In this weeks post I take some time to wind back the clock once again. This time, a little forward in time from the last post. If you haven’t read the last two posts I’ve done, I suggest starting with “Never Forgotten,” and then “The Twin Towers.” This will help you read them in sequential order as I’ve written them. However, feel free to read them in whatever order feels best to you. In the following paragraphs I discuss the lead-up to my decision to join the military.
Slowly Finding My Way
I remember watching the news with my dad in early 2003 as US and allied forces began a bombing campaign over Bagdad. We were watching what was being called “Shock and Awe” by the media and the official kickoff of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). I was always fascinated by the military and warfare as a kid. I loved watching movies like “Full Metal Jacket,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and even classics like “In The Army Now.” Probably because my dad did. One of his favorites was “Platoon.”
But, watching the bombs over Bagdad was not what triggered me to join. I was still thinking hard about being an artist. Although, I didn’t know what I wanted to do within art either. I really enjoyed fantasy art such as the likes that Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, or the iconic Frank Frazetta produced. However, I wasn’t very good at the time. Even if I had pursued that life, I had no idea how to make artwork sell, or where I could take those skills to get a job. I was under the impression that if you were that good, people would just want to buy your art and it would sell itself.
I was a senior at that time and really didn’t have a clear direction. As the school year came closer to an end, I felt a strong sense of urgency to figure out a plan. By that point I had been taking advanced art classes and had a college portfolio ready. But, I didn’t have any way of paying for college and my parents didn’t have the money either. My dad was at the perfect balance of making too much money on paper, but not having enough of it after bills to afford to pay for me to go to college. I didn’t have anyone to help me navigate the system for loans or anything else I might have qualified for. So, I had to find another option.
Before I graduated I remember him pressuring me to start thinking about what I was going to do because “I wasn’t just living at home and working at Boston Market.” He casually suggested the military as an option one day. I wanted him to be proud of me and to think I was tough (I wasn’t), so the first thing I did was drive myself to the Marine Corp recruiting office the next day after school. The recruiter put me in a room and had me take a test which took me about an hour or so to complete. I remember the recruiter being very excited after I took the test. He mentioned having me in basic training within about a week or two. I told him I’d need to discuss it with my dad first. After that, the recruiter was adamant about meeting my dad as he was sure he could get his buy in.
The recruiter would eventually visit me and my dad—a visit I don’t believe I informed my dad was coming. So, it was sort of unannounced. My dad basically told the recruiter to get lost. He was pretty upset that I took his suggestion and went straight to the Marine recruiter. But, I hadn’t signed anything yet, so he recommended I call my uncle who was in the Air Force at the time. I was actually kind of relieved that I didn’t have to join the Marines to impress him anymore. Apologies to my Marine friends out there; I’ll buy you a pack of crayons to snack on to make up for it. Joking aside, the Marines of CST-17—with whom I would later serve alongside as a defense contractor—were some of the smartest, hardest working young men I’d ever had the honor of working with. Anyway, I remember having a conversation with my uncle and being convinced that the Air Force was a better option for me to explore.
Joining the Air Force
After the conversation with my uncle, I ended up in an Air Force recruiting office and not long after that the recruiter took me and a few others down to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for a tour of what an active duty Air Force base looks like. I would eventually take The Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. I managed to score an 89, and was given a few interesting options. One of which included Signals Intelligence, or simply “SIGINT.” After chatting with the recruiter to better understand my options. I settled on SIGINT. The recruiter was convinced that SIGINT meant that I could later use my experience to work at NASA. I believed him at the time. But, in retrospect it’s comedic that he would tell me that. Ironically, I know one former SIGINT analyst who has worked for NASA. I suppose anything is possible.
Once I was settled on my decision, which didn’t take long for me to think about, I signed on the dotted line and began to sharpen my mind and body for Air Force Basic Military Training (BMT). Just kidding, after graduating from High School I spent about six months living it up with my friends (who were all very mad at me). I was on what was called the “Delayed Entry Program,” which I took as a bit of a vacation from school. I did very little to prepare myself for what was to come. I wasn’t ready at all the day I showed up to the Military Enhanced Processing Station (MEPS) in Troy, Michigan. That’s where you do your final processing and paperwork before being shipped off to BMT, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
I will never forget the morning that I left with my dad to head to MEPS. This was one of the last times that I would see him before he would get hooked on heroin—a problem I never knew was coming. I didn’t know how it was going to shape our relationship, my view of him, and destroy the peaceful household I remember my dad and step-mom providing for me and my siblings when I left. At that time he was still normal in my eyes. He was the guy I looked up to and wanted to make proud. We talked very little when I was growing up. I spent many formative years living with my mom, seeing him sparingly. When I did live with him, he was working. When he wasn’t working, he was working in the garage, around the house, or in the backyard. His work ethic was something I admired and always felt I fell short of.
Conclusion
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention my uncle Ty (the aforementioned uncle in the Air Force) and the role model he was / still is. It was his guidance and example that led me to my final decision to join. My dad died one year ago (as of the time of this writing) on October 22nd, 2022 of a drug overdose, on a Saturday morning. I am close to the age he would have been when he drove me to MEPS. I joined to make him proud more than anything at the time. I would go on to complete four years of active duty in the Air Force. I continued supporting the military in my roles as an intelligence analyst and defense contractor for many years thereafter. Stay tuned for the next blog post where I will talk a little about endless wars and my experience with them while I served on active duty.
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