Customer In The Spotlight | July

What's your name and job?

My name is Elliot ***** in a Cpl US Army. A team leader in the Scout/ Sniper platoon.

What does a day in your life look like?

(Walk us through your normal day - a normal day in my life as of late has been getting my soldiers ready to reintegrate back to the life back in the states. Most of us are finishing up a deployment and with that comes some different challenges I didn’t see come as a leader. A normal day would still start off with some good ol’ gym time. After that and crushing some real food for once. After I take my team and anyone else that’s around and we start knocking out job resumes and filling applications for college. Having a plan and people to support you when you come off a deployment is big part of a healthy path to reintegrate back to a since of normalcy. We lost a lot of people to suicide this tour and back at home so I made it a point to go to each of my guys individual and talk to them and reinforce the fact that talking to someone is better than anything. I just a fact that no one is gonna understand the stresses that combat puts on you than the people who was side by side with you through all the hell. And that suicide is not worth it. We lose to many good soldiers everyday to it.

What makes you get up in the morning? What do you love about your profession?

I love that I get a chance to be apart of something greater than myself. To be apart of a warrior class of citizen in this country is an amazing feeling. To know that any day could be your last is my biggest reason to get up in the morning. And not for the cheesy saying either lol, when you’ve had RPGs and PKMs come at you and live to tell about it. You have a renewed since of any day could be it. But in my profession, I have to honor to serve with some of our country’s greatest hero’s. To know the stories of the unknown soldier, who fought in an unknown place and gave his last full measure of devotion for his brothers beside him. You won’t find that anywhere else.

What lead you to become a soldier, officer, etc?

I’ve come from a long long line of soldiers in my family’s history. My family have fought in every major war since the civil war. My family has also been on the for front of change and diversity in our military, with most of my family being some of the first African - Americans to serve in their respectful fields. Such to the likes of The Tuskegee Airmen, and the first Black Special Forces soldiers allowed to integrate into the teams. So I decided to keep with traditions and make my own mark own history.

What are the most challenging aspects of your profession?

The most challenging aspect of being a soldier is kind of like fighting a war on two fronts. Balancing a home life and a work life is challenging and many Americans have to deal with that. But as you become a leader than the lives of your soldiers and their families is added to your plate. For me we took a broken scout/ sniper plt and turned it took one of the most decorated units in our brigade. And just by caring about one another and working as a team and creating a community amongst ourselves and sharing our knowledge and life experiences to others around us. We adopted the lifestyle of being a humble professional.

What do you love to do in your free time?

in my free time you can find me spending it playing cards with the guys. In the gym playing video games or watching random stuff on YouTube. I have some throughs of maybe starting some program back home to teach the kids in my neighborhood how to swim and fish and other outdoorsy stuff that urban kids don’t really have the chance to do. This being in Atlanta, Ga 

What are your thoughts on the HHV ATE Helmet?

I love the helmet I’ve sent in a few weeks ago some thoughts I had on the helmet after a few months of wearing it in Afghanistan. With some pros and cons but overall I love it and recommended to some new guys coming they were looking to get a high cut.