Leadership by example served retired Col. Danny McKnight well throughout his 28-year history as a highly-decorated U.S. Army Ranger. McKnight – author of the book “Streets of Mogadishu: Leadership at its Best, Political Correctness at its Worst!” – shared his experiences with guests at the Love of Literacy Author Series last Thursday evening at the John’s Island Golf Club to benefit Literacy Services of Indian River County.
In addition to combat duty in Panama in 1989, McKnight, who resides Rockledge, Fla., served as Commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment in 1993 during what came to be known as the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia – the incident that was later chronicled in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”
“I am a gigantic proponent of leadership. We have to talk about it to get better at it,” said McKnight. “It’s our responsibility to bring the young people along, so that they can understand and become good leaders.”
He credited Gen. David E. Grange Jr., who served in World War II as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars, for teaching him about true leadership. “Gen. Grange was not just a great general and a great fighter; he was a leader of men. I learned about commitment as a leader and how important that is to your subordinates.”
Noting that the military abbreviation LDRSHIP stands for the values of leadership – loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage – he added, “Good leaders will not make easy wrong decisions; they’ll make the hard right ones.”
McKnight said people have questioned why, as the battalion commander of the convoy in Somalia, he rode in the lead vehicle. His response was that, “If you’re going to really lead you’ve got to be in the front; there’s no way to lead from the rear.”
In many ways those leadership-by-example tactics are the same as those utilized by the 125 dedicated Literacy Services tutors who spend two or three hours a week tutoring roughly 350 adult students per year.
“Literacy Services is the only organization in Indian River County that provides free tutoring to adults,” said board President Don Mann, noting that 20 percent of the county’s population do not have even kindergarten-level reading skills. “Our tutors bring so much joy and excitement to the people they teach.”
One man who is grateful for the assistance is Russell McKinnon, who is being tutored by Patrick Westcott. “Literacy Services has helped me feel more independent,” said McKinnon, who spoke movingly about his struggles and encouraged others to support the program.
Their newest program is PEN (Parents Engaged Now for the love of their child), which assists parents intimidated by the school system about how to become more engaged in their children’s education.
“Literacy does not begin at birth; it begins with the literacy skills of the parents,” said Mary Silva, Literacy Services executive director. “If the parents are literate, then the children have a better chance of success in life. That’s why it is so important to support adult literacy.”
