Recently, a US Army Drill Sergeant shared this beauty written by a new recruit when queried on his motives for joining Big Green.
Some have said this is the worst reason ever to join the Army but they are just out of touch. These detractors have obviously never spent any time around Group back in the ’80s. There were loads of Tolkien reading, DnD playing, sword forging dudes in SF back then.
What’s your story? Tell us why you chose your career/job. We’ll choose our 9 favorites and award them with their very own Limited Edition ‘Keep Calm Return Fire’ patch made famous during SHOT Show 2013. Why award 9 patches, you might ask? Well that’s easy. In honor of the raw recruit’s LOTR reference we will give away 9 KCRF patches, one for each member of the Fellowship of the Ring.
From now until 2359Z 10 Feb 2013 post your entry here, on THIS post on SSD and nowhere else. Only entries here are eligible to win.
Use any alias you want to post but be sure to use a valid email address since that’s how we’ll contact the winners.
One entry per email address. We will delete entries that violate this policy.
Must be 18 to enter. Void where prohibited.
I joined the Army because I watched too much G.I. Joe as a child. So far, I have not received a code name, nor been allowed to grow a beard or have my hair as long as I want it to be, nor been allowed to wear whatever I want as long as it fit in my mission set. This is BS, after 16 years of service you would think I would be allowed to do all that, but noooo…
Chasing the romantic vision of war and the personal challenge of combat, just like the little boy in our hearts seeking the adventure of turning into a man. Learning honor and chivalry, experiencing failure and success. Meeting our mortality and learning to live with the loss of friends.We join as adventurous boys and return.. if we return.. as wiser men. I serve to protect my community and my nation, to serve its peoples will as a vengeful destroyer or humble ambassador. I am a warrior and soldier professional.
In 1997 I was finishing my freshman year of college and simply could not imagine anything that would come from business degree was going to be interesting or challenging enough to satisfy me. I heard a radio advertisement for Army ROTC and called the number. Turns out it was the wrong number and it rang in the Navy ROTC office. A very nice DOD civilian answered the phone and convinced me that I should come in for an interview with the Navy. A few days later I signed up as a college program student and a few months later the Navy offered me a scholarship. In the fall of 2000 I selected Surface Warfare as my specialty and haven’t looked back since. I joined the Navy because I wanted adventure, travel and challenges. However, I have stayed and will stay until they kick me out because I am privileged to lead great sailors and am fortunate enough to love a tough job that makes a difference. I have spent more than 10 of my 12 years on active duty at sea, have sailed in every ocean on earth, been to six continents (working on that Antarctica trip), fired missiles into space, laughed, cried, been on both ends of a world class butt-chewing and today I am fortunate enough to command one of the last wooden warships on the planet! In the end, it is the mission and the sailors that do the seemingly impossible to accomplish it everyday.
Much like the author of this magnificent letter, it was adventure that initially drew me to the Marine Corps. Then I started taking to people who had made an impact in my life. I grew up in a very small community in Alabama. My grandfather was EOD in the Army during WWII. He was by far the most positive male roll model I had in my life. As I continued to inquire within my community about my decision, I found many other pillars of community were veterans.
It became clear that it was my duty to serve my country just as they had. Why the Marine Corps? They had the best sales pitch. I served 6 years and now I am in business. I draw on my past every day for motivation.
From when I was very little I always wanted to serve, then for the glory and the adventure…all that movie fluff. As I got older the sense of a debt came about, that I owed those that came before me at least a little piece of my life so that we could keep this experiment of a nation we have well into the future.
The scars of war left upon my grandfather did not deter me even as I saw his demons eat him whole, he never talked of his time in the Rakkasan’s during the Korean Conflict as he once so adamantly called it.
I am a Cavalry officer, the Army’s motto: This We’ll Defend says everything. Serving in uniform and leading soldiers is the one thing I’ve wanted to do for my entire life. Selfless Service. To give my life to my country is all that I have, and I trust it will be worthwhile.
True Story: I joined the Army for various reasons, none of which included trying to win a stupid patch made by a guy who runs a gear blog on the internet. My motto: “What the hell are you guys doing with these rediculous patches, are you actually putting them on your kit?”
Woah, lookout…we’ve got a badass over here.
Ya fuckin’ Hodor
hodor! hodor! hodor!
I’m recovering from a REALLY bad cold, and read your post, and now have a biohazard situation in my cubicle.
