Fatherhood: What Ranger Regiment Taught Me • The Havok Journal

by Kevin Newhard

Fatherhood is a chance to mold this Nation as well as the world. People often look to athletes or famous people to be the heroes for their kids. My opinion? That is the place of both parents and it is an important role that a father should take up.

I learned this from my time in Regiment. As the Ranger Creed says: “I shall set the example for others to follow.” We fathers need to live the creed daily and do this in our personal lives as well.

Teach, coach, and mentor our children.

Teach them the importance of being a part of something bigger than themselves. Instill a love of country in them. Teach them it is their duty to be a patriot.

This will flow over into their everyday lives. They will learn to treat others the way they wish to be treated, to stand up for the innocent and the weak, to never leave a fallen comrade, or a fellow American behind. Teach them the price that is paid for freedom, which will in turn make them thankful for what they have and the opportunities that this country holds for them. Teach them that doing the right thing means just this: doing the right thing even when no one is looking and sometimes when you do the right thing, you do it by yourself.

Imagine what this country would be if we fought for the Americans to our left and right. Teach them to inspire others and to help those less fortunate. Teach them that they should always speak the truth.
Teach them the importance of their brothers and sisters, blood-related or not. I believe our children can learn a lot from this Ranger brotherhood.

We all came from different walks of life, but we stood together, we fought together, we lived together, we ate, laughed, and cried together, we buried our brothers together regardless of race, religion, politics, or creed. We were and are brothers; Americans to the end.

Imagine if our kids were raised in the same manner. There would be no racism. There would be no homeless; no one left behind. They would know from a very young age that words like honor, integrity, and selflessness do in fact mean something. They would know these are qualities a leader lives by and will be leaders themselves if they live their life for something bigger than themselves.

They don’t have to serve in the military to be leaders in this world.

If you are not willing to die for something, you don’t truly know what it means to live.

I was fortunate enough for my kids to have countless uncles who showed them these things.

Rangers Lead the Way!

This first appeared in The Havok Journal on June 16, 2019.

Army Ranger Kevin Newhard is the recipient of two purple hearts and a bronze star. He has seen 10 combat deployments and is now a rancher in Missouri.

Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division-Center, make their way along the course of a 12-mile ruck march as part of a unit competition at Camp Taji, Iraq, May 27, 2011, for the opportunity to attend Ranger School. The competition included the ruck march as well as testing on weapons tasks, map reading, and other tactical skills and was designed to give the prospective Ranger candidates a small taste of the physical and mental requirements of Ranger School. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy) Source.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.