Lev Lazinskiy

Being a mentor can mean many different things. To me, being a mentor means to make a difference in someones life and help them to achieve their dreams and goals. My favorite thing about being in the military was after a few years I made a high enough rank where I was in the position to give smart advice to juniors, and also have the ability to use my own experience to help others avoid similar mistakes.

There is no greater feeling in the world than sharing in the success of those that you have helped along the way. Last week the advancement results came out for the Navy wide advancement exam, and I got a phone call from a very good friend who told me that he picked up, and he told me that I was the first person he called.

This guy is a really special person, he has been through a lot in his life, and even though I may have been in a “higher” position than him in the Navy food chain, I honestly believe that I learned more from him than he ever did from me.

Congratulations to all of those who advanced to the Next rank, and I am glad that I was able to directly help some of you get there.