Throughout my life there has been many events that have shaped the way I am. The one event that had the greatest impact and has been constant is my military career. Since I joined the military I have changed roles, conformed to new norms, and learned new values. Like most service members the parts that shape your military career is the beginning, so as a focus I will look at my basic training, technical school and first duty station which these three combined events in my life has shaped the last 14 years. Through these phases in my life I have learned a lot about the military society, society in the United States, the world and of course me.
The military, for me the Air Force, has its own way of life and its own social function. The first thing I remember getting off the bus at Lackland Air Force Base was the Drill Sergeant running towards us and just yelling and yelling. As a group of individuals we could do no right, “pick up your bags, put them down” was yelled over and over until we learned that when the bags are placed down they can’t make noise. The first day was long and we had to learn quickly the norms of military life. We were giving roles, I was a chow runner, and each role had its own role set. I had to count the trainees and report to the Drill Sergeant how many people in my flight would be eating the meal and after reporting I had to report to the flight leader when our turn will be. It seemed that each day was blurred together as we learned and expected military life style. Class after class was giving by our Drill Sergeants we made sure that race, sex, sexual orientation and color did not affect our daily routine. As each day became in the six week course we started to get used to the daily ritual and...
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...it is a low-income country which as I remember only 10% of the people made more than $50.00 American there. Gender inequality was still present in Kyrgyzstan and women were not event closely treated equal. I the religions of the country were split between Muslim and Orthodox Catholic beliefs. While I was there I meet my wife and only after knowing each other for a month we decided to get married, our marriage took place in Bishkek and was in Russian.
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.
I was at Fort Benning Georgia in August 1988 to attend jump school. I had done my basic training here four years earlier with Sgt. Smith who would be my black hat true instructor for airborne school. I was standing in formation at five in the morning. It was cold now, but Georgia has hot, humid daytime temperatures that were draining mentally and physically for a student from Northern California. I knew I wanted to be here even though there would be physical and mental stresses, challenges and the possibility of serious Injury. The students would be weeded out at every point. I did not want it to happen to me. During my four years in the Army, I learned that I like to be an independent, resourceful, goal oriented problem solver. In the infantry, I had to obey the orders and not think for myself. Uniformity in everything was demanded.
At a young age I knew I wanted to be just like my father (who is now a retired Chief in the United States Navy and has served 27 years.) My dad constantly tells me to this day make sure you take care of the ones you work with because their welfare is what really matters. Although you might have to yell at them every once in a while, you can never forget that they will always count on you for everything. You never want them to be scared of you where they cannot talk to you, but where they know the limit that they can talk to you about anything and when work needs to get done it will get done. Growing up my dad always took care of his sailors whether if hes throwing them a BBQ or having them come over for a home cooked meal. I understood very early that the military isnt about just ...
Joining the military is not just a job or a path to a career, but a life style that requires dedication. The life style of a service member is not easy and is made up of many different characteristics which is known as the warrior society. Authoritarian structure, isolation and alienation, class system, parent absence, importance of mission, and preparation for disaster: war make up the culture aspects of the warrior society and will be discussed in further detail (Hall, 2008).
During that training, I learned that the government was debating the legality of same-sex marriage; at the time, I did not realize it was a political issue, but in retrospect, the political nature of the same-sex marriage debate has become very clear. Besides just starting my exploration in the world of political opinions, the military also helped shaped my political ideology by showing me how important it is to have an effective government. So much of the military is controlled by the president and congress that it became very clear that I had to understand how, and why, the government made its decisions. Part of that understanding was recognizing the political opinions of the people in charge who controlled my paycheck, my job security, and where I was sent in the
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.
...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.
My journey into the Air Force was one that started off as a business transaction which transformed into one of duty, honor, and service. I have had the distinctive honor of leading joint forces to search for downed aircrew and leading multinational forces to increase combat capability on the Republic of Korea. I know that I am a part of the Air Force lethal force and am prepared to answer my nations calling in any way required.
What if I could go back in time and sit down with my teenage self? The conversation would seem longwinded, and I would probably want to tell me ‘okay’, just so I would shut up. If I could shake that spaced out kid, with his head in the clouds and yell into his face, ‘Listen, it doesn’t have to be difficult! Things can be so much easier if you pay a little more attention.’ Looking back as I went through high school my priorities changed, from music and friends to wanting to join the military. The decision to join the military changed my life and molded the person that I am today. I had it all figured out back then. My plan, my approach, and my dreams were in front of me.
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.
The “fortress” is a life that may be hard for others to understand. Military communities do not live the life that most do. They have 5am wakeup calls, most instillations come to a halt at 5pm to honor the flag being lowered, and they enjoy the somber sounds of Taps being played at 9pm. That is what I miss most about living near an instillation. I loved taking that dogs out at 9pm and listening to the coyotes howl while Taps was being played. Life on an instillation is structured, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Structure is something that helps hold things together.
When I first got to college I needed a way to pay for school, so I enlisted in the Army Reserves and was shipped out to basic combat training. At basic combat training I learned of the differences between an officer and an enlisted soldier. I had a phenomenal company commander who was a ROTC cadet who told me all about the program and the responsibilities of an officer. Once I returned from basic combat training I got in contact with the recruiter for UAB ROTC and joined the program. These decisions helped me pay for college, a big reason I initialed joined the Army.
I have been blessed to have led a highly fulfilling career over the past 22 years. The Air Force’s standards of conduct and performance have helped me mature into an adult while creating lasting memories along the way. I have had the opportunity to make significant contributions to my country that offer a sense of pride and personal achievement. My current duties allow me to directly contribute to the Air Force and Joint arena on an almost daily basis. Joining the Air Force helped me to realize I had undertaken a task bigger than myself.
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.
...n ejected out of my comfort zone and proven to myself that I am capable of accomplishing my goals, big and small. The Coast Guard has also taught me about accountability and how important it is to maintain an honest attitude with yourself and your shipmates. I have learned that integrity and responsibility are character traits that are vital in maintain honor, respect, and devotion to duty. In my field we rely on each other heavily when situations arise, and I feel that my studies in Sociology have allowed me to look introspectively and observe my weaknesses so I can continue to improve and evolve into a better person that can continue to serve. I feel that my demographics do not embody diversity. Rather, it is my ups and my downs, my experience in the military, and life as an older student that can contribute to the intellectual diversity within the student body.