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life, who doesn’t wait for somebody else to fix it,” Miedona as- serts. “That’s the rewarding part – to be part of the solution.”
Veterans Day is also a time to honor a powerful faction of those members you see in the photos. They served during the Vietnam conflict. They are retired officers now, and before the pandemic hit, up to 90 of them used to meet every Tuesday morning at a Dunkin’ Donuts on the West Side.
Carlos “Sal” Saladino, who served in an Army airborne di- vision in Vietnam from 1967 to 1970 where he was wounded, organized those meetings. He knows what those soldiers and sailors came to remember on those Tuesday mornings and what should be celebrated on Veterans
Day and every day.
“We were just regular guys off
the street who went into the mil- itary to learn better skills,” Sal discloses. “That rush that you felt during battle is what we found in the Chicago Police Department. You get a call, you turn on the si- rens and you get your adrenaline going. I think in the back of our minds it was about that excite- ment.”
Something bigger than myself
Think about your worst train- ing experience in the academy, and double the intensity. That’s what military training can be like, especially for infantry or a similar detail. Drill instructors might slap you in the head for not
following a simple command.
“They do that by design so you can handle the situation and
overcome aggression,” informs Noceda, who followed up his stint in the Marines by serving an additional eight years in the Army National Guard.
The military has, of course, prepared Chicago Police Officers to follow orders, then adapt at the slightest hint of things going bad. And the military has given those who have served an al- most majestic mindset.
“To be an example in and out of uniform,” Gunning adds. “They always say that every action that we have has a conse- quence in and out of uniform. And I think it’s a positive impact because when we come on to the police force, we know how to think about the totality of the circumstances.” Now, officers who have served might not be prepped for success on the job any more than anybody else who comes through the academy. The military train- ing does provide additional exposure to performing under pressure and learn- ing to control situations, however. And it helps facilitate a very productive aspect of serving, whether it’s the country or the
city.
“How to take direction, how to take or-
ders, how to understand the bigger pic- ture,” expresses Matthew Beasley, who served in the Army Reserves and works in the 11th District. “It’s not that you blind- ly follow orders, but you understand that
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Andy Hale & Brian Monico Attorneys at Law
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2020 33
Nora Gunning