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Advantages of joining the military
Benefits of joining the military essay
Benefits of joining the military essay
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To some people, it is only noise but to me, it was a whole new world. I can still remember the first time I heard a round whiz past my ear, the cars passing by, or SSG Blue yelling at me to get down. At that moment, I realized that I was not training anymore. I was made aware that everything and everyone were out to kill me. I kept telling myself, “I shouldn’t be here.” Mentally, I can hear my mother in the background crying just as the day she did when she found out I joined the military. My life was not the same nor will it ever be the same. In my first combat tour I learned the importance of life, how to mentally prepare myself for the worst outcomes, and I learned how to be a great leader. In my hand I held a two page paper with a list …show more content…
Private first class Pena, Jesus deploying to Iraq. My heart was racing, lungs felt as if they were about to burst out of my chest, and my hands were shaking so rapidly that the paper could be heard from 25 feet away. My name is Staff Sergeant Pena and this is my story of my first combat tour. I was the guy who took life for granted. I wasn’t given much growing up but I did not appreciate the things I was given. I blamed my family for everything that went wrong in my life. I thought that by joining the military I would be some kind of hero; like the ones you find in comics or that I was going to be superior to everyone else. In actuality, it made me felt less of a person. My family did not know the experience I was …show more content…
I woke up every morning wishing I was home already. Instead, I woke up to Sergeant Red telling me to get up. He was not the greatest noncommissioned officer (NCO) but he taught me a lot about preparing myself mentally and physically for the worst outcomes. One thing he said that stayed with me was, “Hey man, when it is your time to go then it is your time to go.” Small words but they were honest words. In war you cannot dwell on the mission or any mistakes that you have made. All you can do is learn from them mistakes and try not to make them again. I do not consider myself a hero or superior to everyone else but I do find myself to be determined and dedicated. Every time we were being briefed on the next mission I looked around the room to see if everyone was ok. I looked for that one individual who was deep in his thoughts that he did not even pay attention to the brief. I would pull them to the side afterwards and just have casual conversations with them. Once we laughed and forgot about the mission we would look at each other and know exactly what the other person was thinking. “Are we about to go out there again?”, “Is this my time to go?”, or “Is this going to be the last time I see him?” We did not look at each other as friends; we looked at each other as brothers. Every time we prepared for a mission we helped each other to make sure everyone had the right equipment. We made sure that everyone’s weapon was
As Marines, we have a well-known motto “One Team, One Fight” that creates an image of strong unity that everyone regardless of rank or size plays an important role. Everyone is necessary to complete the mission. In this book, one particular Marine, (then) Captain Bill Barber, has a story that since has become a crucial tool used as teaching material today for multi-level Marines everywhere. This book serves as a testimony to Captain Barber’s will in the midst of extreme opposition and sets the example of the for mentioned mindset
military members who share harsh, traumatic, or even funny events obviously become closer through the bond of a mutual experience. This is particularly true for Marine infantry; many Marine are brought up in different areas of the US, with different values, ages, religious and political beliefs. However different we all might look on the outside, the fact that we’ve all been through good times and bad with each other makes us closer than any civilian could understand. After being a Marine, I find that I’m close to, and always will be, than my civilian friends who I’ve known for years. Along with this, Pressfield talks about how, under all the glory and allure of fighting for one’s country exists the real reason that warriors fight; for our brothers in arms. Political beliefs, government stances, and flags go out the window, only to be replaced by concern for the safety and well-being of the men to our left and right. All of these things are reasons why it is difficult for civilians to understand what it’s like to be a warrior. This is perhaps embodied best in our motto, Semper Fidelis; Always Faithful, to our brothers and those who depend on
On July 27th of 2015 I decided to embark on a journey that would change my life and who I am forever. July 27th, 2015 is the day I left home to start training to become a Marine. As soon as my feet hit the sand at MCRD San Diego I felt a change right away, I wasn’t the same person I was when I left home. While in boot camp I went through many changes, who I was or who I thought I was no longer mattered. Marine Corp boot camp training was one of the most difficult milestones in my life. Unfortunately two months in I suffered an injury to my hamstring and was discharged to receive surgery and therapy before I continued training. Even though I failed to graduate I still learned and picked up on the many things the Marine Corps tries to instill into their recruits. Many of the things I learned I can use and apply in life and in college.
Thesis: The war overseas, but there are millions of veterans still fighting the war at home.
In November I had finished my sniper training. There was talk of being sent to Africa to help in the desert campaign during our graduation ceremony. I was never more nervous in my life. It was all becoming real; everything I worked for.
