. But what she saw unfold was something more.

“I think it’s nice for the kids to establish these connections so maybe in the future when they see each other there is familiarity, and even possibly a new friendship, just so they don’t feel alone,” Burns said.

‘Deployment Club’ a source of support for childrenPhotos by Jonathan LeBlanc / Fort Bliss Bugle Staff

Members of the General Colin L. Powell Elementary School Deployment Club share a warm smile for a group photo during their deployment club meeting at lunch May 4.

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2B • May 18, 2017 • FORT BLISS BUGLE

Two students exchange similar experiences regarding deployed family members during the deploy-ment club meeting at General Colin L. Powell Elementary School May 4.

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By Movie FanSpecial to the Fort Bliss Bugle

At its most basic, the story of King Arthur boils down to this: He was a fabled king of Britain in the late fi fth and early sixth centuries, whose legend has grown and expanded over the millennium and a half since. Historically, we don’t know for sure whether Arthur actually existed, but literarily, not only can his existence not be denied, but it cannot be avoided. Tales of the great king and his court, called Camelot, his wife Guinevere, his right-hand-man Lancelot and the rest of the Knights of the Round Table, his wizard Merlin and Arthur’s magical sword Excalibur have been told, retold, changed and embellished over the centuries by books, stage productions and other media, including, of course, television and fi lm.

A countless number of TV shows and movies have ref-erenced the legends and many have used “Excalibur,” “Camelot” and, of course, “Arthur” in their titles. In 2017, auteur Guy Ritchie gets into the game with the action-ad-venture-drama “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (PG-13, 2:06), the fi rst in a series of fi lms reinterpreting the Arthurian legend with Ritchie’s signature creative fl are for reinvention. In launching a new franchise, Ritchie gives us an origin story which expounds upon the age-old tales, introduces new ele-ments and characters and combines other stories and legends into a cohesive whole.

In this fi lm, as in the legends, Arthur is the son of King Uther (Eric Bana). After heroically fending off an attack on Camelot by the ruthless evil wizard Mordred and his mam-moth war elephants (reminiscent of those in the fi lm “300”, but bigger), Uther further enhanced his own stellar reputa-tion among his court, his people and everyone … except for his ambitious, but faux loyal brother, Vortigern (Jude Law). Vortigern soon kills Uther and his wife, but Uther’s Excali-bur is lost in a lake and the king’s 2-year-old son gets into a boat and fl oats away. In a twist on the biblical story of the

young Moses, Arthur is plucked from the water by a group of women, prostitutes, in this case. They raise Arthur as their own and he is mentored by an Asian man called George (Tom Wu) who teaches Arthur how to fi ght. Arthur grows up to be

a man of honor and a protector to the women who cared for him his whole life, but his past catches up with him, threaten-ing everything and everyone he knows and changing his life forever.

When the waters of that lake recede and expose Excali-bur embedded deep in a large stone, Vortigern worries that young Arthur survived his aquatic exile, grew up and may come back to claim his father’s throne. Believing that only the rightful heir to the throne can remove the sword from the stone, Vortigern orders that all young men in the king-dom be brought to the castle and made to try doing just that. When Arthur reluctantly takes his turn, of course, he removes the sword – and the ground actually shakes. Arthur is pretty shaken too – because he has grown up thinking his mother was a prostitute – and because the power fl owing through the sword is so strong that it knocks him unconscious. When he wakes up (locked up), he tells Vortigern that he has no designs on power, but it would clearly make Vortigern’s life easier if Arthur were out of the picture – permanently. Un-fortunately for Vortigern, Arthur gets help from a Mage (a magical human – played by Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) as well as a rebel named Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou) and his co-horts (including Aidan Gillen, Freddie Fox, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Neil Maskell) and even Vortigern’s wife, Maggie (Annabelle Wallis). These characters play a role in helping Arthur learn to harness the power of Excalibur and convince Arthur of his responsibility and his unique ability to save the kingdom from Vortigern’s power hungry, abusive and mur-derous ways.

“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” is one of the best movies from the fi rst half of 2017 – and one of the best action movies ever. It builds on a well-established and multi-faceted legend and incorporates elements of other movie franchises, but Ritchie’s visionary directing makes this cinematic King Arthur tale very special indeed. The performances are uni-formly outstanding, the story is engaging, the dialog is well written (with some comedic moments and some emotional ones), the action scenes are creative and exciting and the score contributes signifi cantly to the movie’s overall qual-ity, with its conjoining of musical styles from today with those from centuries ago. In short, this is a nearly perfect fi lm which will likely entertain Movie Fans of any kingdom.

