The call to duty

jillyz12

jillyz12

Active member
I'd like to ask a question of everyone here who serves, has served, or will serve their country in the military. It might sound kind of stupid, but it's something I think about a lot, and I'm very appreciative of any answers I might get. :)

My question is this: when did you first know that you were going to join? Was it something you planned to do from a young age, as a career plan? Was there an incident that triggered your desire to serve? Or did you get "the call" out of the blue, and felt drawn toward the military? Oh...that's a lot more than one question, sorry. lol

Whatever the invidual reason, I think you guys (and gals) are amazing. And I thank you for all that you do for us, all over the world. When I see someone in uniform, the word that comes to my mind is "strength". Not just in their body, but in their character and conviction. I'm in awe of all of you! :bravo:

Thanks for reading,
Jill
 
My "call of duty" came from a recruiter between my junior and senior year. Since I was not motivated to go to college, I listened to what he had to say. After that I visited all the other branches to hear their stories. It came down to college money; the Navy and Army offered the same amount. Since life on a boat wasn't my bag, I decided to join the Army. At the time it was all about the college money. I figured, correctly, that the Army would be a good place to be until I could be motivated to go to college.

I got out after 4 years and tried my hand in college. 9/11 happened and the economy tanked. I had some very smart friends who graduated only to work medial jobs so I joined the reserves to keep the military career option open. The buildup to Iraq pulled me out of college and to the sand box. Upon returning, I decided to make the military a career and rejoined active duty. I went to a green to gold brief and decided that was my best option. I finished college and become an officer.

I cannot give you one reason for why I am in the military; I am good at it, it is very rewarding, people have said I was made for it, it has its benefits, I can retire in 13 more years, it can set me up for a second career, I might be able to teach history at West Point, taking care of soldiers is a big deal to me, calling in artillery and mortar fire never gets old, the nature of the Army keeps things on the go thus I am never bored with the same thing every day are just to name a few.
 
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I saw so many kids enlisting, claiming it was because they loved their country. Then they came home from PG1 and then they'd complain about how they didn't want to fight in a war, they just wanted to go to school. Well, I for one did not enlist to go to school. I enlisted because I love my country, and I felt she needed my help.
 
I stand with Jilly :thumb: you are a special breed of men and women that answer to a call beyond yourself. God Bless and thank you.
 
I was pressured my whole life to join. My mom went to Iraq, my uncle to Vietnam. Grandpa did his time in WW2. I made up my mind at a young age that I would never join.... I did not like having the military thing crammed down my throat. My mom would have recruiters talk to me when I was 14 years old. Anyway I grew older, met a gorgeous woman and found a great job. And one day it just hit me "I want to be a infantryman" I was at Meps 2 weeks later and at Benning 30 days after that. Can I say what triggered that? No, not really. Maybe it was the the family blood.
 
My call came early on in life and was soon lost in high school. Then one day my best friend came up to me and said that he was going to talk to the the Marine recruiter that was at our school on a regular basis. I decided i would go with him and see what it was all about and it was down hill from there(so to speak). I shortly signed up and was shipping off to boot camp. But i would say that i really didn't feel the real call to serve until i left the Marines and was out for not even a few months and realized how much i missed the brotherhood and all the other things that come along with service to my country.
 
I knew since I was 5 that I was going to join the Navy, I say eth U.S.S Bainbridge (DLGN 25) come into port in Charleston Naval base at 20 knots, cut power, ram her in full reverse, slide sideways, and glide right up to the pier. I knew I wanted to do that
(would up the only AD in a Joint spec ops command fixing helos) Not what I wanted, but I loved almost every minute of it.
 
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