Also, what’s gong on in Sacramento, CA with the legislative insanity PLUS the what’s going on in SoCal had me kinda bummin.’
Thanks for clearing my sinuses and brightening my day.
Respectfully, I think perhaps you miss the point. Many here (if not most) are vets, as is the “guy who runs the gear blog”, or are somehow involved in service to their country. It seems to me Eric is well aware of this and is simply asking for people to share their stories and motivation for their chosen careers. So, why not remove yourself from the running for the “stupid patch” and share your story? Thanks for your service.
That letter with the LOTR joke, and IZinterrogator comment, just made me burst out in laughter! EXCELLENT sense of humor amogst our Vets! Kudos for your service, and your comedy!
While I have not joined big green, I have been working to improve the lives that serve. I grew up (which many still debate whether I really have) in my father’s design studio and saw just have interesting and downright fun product design and development could be… off to Syracuse for a BID in industrial design. After a few different design positions I found myself developing carrier designs for body armor. Working directly with both LE and military serve men was incredibly fulfilling. The thought of my designs helping protect those that serve is an incredible motivator! I know the challenges they meet head on might be a little easier and safer. While I have moved from designing the carriers to developing the hardware and release systems for body armor the challenges still inspire me. As with many in the industry we are focused on one goal… help those that serve come back in one piece!
I enlisted as a medic because it seemed to me like everyone else who was being deployed was working for the the Afghanis or Iraqis, either teaching them how to shoot or teaching them how to gather intel or fix vehicles without using string (all pointless if you ask me, they should’ve started by teaching them how to tie their boots) and the medics were the only ones working for Americans. I decided I wanted to be the guy that made a difference when some poor kid who just needed money for college finds himself in some shit-filled Afghani ditch bleeding out and screaming for his mother. I also figured that since I’m a single guy with no kids, putting me on a forward roster might mean a guy with a family doesn’t have to go. I’m not trying to sound like a d-bag marder here, but the truth is, I would leave less of a void than the guy with a family, should the worst happen.
Frustrated with the stagnant life of college, I was drawn to the Air Force by the ads featuring the drone control centers and the secret-squirrel types sneaking around in the dark to rescue an injured pilot. I wanted to be a part of something that was bigger than myself. The same day that my college told me my transfer package wasn’t approved was the same day I called a recruiter.
Fast forward two years: I’m in the Air Force. No, I’m not a secret squirrel, no I don’t sneak around in the dark, and no I’m not rescuing injured pilots. But I do work to support the mission of those who do, and have met my fair share of the true heroes of our branch. Seeing the selflessness in everything they do, be it at home station or while deployed, has motivated me to become a better person myself.
I’ve volunteered to help people in places I’d have never considered as a civilian. Seeing less fortunate people’s genuine gratitude that someone cares enough to help them is life-changing. So far I’ve made amazing memories with lifelong friends and met some people I’ll never forget. The Air Force even introduced me to my fiancé.
The unbreakable sense of camaraderie I experience with my fellow Airmen is irreplaceable. Yes, we have scuffles amongst ourselves, but if the time comes, each of us knows we’ll be able to fully depend on one another when it matters.
Boredom, pure and simple
Half way through college I became bored decided to take a break. That break consisted of joining ARMY EOD. Years later which consisted of battlefield wounds and a medical retirement, I am back right where I started, in college (albeit missing an eye and a little bit of vision out of the other).
I enjoyed every minute of it and as soon as I graduate I will get back on the horse helping service members again in an EOD civilian career.
When I was in high school, I was approached by a USMC recruiter. He asked me if I had an interest in joining the military, to which I replied “yes”. He asked what I would like to do in the military, and my response was “hide in bushes and throw grenades at people.” He laughed and said “Son, sounds like Force Recon would be the job for you. Let’s talk.”
Needless to say, I did not join the USMC. Instead I joined the Air Force so I could be around all the hot chicks.
Fast forward, I am now out of the USAF, having completed 3 tours (only 1 in which I was in combat) between Iraq and Afghanistan, married (not to an Air Force girl, they are too high maintenance), and working for the Air Force as a civilian.
However, I could be throwing grenades at people if I joined the Marines. I think in my case, I ended up with the better gig.
I joined because i wanted a challenge in my life. Also, 90% of all the males in my family also served and i feel that it is only right that’d i do the same. I just wanted to serve my country as those in my family did before me.