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4B • May 18, 2017 • FORT BLISS BUGLE

FORT BLISS BUGLE • May 18, 2017 • 5B

By Adam HolguinPublic Affairs, Mobilization and Deployment, DPMTS

The Fort Bliss Garrison command team recognized Department of the Army civil-ians who distinguished themselves with out-standing service to Fort Bliss and the El Paso community during an awards ceremony at the Fort Bliss and Old Ironsides Museum here May 5.

Col. Michael J. Hester, Fort Bliss Garrison commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Holschbach, garrison command sergeant major, recognized 22 individuals from vari-ous offi ces under the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, the Safety Offi ce, the Directorate of Human Re-sources, the Directorate of Public Works, the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, and the Directorate of Emer-gency Services.

“My old man worked in the same busi-ness for 47 years, he watched people grow and families grow up, but I’ve never re-ally appreciated that until this job,” Hester said during the opening remarks to his last awards ceremony as garrison commander. “When you are working with the same team for (years), you can make stuff happen and you can get really good at what you are do-ing and that’s why we are here.”

Ronald McCrae, DPTMS, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service as the Fort Bliss Garrison command Supervisor of the Second Quarter, fi scal year 2017.

Michael Minas, DPTMS, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service as the Fort Bliss Garrison command Employee of the Second Quarter, fi scal year 2017.

Randy Turnage, director of safety, Safety Offi ce, received the Superior Civilian Ser-vice Award, a Certifi cate of Wartime Service and the Global War on Terrorism certifi cate for exceptional meritorious service as safety offi cer while deployed in Afghanistan in sup-port of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and a Resolute Support mission. Turnage also re-ceived a 35-year length of service certifi cate.

Douglas Vogel, chief, Mobilization and Development, DPTMS, received the Supe-

rior Civilian Service Award for meritorious service.

Everett Duis, DPTMS, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for selection as the Garrison command DA civil-ian nomination for the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss General of the Army Omar M. Bradley Award.

Fredrick Wallace Sr., DPTMS, and Raul Rodriguez, DPTMS, received Command-er’s Awards for Civilian Service and Jessie Spence, DPTMS, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for exceptional meritorious service in support of the Depart-ment of Health and Human Services Unac-companied Children Refugee Center shelter operations at the Doña Ana Range Complex.

Jason Garcia, DPW, and Keith Nelson, DPW, received Commander’s Awards for Civilian Service for exceptional service in the performance of their duties while re-sponding to a catastrophic roof failure that resulted in hazardous contamination of sen-sitive air defense missile components.

David C. Hieatt, mission center training chief, DPTMS, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for outstanding achievement and was selected as the DPT-MS Supervisor of the First Quarter, fi scal year 2017, for outstanding leadership during Iron Focus, Iron Forge and the Army Warf-ighting Assessment.

Alfredo Contreras, photographer spe-cialist, DPTMS, received the Achievement

Medal for Civilian Service outstanding achievement and was selected as the DPT-MS Employee of the First Quarter, fi scal year 2017.

Michael Blondell, DPTMS, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for exceptional performance as the acting gar-rison safety director from October 2016 to April 2017 while the incumbent safety direc-tor was deployed.

Steven R. Rote, DPTMS, received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for meritorious service.

A number of civilians received 30-year length of service certifi cates, recognizing their dedication throughout their careers in service of the United States. Recipients in-cluded: Joseph Crawford, DHR, George C. Bulduc, DES, Robert Phillips, DES, George Metz, DPTMS, Jacqueline Colon, DPW, and Eddie Keys, DPTMS.

“I’m proud of you (all). It’s great to see all this talent here today, you are an awesome team because you are awesome people,” Hester said in closing.

With colleagues, friends and family in at-tendance, some award recipients gave thanks to their teams, their loved ones and each oth-er for their support.

“Thank you. I love Fort Bliss. We set the standard and all others follow,” Vogel said after receiving his award, perhaps summa-rizing the day’s events best.