I spent three years in the U.S. Army. I always knew that one day I would join, but I wasn 't given the chance to finish what I started there. I gained a very unique perspective of the world. I was injured halfway through my first tour and subsequently I was medically discharged against my will. When I was transitioning out, there were many briefings I was required to sit through in order to complete the process. One of the most memorable was the resume writing class. If a soldier decided to attend and pay attention, I think the most important thing they would have learned is to never have a single plan. You should always have at least five plans for each important transition in life. These plans should all carry equal weight. Your time should
Your days consist of walking, running, and shooting, but in these three years I have been thankful enough not experience a whole lot of shooting. I’ve tried to stay out of trouble and keep safe for Sammie and Faith’s sake. That is, until my last day over here. I was supposed to be out of Afghanistan in twenty-four hours, all I had to do is lead one final convoy through a village. Coincidentally it was the same village I had watched Tom Butler die in four years prior. A group of five soldiers and I were guarding the last humvee when we fell far behind the group. Segregated that’s when the insurgents say their opportunity. They threw two grenades at the vehicle and blowing it up. The heat felt from the flames of the wreckage were unbearable. I managed to get the five guys and myself into a small food store before the thirty plus insurgents came out of the surrounding buildings. I put a call in to base giving them the coordinates of where we were. The officer on the phone told me he couldn’t get someone out there for at least five minutes. Five minutes went by when I finally heard the sound of the chopper’s blade in the distance. As soon as they heard the helicopter, the insurgents started to close in on us. No one in my platoon would make it out alive if someone didn’t do something. I saw only one way out for the majority of us, and it didn’t end well for me. I grabbed my pen and paper from my pack and
I was told about the good and hard times that I would face. But what I looked forward to the most was to be surrounded by soldiers who were much like me. These soldiers would lift me up to success. I could then help them when they need it. If I could have talked to my younger self today I would tell of the great experiences and how to deal with the struggles I would face. But no one knows what the future may hold. I believe you should always be prepared and stand your ground, no matter what.
I cannot describe in words the feeling of pride when I wore the uniform. And to be honest, at first, I did not know what my future held. But one thing I have always known: I was on a mission, a mission that could cost me my life; but knowing I was protecting citizens, especially my
... to be the backbone of the Army unless I am willing and able, to do what is right at all times. I must be the standard-bearer. I must be beyond reproach. I must, at all times, conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the corps, the military service, and my country, regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I have recited a creed daily that embodies what makes an NCO. I have lived by that creed and always placed the needs of my soldiers above my own. I have sacrificed in times when I should not have. I have made sure those around me are better off than myself whenever I was able. What I mean with these hollow words, what I hope rings true from the message I am trying to convey, is that I have LIVED with integrity. I have EMBODIED integrity, even when it meant it would harm me; because no one is more professional than I.
I was enlisted in the army on 23 June 1999 as an Infantry rifleman in 4th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment. Initially I hated the army and signing on in the army never cross my mind. I hated the army for many reasons. The regimentation, waking up very early in the morning everyday, no freedom and sometimes even been punished by the Sergeant for no apparent reason. I only decided to take up Army as a career after I ORD in 2001 when I actually miss being a soldier. The army life is so full of adventure, toughness and camaraderie.
In the beginning it was great. Everything was new and exciting. Whenever I went on leave I couldn 't wait to get back to work after only a few days. The years passed and all the new and exciting things became old and boring. I began going on back to back deployments and I started to get really burned out. When I went to my twenty year high school reunion I got a chance to see what life as a civilian could be like and I wanted that. I no longer wanted to move when the army decided that they needed me some place. I wanted to put down roots and I couldn 't really do that while I was in the army.
Over the years I have had many opportunities to work on basic mentorship with my junior NCOs and Soldiers, just like SSG Johnson taught me throughout the 1980’s. I have tried to minimize my mistakes and maximize my time with Soldiers, teaching them how to soldier, teaching them how to lead, teaching them how to live as responsible human beings and Stewards of the Profession. The legacy I would like to leave behind is that Soldiers come first, everything else follows.
I grew up in a small town and after I graduated high school I wanted more in life than a 9 to 5 job; I wanted to see the world. I had a few friends that had joined the military and had come home to visit with exciting stories about their experiences. I noticed a change in a few of them; they seemed to walk a little taller, maybe act a bit more mature. This, along with the intrigue of life outside of my small town, drew me to consider joining the military. I met a recruiter in Lakeland Florida in July of 1989 and a few months later on September 26th I raised my right hand and took the Oath of Enlistment. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.
"The core of a soldier is moral discipline. It is intertwined with the discipline of physical and mental achievement. Total discipline overcomes adversity, and physical stamina draws on an inner strength that says drive on." - Former Sergeant Major of the Army William G. Bainbridge