Why did I join the Air Force? To do cool stuff and see amazing things? Nah. I never even wanted to join the AF in the first place and was dead set on becoming a marine. When the recruiter, he was a good guy don’t get me wrong, started giving off the vibe I was just another number for his quota I just drifted away from the whole idea. It wasn’t until the AF recruiter called a few months later after I made a random visit to her office that I started to think about the military again. The genuine sincerity I got from her pulled me back in, but this time to the AF. What first drew me to the military, aside from a want to serve, was the fact that I would be put somewhere and the decision of what to do would be out of my hands for a time. After high school I didn’t have much direction and had no real idea what I wanted to do with my life.
So I jumped right into it, went to basic, my tech school, and came out ready to go. Mopping and Sweeping floors and concrete pads had never been more fun. 4 years later I’m still going at it, never been deployed, not for lack of trying, but I’ve done some fairly cool things so far. Saw a mass of people who hadn’t seen each other in years or ever come together from 3 different bases and squadrons throughout the EU to get the job done in a span of 3-5 days. I saw all petty squabbles get pushed to the side and people who hated each other doing what they needed to do, ultimately leading to the downfall of a tyrant. I’ve been to foreign countries I’d never dreamed I’d visit, seen things I never thought I would ever see in person.
So when asked why I joined, be it a joking answer or a real one, I always say I don’t regret it and given the chance to change anything I wouldn’t. Been the best years of my life so far, and I’m expecting it to continue as long as they’ll let me stay in.
IYAAYAS
I chose my career becauase I’ve always thought flying was awesome! I am a C-130 pilot. I was a child of the 80’s and watched Top Gun, Bat 21, Hambuger Hill, Platoon. I knew I’d join the military I just didn’t know in what capacity. When the USAF found me medically “fit to fly” they put me in the cockpit of a heavy aircraft, been loving it for almost 13 years. Choose me and I’ll wear the patch proudly on my flight suit!
I joined the US Army May of 1988. The only real reason was that I felt it was something an American man had to do. My childhood evolved around model tanks and watching movies like Where Eagles Dare, Battle of the Bulge and The Big Red One. After graduating jump school and with orders to the 82nd Airborne Division I discovered that my grandfather, whom had remarried and had not been part of my childhood, was an infantryman of the 502nd PIR 101st Abn. He had jumped into Normandy and Holland, fought in the Bulge, and even liberated a concentration camp. I then knew that being a paratrooper was in my blood. His accounts of WWII inspired me to continue to serve but as a civilian working in product development designing load-bearing systems for several major brands that have been in use for 10 years now.
I joined because my Uncle was my idol (a Green Beret) and let me eat snake! (it was actually beef jerky); Because my Grandfather had faded tattoos of anchors and eagles on his forearms; Because I grew up playing “guns” and loved “Red Dawn”; Because Maverick asked for Goose to talk to him; Because I respect men who wear the uniform; Because I cried with righteous anger in my Grandmother’s living room when I watched the towers fall; Because I wanted to be more than what I was; Because I wanted to serve something greater than myself; Because there is an unexplainable love of country that called for service.
I joined the Army because I wanted to travel, meet new people and then kill them.
I always want to be the best in everything I was doing. My first ideal was to be Ski professional I was only 5 years old. After that my mind change , at 14 firefighter… … after seeing 4 of my friend finishing the firefighter program and having no job I was happy to not have chose that. Finally at 18 I decide to be a infantrymen… but the enlistment was to long for me almost 9 month and 1 test pass on 3… so I cancel it and went to French Legion. I injure my self only 2 week after the start of the course, (knee problem from skiing fuc**** 5 years old dream). I came back home and restart my demand. I finally finish the enlistment and start the basic everything was going perfectly I was loving army not loving that much the basic but any way ! I was on my infantrymen training, it’s being 5 day that I hardly sleep due to the constant shot fire and the almost permanent stand 2. After all that I knew I was in my element.
Today I’m 20 it’s being 2 years of that and I still want to be the best soldier I possibly can.
J.
Honestly I joined the military because I stayed up all night on New Year’s Eve after taking multiple doses of LSD. I watched reruns of 20th century battlefield and documentaries on Apache helicopters all night. Just got fixated on the idea of the military. Had to tell some white lies to the doctor at MEPs. But who didn’t? Alright, I apologize in advance if this was offensive to anyone.
