Matt is Awesome!

No this blog has not been hacked by some guy named Matt.


I'm taking the time tonight to brag about how awesome my husband is.


I'm not talking about that fact that he regularly makes dinner, cleans the house, brings me coffee at work, and encourages me to have "nights out" away from the house and all the responsibilities that come with it.
 

I'm not talking about how he is thoughtful and kind, loving, supportive and handsome.


I'm not talking about how he is a great dad because he takes time to snuggle with the boys, play games and sports with them and watch a painful amount of boy movies with them.


I'm not even talking about the fact that he is incredibly fun to be with, funny, easy going and he manages to balance me out.


Tonight I'm talking about how awesome Matt is in his professional realm. 


It isn't often I really know how Matt is doing at work.

I know he has flown a ton of hours in four different versions of the Blackhawk without incident, made Pilot in Command at each duty station within a short amount of time, and has been designated a "mission briefer" and planner during his time at both of his recent units.  I also know that he has maintained a 99-100% rating when evaluated for the safety business side of his job and has received great evaluations from his commanders.  And I know that he seems generally well liked by most people I meet from his unit. 

But what do I really know? Is he a great pilot?  Is he a stand-out safety officer?

Without conducting an interview of people he flies with and works with I really have no idea what goes on in that world. 
But this last weekend I had the opportunity to see him shine. He was the mc at our Battalion ball.  This is the second time in two years that he has been asked to take on this task.  I should mention that when I say mc, what I really mean is event planner, coordinator, and mood setter in addition to being the voice of the night.  Matt nailed it.  Anyone who really knows Matt probably knows that this is totally right up his alley.  Maybe not the planning part, that even surprised me, but the whole loud, get the crowd pumped up, make jokes and make people happy gig is so him.  

He truly made the 46th Battalion Ball nights to remember for the past two years.  
The event is the Battalion Commander's but it is a team of 2-3 that do all of the planning.  Both last year and this year, the appreciation of his commander was obvious by the huge smile on his face and repeated comments expressing gratitude and satisfaction.  Matt even received a text the morning after the event from his commander "I wanted to take the time to thank you for the most amazing, fun, professional and bad ass ball I have ever seen.  What you and all your teams did was phenomenal ".  


Today he got a call from the Brigade Ball planners requesting Matt's services at their upcoming ball.  He respectfully declined.  He said he couldn't do it for two reasons: first he is going to be out of town during the final planning stages and second his wife is tired of sitting through these events alone.


Even with all the praise he was getting for the event, that doesn't necessarily speak to his professionalism during his day job, the one where he flies helicopters and does safety stuff, not just entertain a crowd.


But as many people were coming up to Matt and thanking him for a great night one man came up to me to shed some light on my husband, the Soldier.  He told me he didn't know if I knew how much of an asset Matt was to the brigade.  He spoke of Matt's many talents as a safety officer and Soldier and praised what Matt has done for the 46th Battalion.  He also talked about how he was looking forward to Matt's upcoming move to a new battalion where Matt will build a safety program there and make extraordinary things happen.  It was truly rewarding to hear him speak so highly of Matt.  I was and am so proud.
 

After the man and I parted ways, Matt told me the guy I was talking to is the highest ranking Warrant Officer in the Brigade (like the head chief of Warrant Officers) and Matt chuckled a little when he said "he's trying to get me to stay in the Army".  You don't try to keep just anyone in the Army in these days of cutbacks.


So I guess things are going pretty well at work?


I do believe the units he has served with have been better for his presence and I hope that the words of those who serve with him will translate well when he is looking for references for his post-military career.


There are definitely more talented pilots out there, there are guys to put in more hours and work harder, but Matt brings something else to the table that many of those guys don't, dynamics.  A commander once told Matt if he wanted to sell the unit on an idea he had to first convince Matt, and Matt would get everyone else to jump on board.  Matt has a role in a unit that doesn't have an official title, he brings the spirit of camaraderie, joy in the bad times, and perhaps a little bit of court jester.


As Matt was unloading his stuff from his backpack and duffle bags when he came home a few months ago he said "oh and I got this" and laid down an award certificate on the table.  He laid it down like it wasn't any big deal.... like a receipt for me to file away or a coupon. It was a Bronze Star.
"The Bronze Star is an individual military award of the United States Armed Forces. It may be awarded for acts of heroism, acts of merit, or meritorious service in a combat zone. The Bronze Star Medal is the fourth-highest individual military award."

I was a little speechless, well you know I'm never actually speechless, and I said "a bronze star?  Isn't that kind of a big deal?"  He said "not really".  

I must be confusing it with some other award so I said "did everyone get them?"  He replied "no just a few of us".
"So just a little bit of a big deal?"


I suppose ... 


So there he is.  A humble man who serves with the talents God gave him, not for glory but for duty, not for praise but for personal satisfaction that at the end of the day he did his job well.  A man who changes the air when he enters a room and leaves a mark on those he served with.  He brings a message of living fully, flying safely and making the best of circumstances.


I already had a glass of wine before I wrote this but if I had some left I would raise my glass in honor of this guy I'm so lucky to be married to.