Garrison command recognizes DA civilians

Adam Holguin / Public Affairs, Mobilization and Deployment, DPMTSCommand Sgt. Maj. Brian Holschbach, far left, garrison command sergeant major, and Col. Michael J. Hester, far right, garrison commander, pose for a group photo with the staff of the Directorate of Human Resources after Joseph Crawford, center kneeling, received a 30-year length of service certifi cate during the Garrison Command Award Ceremony held at the Fort Bliss and Old Ironsides Museum here May 5.

“I’m proud of you (all). It’s great to see all this talent here today. You are an awesome team because you are awesome people.” >> Col. Michael J. Hester

By Lisa Smith MolinariSpecial to the Fort Bliss Bugle

I could claim that I have fencing lessons, or that I have tickets to “La Boheme,” or that I’m attending a lecture on the sustainability of agricultural practices in Machu Picchu. But I’d rather admit what I’m really doing Wednesday night.

This week, I’ll be watching the two-hour season fi nale of “Survivor.” Our family has seen every season since the show premiered on May 21, 2000. While stationed in Ger-many, we tuned in on Armed Forces Net-work. And today, we still pile on the couch to watch every week.

During commercials, we fantasize about winning the million-dollar prize and never emptying our own dishwasher again. As for me, I could subsist for days on the fat stored under my chin, so you’d think I’d be a perfect “Survivor” contestant. However, I’d never win and here’s why:

First, I never shut up. Put me on a bus, in a waiting room, in a checkout line, and I’ll strike up a conversation with anyone. I’ll tell long anecdotes and add unnecessary details. Before you know it, people are trying des-perately to get away from me.

Picture this: After building a water-tight shed for my tribe, I start a roaring bonfi re and cook the fi sh that I caught for everyone. Feeling confi dent, I tell a story about the time my car broke down in Cincinnati.

An hour later, I’m describing the mechan-ic’s coveralls, while one of the cast mates stands behind me, silently mouthing to the others, “She’s outta here” as he scrapes the last bites of fi sh from his coconut shell.

Second, I’m a slave to my digestive tract. Without the comfort of my morning routine, which includes coffee and time to stare out the kitchen window, my digestive tract shuts down while traveling. There’s no escape, if you know what I mean.

Picture this: On day six, I can’t take it any-more. I’m found beached at the water’s edge like a whale, weakly chewing palm fronds for fi ber, mumbling something about need-

ing coffee. My tribe mates, put off by my deliriousness and suspicious of my growing paunch, vote me out that night.

Third, confl ict makes me cry. With an emotional range limited to happy and sad, I react to anger with an embarrassing chin quiver, blotchy neck and blubbering tears.

Picture this: While my tribe mates are tan-ning on the beach, I begin to tell them about a blind date I had with a guy named Jethro. Hangry, the tribe bully snaps, “Nobody cares about your boring life, old lady.” My alliance waits for me to defend myself, but I can only muster an ugly cry face. Sensing weakness, they blindside me at tribal council.

Fourth, I am a scavenger. When I go to the beach, I am compelled to scan the horizon for shells, sea glass, fl otsam and jetsam. If it washes up, I’m determined to fi nd it, take it home, and put it in a jar.

Picture this: Two tribe mates fi nd me gull-ible enough for an alliance. They search for me to make plans, but I am miles away, en-grossed in a pile of smelly seaweed. We go to tribal council before they’ve had a chance to fi nd me, and I am voted out.

Lastly, my two-piece days are over. Wob-bling fl esh started and ended with “Naked Guy” Richard Hatch in Season One. Nowa-days, you could bounce a quarter off most “Survivor” contestants’ stomachs. Birthing three large babies has turned my fi gure into something of an old defl ated inner tube. If you tossed a quarter at me, it would disap-pear into one of many rolls.

Picture this: Jeff Probst announces the start of a challenge, and we all start running. My tribe mates are propelled by lean sinewy muscle, but I am hindered by jiggling body parts. Crawling under a set of barriers, my bathing suit top is ripped off. The cameras zoom in on what looks like two fried eggs and a stack of pancakes. That night, the vote to cast me out is unanimous, and the direc-tor instructs that the footage be cut from the scene as not suitable for viewing.

That said, I’d better go empty the dish-washer.