I decided to take the Queen’s shilling because I didn’t want to become an old man and think that I had wasted my life by not serving for my country. Anything else would’ve just been second place.
Though I admit to playing D&D as a child, my motivation to join the Army was cinema, (like many others) primarily Apocalypse Now. I liked the idea of jungle so much that I ended up spending 4 years in Panama in early 90s. Now I’m a Colonel at the War College with over 22 years of service, and five combat tours between Afghanistan and Iraq. If I ever meet Francis Ford Coppola, I will sincerely thank him for making what he thought was an anti-war film.
i joined because when i got out of school i didnt want a real job and i wanted to blow shit up.
Forgive my long-windedness. I won’t have time to edit this down…
I joined the military because even in the 1980s it seemed like the last vestige of integrity, honor and service in a culture fixated on wealth and celebrity.
I was one of four in a high school graduating class of 325 who signed delayed entry contracts during senior year. The morning after I shipped for Basic I wondered what those other 321 people knew that I didn’t. To this day, 29 years later, the smell of pine cleaner is associated with regret.
To serve in the military during the Reagan era, at the zenith of the Cold War, was to view a renaissance. I pulled a couple motor stables on an M151, then went to HMMWV training. I qualified once on a M1911–in single shot mode (I now know EXACTLY what was wrong, I’d love to have fixed it)–then transitioned to the M9. I did a bunch of Air Assault inserts from the skid of a UH-1, the remainder off the lip of a UH-60.
I transitioned from Active to Reserve service, and joined the ranks of the Warrior Citizen. I was ridiculed by professors (for participating in the last vestige of modern imperialism), spurned by beautiful women (‘cept for one), despised by colleagues (for my frequent absences) and marginalized by employers (for loyalty divided, to an institution with no relevance).
I have my military service to thank for every major injury I’ve ever endured, the WORST decisions in my life (like skipping finals to attend SFAS–I passed, then the USAR closed down SF and the Guard had its own OML–valuable life lesson there) and the BEST decisions (like skipping finals to deploy to Bosnia, where I served with a task force that seized a large cache of Iranian-supplied weapons that included booby-trapped toys). There ain’t no high like out-maneuvering an armed adversary. It lacked the visceral texture of tales of combat in Viet Nam, Korea or WWII, but it prepared me for the complexity of life in the breech in years to come.
The week of 9/11/2001 was like every other that followed TDY–in this case a planning conference that REALLY had me looking forward to my 20 Year Letter, to come in 2003. I had to be at my civilian job by 0600 to dig through the pile of work that had accumulated during my absence. As I walked through the lobby of my building, the television was tuned to a news channel that was broadcasting a live feed of the burning North Tower. The talking head described it as a terrible accident. Then flight 175 hit the South Tower. Boss sent us all home. Security evacuated the building. I stayed, completing the work that had accumulated. I worked 80 hours that week, preparing delegation and succession plans. The joke around the office was that I volunteered to stand on a rooftop with a Stinger, waiting for more hijacked planes. 2 weeks later my orders came. the secretary took them to the boss, who told me to pack my shit and get out as he dropped them in front of me. Which was good, because the company folded while I was gone. I arrived in theater 2 months later.
As it has for hundreds of thousands of others, the decade since has been a blur, with moments frozen in time. A chance meeting the sibling of a Soldier whose name is engraved on a well-worn bracelet, and wondered to that point if ANYONE ELSE remembered her baby brother. Exploiting a SIM card that proved a bunch of police officials were in the pocket of militias they SWORE they had no fix on. Being the first familiar face your ‘terp sees as he clears customs in his new country–apparently that un-accented English his children speak is a problem back home. Spewing into a bag as your body rejects that mishandled goat from the Key Leader Engagement you just left, because a Halt is not an option. Getting filleted by the Old Man because one of your guys’ Government Travel Cards was used at an “Off Limits Location.” Getting a Silver Dollar for being the first to salute that same kid. Using the opening scenes of “Reservoir Dogs” as a motivator for a class on CasEvac because, hey, that’s pretty much how it’ll go if we don’t train on this stuff. A short burst of AK, then 2 long bursts of ‘249, then a Green ACE report. Then a 15-6. Holding your wife as the charter bus idles nearby, as she pleads through her tears, “Please tell me this is the last time. PLEASE?”
