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I have studied great military leaders throughout history and would love to mention one of them. George Washington, George Patton and Genghis Khan head my list of favorites.

But the question is about leaders I have known. I served under great commanders in my naval career but not all of them were inspirational.

Captain R. J. Kelly of the USS ENTERPRISE was both a good leader and a successful commander. I met him while I served on the ship and later when he was an admiral. As much as he inspired me to excel, he still falls short of my number one.

The most inspirational leader I know happened to be my father. He started with a limited education, joined a segregated Army in a country that barely recognized him as a person. He had no reason to expect anything more than limited training, a rifle and a few tours of combat.

However, the man known as the Jack to his friend had a reputation for not taking the easy road, not accepting limitations and he never backed down from a challenge.

He stepped up whenever the Army asked for volunteers. I was a small tyke when he first got into airborne. To me he was my dad; six feet of scary muscle who spoke thunder and called lightning.

Dad could drive anything with wheels. He would drive all of us from one end of the country to the other with barely a break. He would disappear for months at a time while we grew up. I knew he was in a place called Vietnam but I had no idea what that meant at the time.

My first clue came when I was a teen. There were many impressive soldiers on or base. They had medals for heroism, impressive combat records and a strong reputation in their community. I was surprised to learn that my father was one of the most impressive in the lot.

He taught me a great deal about life. He taught me how to fight but most importantly how to avoid fighting. Most importantly, he taught me about tenacity.

There came a time during my own military career when I could give up and put an end to the stress or I could just keep forging ahead towards my goal. Some advice my father gave me kept me going.

My school was hard. Some very good people failed out every day. But dad told me about his stint in airborne school. He said, "A lot of people have made it through over the years and I'm just as good as every one of them."

When he faced a higher challenge as one of the early Green Berets, he said, "Somebody's going to make it here, why not me?"

From that day forward, when faced with difficult odds of success I always asked, "Why not me?" The answer was always the same "It can be me." I made it because of the example my father set for me.

My father, the best soldier I know.

Learn more about this author, Morgan Johnson.
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