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. I decided to sign on as an Army Developmental Force (ADF) trooper as I heard many good things about them. They specialize in peace support operations, trying out new equipment for the army, overseas missions and real operations etc. The best moment of my army life was I got to do peacekeeping operation in East Timor in 2003 for 7 months as Company task force 2. The training before we go up to East Timor was not easy. It involves a period of preparation, consolidation of training and cohesion building, of about 3 months. …show more content…
Along the way when we drove past, we will see many of the villagers waving and smiling warmly at us. We simply felt so welcomed. The country itself is beautiful and amazing. The villages, especially the children, were extremely friendly. It's amazing how a country had recovered and transformed from its war-torn past. The people suffered some of the worst atrocities with mass killing, looting, arson and rape took
Although I grew up in a military family, I never saw myself going into a military career. Up until I was about fourteen years old, I planned on being a marine biologist in Hawaii. Sounds nice, right? Well, at the end of my eighth grade year I decided that I might as well join NJROTC, because all of my friends were doing it and it seemed okay. I have to say, looking back, I was quite naive. Joining NJROTC was the smartest and most valuable decision I have made to this day.
Thesis: The war overseas, but there are millions of veterans still fighting the war at home.
My initial reason to enter the Air Force was a great way to pay for college which turned into a call of duty and a service commitment which has actively allowed me to contribute to the Air Force mission. Thus far I have led a joint force search and rescue effort and a multinational exercise to preserve freedom. As an F-15E instructor WSO and combat mission ready WSO I actively contribute to ensure our freedoms are preserved and the attacks of September 11, 2001 will never happen again.
The blood flows down the stairs of the stage, and even the breeze that blows in my face from beneath the arena is tainted by the smell. The senators remain on stage, even after most of the Imperial party leaves. The senators continue their silence as they circle the body lying on the floor. The purple stripe of the magistrate ’s cloak, an honor to Roman officials, is now a color so darkened by blood that it’s turned black.
As I stood there exhausted holding a blank stare with my arms to my sides and the sound of mumbling in the background, I only heard three words of the entire training brief my supervisor gave us, “time for chow!” I immediately snapped back to it and walked in the same direction as my teammates. As I walked, I looked ahead of the group for the best place to get out of the 103-degree hot Texas sun. I seen a tree and a stump that would be great to rest my back on and it had plenty of shade. When I arrived at the stump, I set my rifle down and quickly took off my training gear that felt like an extra body hanging on my shoulders. At the same moment that I felt like I could take a break from the training day and let my guard down, I heard one of
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.
...ion. When I am old and gray and my grandkids ask me what I did for a living I can hold my head high and say the Army was my profession.
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines the United States Armed Forces, each has a separate mission but all work towards the same goal. As a young child I grew up around many of these individuals who served their nation proudly and honorably. I always admired that, they were all so willing to give of themselves. Each took part in this brotherhood for their own individual reasons, I too have has this calling. My mom always knew form the time I was a little boy that being a part of the United States Military was what I was going to do. So when I enlisted on October 7, 2015 it was not a big surprise. However, my MOS was, I choose to be a (19K) M1 Armored Crewman, which basically means I will be working with one of the biggest and deadliest military machines.
Army, I experienced working with different cultures and personalities. I was first stationed in Camp Casey, South Korea, located 10 miles from the DMZ zone, and had the honor of working with Korean soldiers, traveling throughout South Korea and partaking in their culture and way of life. After a year, I was given orders to be stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas. During my last two years at Ft. Hood, TX, I led my platoon through company runs, physical activities, and obstacle courses. Needless to say, my initial interest in public health increased to a passion and yearning to learn more about the human body and health.
Being a soldier was a really tough life. In the end I hated doing the same thing day after day with no change in sight, I despised the leaders that didn 't take care of their subordinates, and most importantly, I couldn 't lead my soldiers from the front anymore. I 'll be the first one to say that joining the army was the best thing to happen to me. I have grown so much as a person and the lessons I learned are invaluable. In the end I realized the negative factors outweighed any possible benefit I might receive from continued service. It was time for me to
An opinion is the formulation of personal experiences. After my four year career in the U.S Army, I can officially profess that I am one combat veteran out of very few. During my time on active duty it was constantly mentioned how only one percent of the nation’s population serves in the military. In stark contrast, the U.S has one of the best military defense yet only attracts one percent of its citizens. There must be reason for this, which led me to revise my priorities during my tour. Living in the lifestyle of a U.S soldier molded my perception on what is truly important, which is education. Education is a tool that may enable a person (such as I) to jump through the hoops of generational poverty into a life of stability. This is a component
Army life can be very challenging and a life changing experience. It was very challenging and life changing for me. I was raised by my Grandparents they did everything for me so this was a wakeup call for me on life. An independent person was not I, so I had problems with the changes about to come. Army life is constantly demanding and constantly changing without notice. Although the travel was exciting, army life for me was very challenging because I had to learn to adapt to a new system, to share my life with other soldiers, and to give up many of the comforts of home.
My career in the Military shifted to the Army in 2006 and continues on today. I have enjoyed the last 14 years and plan on continuing my service until the Army doesn’t want me around. Even though I had to deal with role conflict between being a service member, father and husband the military life is for me. I have been able to experience things that a civilian job would have never allowed me to experience this.
[Actually,] I had so many reasons for wanting to do this. The first was for money. The military was willing to train me, feed me, house me, and when I was back home give me cash for college, "up to" forty thousand dollars. At that time I thought that was an incredible deal. Where else in the world could I find an opportunity like this one? [Yet t]he price I would pay wouldn't be worth "up to" forty thousand. Another great reason for joining the Army was to get in shape. I had visions about this ultra lean and strong body I would get from running five miles a day. I was also looking forward to the overall experience of inner strength, confidence, and pride in my country. As much as I was excited about doing something different and brave, I was also full of fear.
Immediately after graduating high school I was not ready to attend college. I had little direction and was unsure what career I wanted to pursue. The majority of my concern stemmed from the cost of college tuition. My parents shared this concern and asked that I pursue other options. I had never considered the military until a close friend suggested the Coast Guard after laughing off my extravagant plan to become a lifeguard on the beaches of California at age eighteen. I was yearning to leave Ohio for California. Six months later, newly graduated from boot camp I left for the USCGC Sherman, a 378-ft high endurance cutter out of Alameda, Ca.