In the Absence of Orders: Glendon Oakley

Tearfully he gave an interview to the local news station, a hero, a man who'd never call himself that. A man who exemplified exactly what we should be teaching everyone. Initiative. While shopping Glendon Oakley of the 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, TX, heard the gunfire and immediately decided to do something about it.We have a saying here. Do what you can, when you can, for who you can, for as long as you can with what you have. Maybe Glendon wasn't able to save everyone that day, but we know today, there are children and parents who are grateful to Pfc. Oakley for his actions.This is just another instance where doing something, is better than doing nothing.This time, Glendon didn't have to engage the shooter to save lives. No, he made a decision that at this point in time, his talents were better used, ensuring the safety of the children, something he could most definitely do as he was not only physically trained to perform such actions, but should he have come upon another shooter, he was armed and would have been able to put up a fight for the children.There is much that we can speculate and guess on. We can throw wild theories at a wall hoping they stick or that they hold some relevance, but at the end of the day, always...action will beat out inaction. In the absence of orders, in the absence of someone telling him how to be, Pfc. Glendon Oakley acted calmly, professionally and intelligently, prioritizing the children's lives and ensuring he was seen as a good guy to LEOs during an extremely chaotic time.If this man doesn't receive an award from his unit, then someone needs to get their head checked. We need more men like Glendon Oakley in this world, that's for damn sure.