While not a military brat, I come from a military family. Both of my grandfathers served in the Army, one in WW II and the other in Korea and both of my parents served in the Air Force where they met. When I was in first grade I decided I wanted to join the military and my determination to join the military has always been with me. I’ve read over 70 non fiction military books including titles such as It doesn’t Take a Hero by Gen. Schwarzkopf, The Mission, the Men and Me by Blaber and House to House by Bellavia. I have talked with numerous members of the Armed Forces and SOF communities and the Army is the place for me, preferably in SOF in some capacity. I’ve always been fascinated by military tactics, equipment and leadership and the Army is the natural place to fulfill those interests. I’m probably one of the few high school students who read your blog and I’ve been reading it for about 3 or 4 years now. I plan to either go to West Point this summer or do Army ROTC and from there branch infantry.
Honestly, I joined the marines as an 0311 cause I just wanted to shoot stuff, and get paid to do it, it just happens that it worked out for me and I can serve my country doing the thing I love most, shooting.
I chose the military for two reasons. 1) Leading soldiers is rewarding and 2) I wanted to ensure that future generations have the same freedoms that we have.
My family has been screwed over by dictatorial regimes on several continents just for being who they were. I was raised on stories of genocide, ethnic cleansing and family members being killed without a chance to defend themselves. When it came to be my time to join up I went to defend the democracy we now live in.
Why did I stay? Well, I made some great friends and discovered that I love doing the job. Not the parade-ground BS, not the looking pretty in a uniform but the actual dirty job of being infantry. I’m no longer on active service but I do my reserve time and enjoy every second I get to be who I signed up to be; a soldier in the service of our new homeland that has always cared for us. Since I joined in the middle of the last decade I’ve grown as a man and as a leader, I’ve lost some friends that I’d give anything to see again and every year the new recruits get younger and younger. Last year one of those little shits called me “old man”, he’s now one of my brothers.
Why I chose my career?
Family, country and the infantry experience. Nothing (and I do mean nothing) comes close.
In november my brother committed suicide. In december my best friend was shot dead by police. In may my firstborn child was going to be born by my then girlfriend. I knew i had to do something. Something had to give. I got fired from my job. Everything looked real shitty in the private sector. So I went to talk to my uncle sam. I first wanted to be a marine. Thought they were cool. The recruiter was an hour late to pick me up so i told him I was going to see the army recruiters. I enlisted to provide for my family. A wife and a little girl. It was just an honest pay check. Then I deployed, from then I wanted to be in to help.
We helped people. Sounds sappy but we helped people in Iraq and helped people in the stan. I made a man cry in iraq once. He asked the same question; ”Why do you do this? why devote your life to wars?” I told him ”its just a job bro.” This did not suit him. So I told him I liked kicking the bad guys ass. Told him i would spend a life time in war so that his children and my children may know one day in peace. He straight up cried. We do help people out there. If even its just kickin some bad dudes ass. I reckon that was a good deed for someone. Right? long story short. Pay check and being able to help.
I joined the Army so hot babes would throw their panties at me like a rock star.
I have thicker chest hair and a five o’clock shadow that would embarrass Tom Selleck, I’m just that manly.
I cheat death on a daily basis.
No, this brute comes with the things testosterone-fueled action junkies need.
I even come with a first-aid kit. You know what’s in it?
A quart of whiskey, stitch-your-own-wound kit and a chunk of leather to bite down on when you’re operating on yourself.
If you don’t like what the Army has made me into, it’s liable to earn you a bitch slap. Would it hurt? Hell yeah. Let’s just say you won’t be the prettiest guy at the Justin Bieber world tour concert.
Trust me, I will outlive you and the offspring that will carry your name.
Now, go look in the mirror and tell me what you see. If it’s a rugged, super brute macho looking Chuck Norris double from “delta force”, then give me that patch.
The Army has broken the chains of my previous metrosexual lifestyle, I believe that if I had not joined the army, I would just be a Jean-Claude Van Damme look alike.
God bless
20 yrs Army ret.
I’m just curious. Tha last post says Jan 9, 2013 at 1:15 it is 8:26 cst now. I have been wondering how these post and their dates/times are so off?
As stated on the about us page, SSD runs on Zulu.
http://ttom.it/-R5HvhK1Rhrp
On February 26, 1993 a truck bomb was detonated in the basement of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. The bomb did not succeed in taking down the Towers as intended. The bomb did succeed in ending 6 lives and wounding 1,040 others.
