Cross & Crescent

Editor’s Note: As we celebrate Independence Day on July 4, 2009, we want to recognize and thank all of our brothers who are currently serving in the military and helping to keep the United States and Canada free and safe. David Barbour, an undergraduate from Edinboro University, is currently serving in Iraq. He took a few moments to answer a few questions via email.

Core Values form the foundation of Lambda Chi Alpha’s approach to brotherhood. As a part of the True Brother Initiative, our Seven Core Values” Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Service and Stewardship, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage” once learned and internalized, equip each Lambda Chi Alpha undergraduate brother and associate member with a clear moral compass, always orienting him, no matter the environment or consequences, toward making ethical decisions.

For Lambda Chi Alpha, it is not enough simply to know how to do things the right way; more importantly, it is to do the right things, for brotherhood and leadership are ultimately about action, about doing.

Core Values in Action: Loyalty and Duty

Where are you stationed and what do you do?

I am currently deployed with the 56th Stryker Brigade in Taji, Iraq. I am with B Battery 1/108th. The 1/108th was the first Field Artillery Unit in the 28th Infantry Division to fire a round in combat since World War II, and I am more than pleased that I can say that I was a part of that piece of history.

How long will you be there? Do you have to go back in the future?

I was deployed September 19, 2008, and we don’t know any hard dates yet, but we should be back this fall sometime. I was pulled for this deployment to go with the 1/108th FA, however my home unit is B 1/107th FA. My home unit is being deployed in the near future. I don’t know where, but there is a possibility that I will be coming back – maybe not to Iraq but somewhere.

Will you go back to Edinboro afterwards?

I plan on going back to school as soon as I am able. I might not be able to go right back to Edinboro – it depends on the date that we get home – but as of right now I fully intend on graduating from the ‘Boro…someday. What is your major?

What are your plans after graduation?

HA,HA….well I guess that if you looked at the classes I have taken I would be considered a business major, but I really don’t think I have a major as it stands right now. It’s always been a dream of mine to open up my own restaurant someplace close to home, but I still have at least three more years of school to figure out what I am going to do.

Where are you from?

Is the middle of nowhere considered a place? I grew up on a farm about 15 miles away from the town of Stoneboro and attended Lakeview High School. It’s only about an hour south of Edinboro, so it’s really not that far of a drive to get to college.

Why did you choose to join the service?

I have always considered myself to be a patriot, and as long as there were people in the world that stood against this great nation we live in, it really wasn’t a choice for me. I just knew what I had to do. So I enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard at the age of 17 and haven’t thought twice about my decision. The fact that the Army pays for school is nice but I would’ve joined the Guard even if they didn’t.

Why did you join Lambda Chi? How much has it impacted your life/personal development?

When I first got to school I was just hanging out with my buddy Ferg and some of the guys who were in his fraternity. They all seemed pretty cool, so I decided to join at first for basically something to do with my free time. I still wasn’t all that sure I wanted to join a fraternity, but at least I liked the guys I was hanging out with. Then my dad died and I had absolutely no desire to go back to school, and probably wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for this guy that we all called TR. Something as simple as a text message made me realize that the guys I had been hanging out with in this fraternity really did care, not only about the guys who were already brothers, but even someone they hardly even knew – like myself. Yeah, so that’s basically the reason I joined LCA. I don’t fully know how LCA has impacted my life, but I do know that without it I probably wouldn’t be planning on returning to school and finishing up my degree. So it has definitely improved my life.

Do you see similarities between the Guard/military and the True Brother Initiative/Core Values. Can you share some examples?

Well, LCA actually got our Core Values from the Army, so there are a lot of similarities between the two of them. For example, loyalty is a core value as well as an Army value; you feel a great deal of loyalty towards the people that you serve with, as well as towards your brothers – never wanting to let them down and always being there when one of them needs you.

Any other meaningful Lambda Chi stories or “shout outs” you’d like to give to your chapter brothers?

Yeah, I just want to say hello to all of my bros back stateside and that I can’t wait for the first “BDC” meeting when I get back!! See you all soon and hope that you are all doing well!