Five reasons I’d never win ‘Survivor’

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>> FRONTERA LAND ALLIANCE AND FORT BLISS CYS PARTNERSHIPBy Staff Sgt. Raymond Kokel / 1st AD Public Affairs

(Top) Patricia Smith, left, coordinator, Fort Bliss Child and Youth Services, signs a memorandum of understanding between Fort Bliss CYS and the Frontera Land Alliance for education support in front of Col. Mike Hester, center, commander, Fort Bliss Garrison, and Scott Cutler, right, president, The Frontera Land Alliance, at the El Paso International Airport, May 10. The partnership will provide students enrolled in Fort Bliss’ Child and Youth Services exposure to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM. This will enable students to develop hands on experience in environmental edu-cation, natural resource conservation, and animal sciences. Frontera is the fi rst of local organizations in El Paso to sign this agreement, but several more partners are lined up to sign in the coming months.

Col. Mike Hester, center, Fort Bliss Garrison commander, signs a memorandum of understanding be-tween Fort Bliss Child and Youth Services and the Frontera Land Alliance for education support at the El Paso International Airport May 10. Scott Cutler, right, president, the Frontera Land Alliance, and Patricia Smith, left, coordinator, Fort Bliss CYS, signed shortly afterward to fi nalize the agreement. The partner-ship will provide students enrolled in Fort Bliss’ Child and Youth Services exposure to science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM. This will enable students to develop hands-on experience in environmental education, natural resource conservation and animal sciences. Frontera is the fi rst of local organizations in El Paso to sign this agreement, but several more partners are lined up get involved in the Army Community Partnership Program in the coming months.

By Chaplain (Capt.) Samuel Olmos47th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd BCT, 1st AD

I cross my heart and hope to die. You re-member that saying. It was the manner by which children guaranteed that the promise made would be a promise kept. I frankly do not know if children today still use the same mantra to make a promise, but I know that we did as children. It was one of the best ways to safeguard a deal that usually in-volved important things like candy and toys.

I think we can all remember a time when somebody made a promise, that they didn’t keep. Most times, broken promises can eas-ily be shrugged off, especially if the person had a good excuse or if the promise required little commitment. Other times, however, broken promises can be fatal to the relation-ship, especially if the promise made required great commitment.

In his book, “The Meaning of Marriage,” Timothy Keller reminds us that not only is keeping our promises important to our rela-tionships, promises are intricately tied to our identity. Our identity is defi ned by the vows we keep and the promises we uphold. Who we are is characterized by our commitment or lack of commitment. For instance, if I shrug off my commitment to the Army and decide to go “absent without leave,” I would be breaking the contract I have made with the Army and fracturing that relationship. I would then be identifi ed by most, if not all in my unit, as “that chaplain that went AWOL.” It would be an identity that would undoubt-edly weaken my ability to lead and infl uence those in my unit. This would damage most, if not all, my relationships in that unit.

Like joining the military, there are many promises we make that carry a great deal of commitment. Many of us made vows to a spouse promising to stay together “until death do us part.” When we break that com-

mitment by cheating on a spouse or walking out on the relationship, we weaken our iden-tity and lose the ability to infl uence. This is the reason children from broken homes often do not value the advice of their parents since one or both parents largely lost the ability to infl uence them because of the broken marital promise.

On the other hand, if we strengthen our promise to our spouse by nurturing our mar-riage with love and encouragement, we en-hance our identity and improve our ability to infl uence. It is no wonder that people who remain married longer enjoy the benefi ts of increased wealth and infl uence.

Many religions require their members to make a promise to serve God. As a Christian, I made a promise to serve Jesus Christ and to honor him as Lord and Savior for the rest of my life. I made this promise when I was only 5 years old and have never forgotten the exact moment I made it. It is a commitment that has strengthened my character and iden-tity throughout my lifetime.

What promises have you made to the im-portant people in your life? Have you stayed committed to those promises you made fi ve, 10 or 20 years ago? Maybe you didn’t ut-ter the “I cross my heart and hope to die” mantra when you made those promises but you made the promises and are expected to keep them. The best example of this is found in God Himself, he promises “to never leave us or forsake us” in Hebrews 13:5. God is a vow keeper and will always be there for us.

So what if I broke the promise I made to my family, job and/or God? Am I doomed to be a non-infl uential broken mess the rest of my life? Of course not. Simply decide to be a committed promise-keeper and let your new behavior make you the infl uential leader you were meant to be.

The power of a promise

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