On October 12, 2000, a small boat was used to transport explosives which detonated alongside the USS Cole. The attack ended 17 American sailors lives and wounded 39 more.
On September 11, 2001, two commercial airliners, American Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were flown deliberately and maliciously into the South and North Towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. One commercial airliner, American Airlines Flight 77, was flown deliberately and maliciously into the Pentagon in Alexandria, Virginia. A fourth airliner, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The attacks ended 227 lives on the airlines. The attacks ended 2,060 lives in New York City including 343 from the FDNY, 37 PAPD, 23 NYPD and 8 EMTs. The attacks ended 125 lives at the Pentagon including 55 military personnel.
From the time I was born, there have been three terrorist attacks in New York City, New York alone. Three more terrorist attacks on United States soil than should have occurred. My life, my generation and my entire existence on this planet will forever be defined as a time when terrorists brought attacks to America and Westerners alike. These extremists wake up and pray five times a day; once at dawn, once at noon, once in the afternoon, once at sunset and once in the evening; to bring death and destruction to America and all of its people.
I commissioned because I would and will not ask another American or Westerner to take my place to defend this country. I will wake up every morning and not pray five times a day to ask my God to bring death to my enemies. I will wake up and pray to my God to give me strength as I train everyday to protect my God, my country, the American people and their way of life. I will make my enemy fear the darkness with more than I saw in my family and friends to fly on a commercial airliner, to attend public gatherings or hear the news of another terrorist plot. I will be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. I will attack my enemy from SEa, Air and Land the same as my enemies have attacked me.
I am that man.
…”When I go home people ask me, hey Hoot, why do you do it? Why, you some kind of war junkie? I wont say a damn word. Why? They wont understand. They wont understand why we do it. They wont understand its about the guy next to you”…
Blackhawk down….Raven494
I come from a family of Sailors my Pop Pop was in the Armies Navy during WW II he lost three fingers and all the hair on his head when his ship was torpedoed. My father served 24 years 8 enlisted as Nuke ET and 16 as an officer. When I was 11 years old and we were stationed in HI one of my neighbors was a crusty EOD CWO stationed at Det Pearl I remember him telling me stories of riding his bike 30 miles to work and spending his day dismantling fuses and disarming IED’s which at the time I really had no clue what he was talking about but it sounded cool.
Fast forward 7 years I am about to graduate I now live with my mom due to an inability to get along with a stepbrother and his mother I know I want to serve my country but I had not decide how I thought about the USMC because I thought that would piss my dad off but that idea quickly faded I like to think for myself and really do not like constantly getting yelled at. I thought about going the AF route and trying to be a PJ but there where not garauntees and being in the DOT with guns really did not interest me I wanted a challenge. My best friend had joined the Navy a year before I was going to graduate on a program called DIVEFAIR to be a SEAL he explained to me that the program was set up for motivated young people that wanted to be part of the Navy’s diving community he said you could choose from SEAL, Diver, or EOD. At the time he new what the SEALs and Divers were but he did not have a clue what EOD was. That brought me back to the stories from that crusty CWO neighbor of mine I new what that was and it sounded like a challenge. With that program you went a special boot camp company that was just for the program you PT’d more than everyone else and got three chances to pass the screening test. Needless to say I went to the recruiter and signed up a year later I stood before my father now retired dressed in his blues and raised my right hand for the first of many times. It will be 22 years and counting in 2 days I have served all over the world cleared Russian Sea Mines and WW II German Torpedoes from the Baltic, trained Kenya’s how to use shape charges, and cleared IED’s in Afghanistan. I can remember when no one knew what I did for a living and now there are movies and TV shows about it. In 2 years when I retire this time will be the benchmark for my life.
You can’t pick up chicks in hoopty and defiantly not on a 20k a year Marine budget. So I made the transition to contractor. Now I make enough to be a gear queer and have a bitchen ride to pick up chicks.
Twenty years ago today, I joined the Army. I did this simply at the time to provide medical coverage to my wife who was pregnant with my first child. I had no idea that I would come to love it so. It is a great honor to serve my country, the greatest of honors to lead men in combat. At my 10 year mark i was fighting in Iraq, at my 20 year mark I am fighting in Afghanistan. I can’t help but wonder… where will I be at my thirty year mark?
