Posted by John Horning on July 13, 2003:

I think everyone remembers those anxious feelings surrounding the end of Beast Barracks and the beginning of Reorgy Week. All at once there is happiness that the march back is complete and that you finally made it through Beast. But there was also that new fear of the unknown: your new company, 100 new upperclassmen to "get acquainted with," new duties, new barracks, the list goes on. There was a single incident during the chaos of Reorgy Week that convinced me not all upperclassmen were the devil. My new Team Leader came to my room to introduce himself. A fellow Texan with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for me. In the lottery of Team Leaders, I feel like I won the Jackpot. John always seemed to know when it was the right time to ease off a bit and have fun. Of course he expected me to know the headlines, know my knowledge, and do all the things expected of plebes, but he also knew when it was a good time to listen to CD's during Fourth Class Development Time. That's a lesson I took with me into the Army: know when it is appropriate to be stern with the troops and when you can let your hair down a little. John always set me up for success in front of our Squad Leader as well. Like a good leader he made sure I knew my stuff and then made sure our boss knew that too. That was another lesson I took to the Army. Everybody learned something from their Team Leader I'm sure, but I feel like I learned some of the most important aspects of leadership directly from John Sarabia. I was extremely sad when I heard the news of John's death. I was sad for his family, sad for his close friends in H4, and sad that the Army had lost such a fine officer, and that the world had lost such a fine person.

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