I always told my troops that courage is NOT being fearless, but rather having the fear, and doing your job anyways. I know someone famous said something similar, and I paraphrased it. Not sure where it came from
That is a lesson I'm trying to instill in the Scouts I work with. Being brave doesn't mean you aren't afraid. Being brave means that you overcome the fear to do what you have to do. In the Scout context, it was teaching First Aid. Trying to convince them that they need to practice the skills over and over, because that repetition will make a difference when they need to overcome fear and apply those skills...
Last fall, I had an opportunity to hear Salvatore Giunta speak.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_GiuntaHe talked about the incident that led to his being awarded the Medal of Honor. He talked about seeing his buddy get picked up the Taliban and seeing them carry him away, and how angry it made him. And he knew he had to stop them. It wasn't about making a decision to be courageous. It wasn't a decision to be brave. It was seeing something happening, and knowing he had to do something to stop them from taking his buddy away. It was about acting for his buddy.
Fitz, and a bunch of you other guys who have put on a uniform, you know what I'm talking about. In general terms, you do the job for flag and country. But, on the small terms, when it counts, when Sal Giunta stood up and ran after those guys, of when Lt. Michael Murphy walked out from cover to use the sat phone to call in help, it wasn't about USA, the Stars and Stripes, or anything like that. It was about the guys next to him. You don't teach that. But God help us, many great men and women sure as hell have learned it.