PJ Chandler

This is an old writing that was on the wall of the Close Combat Instructor’s Training Facility at Camp Geiger when Ron Donvito was in charge. I recently found it again. 

I, the Warrior

I, the warrior, have walked with mankind since his beginning.

Today, male and female, I exist in every profession, every walk of life. My battle dress can be a uniform or a business suit; the arena a jungle, boardroom, or a field of sport. My greatest weapon is myself.  I love the confrontation, the encounter, the battle, but I thrive on the challenge and excitement of competition.

Before you know the warrior, you will know that he is.  And you will feel the very atmosphere altered by his presence.

In this society where apathy has become all too common, where causes are too few and mankind is too often driven from the challenge, haunted simply by the possibility of failure, and thereby, gives victory to his opponent before the competition has begun, I have, with great enthusiasm and devotion, captured victory at the risk of defeat.

At peace with myself, I am embraced by every environment. I learn and grow stronger with each day of my existence. The insurmountable tasks, the impossible odds only serve to intensify my being.

The wisdom of my heritage has taught me to seek my opponent’s weaknesses and use them against him. The threat of my victory is ever present. I may concede the battle, but never the war! On my opponent’s ground, on his level, I may be at the edge of defeat; then, in a heartbeat, with my last ounce of energy, I will strike with such force as to steal victory from his grasps forever!

To choose me as an opponent is to enter a world of reality, a world for which you may not be prepared; for there are no rules, no halfway. You will compete against my skills, my instincts, and my determination for either victory or defeat. I am willing to exhaust myself, even expend myself for the challenge and victory.

In the finale I may be defeated, but I will never surrender. If I fail, I will do so with such daring that triumph and high achievement will be forever MINE!