American Cadet takes a picture with his new found Ukrainian Cadet friend.

It is always interesting to hear why people decide to serve their country. It is one of the most honorable, selfless services one can be apart of. Today, for our lesson with the Ukrainian cadets, we went around and shared why we decided to serve our country. The common theme was family, patriotism and personal development. Almost two-thirds of the cadets, both Ukrainian and Americans said that they decided to join because one of their family members served their respected country. Both sides also said that they wanted to serve because they love their country. Every cadet that stood up and stated this beamed with pride and the inflection of their voice was at its loudest. It made everyone in the room proud of the country that they represented and cemented their desire to serve.

Teaching the Ukrainian cadets has been a remarkable experience. Even though we have only been teaching for only a couple of days, their is a great chance that many long lasting friendships will develop. Not only has it been gratifying helping them improve their English, but also learning from them about their culture and their military. Today, the cadets were eager to teach us about their rank structure and the service branches they have chosen. They were also anxious to learn about how our army operates and what branches we would consider choosing. Todays lesson definitely strengthened our relations with the cadets and we look further to improving it even more with each coming day.