A couple reasons. One I wanted to piss of my Army dad and Air Force grandfather; two the recruiter for the Marine Corps actually gave a damn; three blood stripes just look cool; four I get a freakin’ sword, the Air Force wouldn’t give me no freakin’ sword; five M240G; six travel the world… that isn’t working out so well; seven did I mention it’s to piss of my dad and granddad?
I joined the Royal Air Force as an Armourer because I wanted to get my hands on all the cool guns and explosives that you could never dream of getting your hands on as a civilian here in Britain.
I spent far too many hours as a teenager hunkered down in a darkened room, not exercising, anti-tanning and playing America’s Army online (because it was free and I had no money). Through that I was extremely privileged to get to spend some time chatting with one particular guy who’d spent a long time in the US Army. At the age I was I couldn’t really get my head around the stories he told me about combat in Iraq and Afghan, but coming from an entirely civilian family it made me realise that joining up wasn’t some impossible task that only ‘other people’ do, I could do it.
So here I am a few years down the line and I’ve blown stuff up in foreign countries, fired belt-fed machine guns and hung out the back of aircraft hurtling along at truly scary altitudes. I set myself an objective when I was 17 and now in my mid-twenties I’m not working in the same god awful office, day-in, day-out. I am that geek who joined up primarily because I played too many first-person shooter games. I’ve accomplished my objective.
On the morning of 9/11, I was a happy, carefree, ten-year-old fourth grader. As I stepped out of my dad’s truck and started walking towards my classroom, my childhood best friend sprinted up behind me. “They bombed the world trade center!” he blurted out “It’s all over the news.” Confused and bewildered, I asked him to elaborate; but it wouldn’t be until mid-morning that day, when the elementary school teachers finally gave up on trying to keep a lid on the news, that I finally learned what had happened. Even though I was so young, I remember that day as though it were yesterday.
I made my decision that morning, more than eleven years ago, to join the military and do my part. Over the next eight years, I watched as my family members cycled through deployment after deployment overseas. I chomped at the bit all of the way through high school, restlessly waiting for graduation. Finally, my day came. I received my high school diploma on June 4th, 2010 and less than a month later, on June 28th I finally took the oath of office and started my career in the Army.
It’s easy to get caught up in the everyday bullshit sometimes and forget why we started along this path, but at times it’s good to take a step back and remember just why we did so. I grumble and complain my fair share from time to time, just like everyone else does, but I love what I’m doing and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
There was this girl I went to high school with that I wanted to bang. She was a senior, I was a junior. Despite my best efforts, I tried for weeks to get her in the sack—-pinching of the butt, candy…. nothing worked. She told me I wasn’t her type….”so what’s your type?” I ask……She says army guys. So I told her, “if I enlist, what then??” She said I’d be a lucky one. I was seventeen at the time so my parents had to sign my papers….A week later I showed this chick my enlistment docs….BAM, let’s f*ck!”
So she says “you’re 17, how were you able to do it…..you have to be 18…”
“Ah my parents signed it….?”
She says no. No way.
So there I was smelling of blue balls and failure at the airport.
14yrs later……
I’ve served in all 3 Army components (USA 98-04, USAR 04-05, ARNG 10-Present), deployed to Egpyt (BS99), Bosnia (SFOR8&9), Kuwait (ODS02), Iraq (OIF1), Afganistan (OEF12), held 3 different MOSs (31S, 92Y, 11B….in that order), got the best group of friends in the world, operational experience, some shiny stuff and cool gear…..All because of that now walking boner killer, Tiffany.
Thanks again, Tiffany.
I joined the family business. The Army has been a part of my family’s history for the past 5 generations since we arrived in America. It was what I knew growing up, and was always interested in. College was the only time I spent away from the business, and was when I got my first taste of what being normal was like, and it wasn’t for me. I am proud of my service, and that of the generations before me, and hope to one day see any of my three children join to serve the world’s greatest republic.
I joined because my mother was murdered when I was 14. I felt compelled to protect those that couldn’t protect themselves. So I joined the Army. I wanted to give back to a country that has given me so much and to help those that needed help.
While I would love to say that I joined the USMC to slay fire dragons and defeat black knights and wizards on the chess board of war I actually chose a life of service because of a calling and not a commercial.
From the hours playing “army” behind my parent’s house as a kid to actually signing the dotted line, joining up just made sense. Hard to explain. But those commercials are still pretty cool. Except the new ones.
Thanks to everyone who entered. We love your stories.