Let me give a little background. I went into the army 3 weeks after my 18th birthday. I stayed on active duty for 3 years, and did 9 in the national guard-3 of those deployed. I finally got out in 2005 after some bad experiences (I had a couple of breaks in service, which explains why the math doesnt add up). I have been involved with the military, in one form or another, for over half my life. I still have friends that are in, and some deployed-I help out back home with their families, and with anything they need while they are gone. My brother joined 2 years after I did, and is retiring next year. My mother, bless her heart, spent many, many sleepless nights with her two sons deployed, or training, or, in our cases, simply being ourselves
. I did my whole stint in the infantry; my brother was infantry, then airborne, finally getting into 3/75 rangers for a few years, until he broke both his legs on a training jump. After that, he went reserve, but was full time reserve, guaranteeing a paycheck. He helped train troops before going to Iraq, and was integral in the battle of Fallujah-he was interviewed several times on CNN for what he was doing. He also participated in the infamous Blackhawk Down fiasco-he was one of the people who went in to try & rescue the boys who were on the mission. He also spent a considerable amount of time in Africa, as well as being personal security to dignitaries in S. Korea, Italy, and Iraq. Me, I had a relatively boring tour-I was deployed during the first Gulf War, but never saw combat, due to the war ending as we were enroute. I have been fortunate to participate in a LOT of training, but only 2 other deployments; one to NJ after 9/11, as part of a security/anti terrorist task force, and the second time going to Gitmo in 2003-2004, as part of the security force there. Like I stated, between both of us, my mother went gray prematurely, I am sure.
My oldest nephew, now 17, grew up listening to the stories we have told. As he got older, when he started to show a real interest, we set the record straight. We told him what military life was REALLY like,the good AND the bad, and how proud both of us were to serve our country. My nephew & myself have had long talks about this-what its like, the training, the downtime, the pay, all that. And, I drilled into his head that, although the GI Bill is a GREAT benefit, you serve for love of country. I told him I had seen a few people in my short career say they only signed up for college. I have always told him that, for me, there was a desire to serve. And, once I took that oath, I knew I had made the right choice. I was there for my country-everything else was secondary.
Well, this afternoon, he texted me; he wants to talk to a recruiter. I called him immediately. We talked for about 45 minutes, about what he wants to do, where he plans to go, and what he could expect. I told him that I will go with him to look into it, and, when my brother comes home on leave in April, we can all go down there and, if he still wants to go in, we will make sure he is all set & doesnt get screwed. He is looking to go into combat engineers-we both steered him away from the infantry-not because its a bad choice, but because he isnt sure if he wants to make a career, and his interests lie in plumbing.
Well, this went very long, but I am VERY proud right now!
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