Posted on 08/18/2026 7:04:51 AM PDT by rlmorel
From the article:
Having spent over 55 years inside academe — earning Bachelor of Science (BS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, then serving as a post-doctoral cancer researcher, faculty member, and research administrator, not retiring until almost 79 years of age — how the one-year title of Staff Sergeant (SSG) decades ago could mean more to me than my PhD might seem bizarre. Nonetheless, it’s true.
Why?
The 19-months in the U.S. Army, as a 24-year-old draftee, transformed my life. Essentially every significant civilian success thereafter can be attributed to that brief stint serving America, and two main factors were responsible.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
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I did not go that far-thanks for pointing that out... I’m going to explore that next!
I have to admit, I wondered that too, but… I have given up trying to figure out how people advance in the military before or after my time in back in the mid to late 70s.
I was very proud of myself that I was able to advance as far as it was possible to go in four years in those particular years I served, but in war time… Things are different I guess. There are different pathways to advancement unrelated to studying and taking tests.
That is, however, a valid observation.
Yes, I was referring to NorthMountain’s link in post 38; I should have made that clear. We don’t have a “cc” button.
LOL, the only time I ever got into a real fight in the Navy (not counting the time four black guys jumped me on my way to my quarters one night because they didn't like the squadron hat I was wearing which was titled "Clansmen" and the ignorant douche bags likely didn't understand that was a little different than "Klansmen"!) was aboard ship when I had just finished scrubbing a head in preparation for impending inspection any minute, and some guy disregarded the sign and tape and came right in and began using one of the urinals!
"This will not stand!" was not to be a thing for more than a decade in in the future!
Hahahaha...no kidding! I knew a guy who got a degree in both Philosophy and Psychology, and spent the rest of his life doing tile and floor installations...something he was quite good at!
Hey bud! Funny, that. I grew up as a military brat, and I hated that.
Then, I joined the military! I thought “I hated leaving things all the time! What have I done???”
As a Swabbie I have a good deal of admiration and respect for the Jarheads!
Yes, you did! So you know how much that sucks.
Have you ever met someone from way back, that you knew and then you left that place, and they did also, and then, decades later, run into them again?
I have, and when that happens, you’ll drop everything to go have a beer or coffee. Nothing greater than meeting old friends, and old FReeper friends, too!
I turned them down, realizing that at my age, lack of maturity, there was no way I could ever learn to be an efficient officer during the Vietnam war.
I often wonder how many draftees and enlistees (me) fell for that carrot.......
Holy smokes! My friend who had a degree in Psychology and Philosophy begged me to type a paper for him since he couldn't type, so he had to dictate it to me because his handwriting looked like he had grabbed a chicken by the neck, dipped its feet in India ink, and made it walk across the page!
The course he was writing the paper for was: "Existential Humanistic Psychology" and as he dictated, I would occasionally stop and look at him with a look that clearly said: "WTF are you talking about here?"
“I’ve known a lot of veterans in civilian life — both black and white — and most of us seem to miss how it was in the Marines, where you didn’t care about the skin color but just the fact that we were all Marines ..... The rest of us just want to live our lives like normal people.”
Well said and I couldn’t agree more. I still recall a jr. high teacher who was in college in Tampa when Castro took over. He couldn’t return so he built a new life here. I often recall the truth in his stating, in heavily accented voice, “we’re all human BEANS.”
Semper Fi Marine
Heh, I had a different outlook on it. Though I felt as you did that any young person would benefit with a stint in the military, I remember that the only thing that made many of us keep our whining mouths shut was the rejoinder we were 100% certain to get when we complained about the Navy:
“Nobody twisted your arm to sign that enlistment contract.”
It was very effective at keeping the bitching to a minimum!
Yes. I have often thought that one of the greatest things this country ever did was the Post-WWII GI Bill-I believe it contributed to the huge boost this country got after the war!
And yes-there were a lot of veterans of that generation who didn’t talk a lot about it. It seemed to be a generational characteristic, but I have seen much the same behavior from both Vietnam Vets and Gulf War Vets.
We owe them all a debt.
Hahahahahaha! I can only imagine what kind of situations that created for you!
And then you became an officer!
Yes. My father was stationed at the Navy Yard for several years in Washington DC, and his job was to determine how to handle various infractions that the commands declined to handle themselves.
My mother said years later he hated that job, but he had to do it because it was his punishment/retribution from the Navy when he said he needed to have shore duty to spend more time with his family.
I knew a few guys who were brig rats, and some of them didn’t seem like bad people. They were just stubborn and couldn’t stay out of trouble.
Ping.
“his handwriting looked like he had grabbed a chicken by the neck, dipped its feet in India ink, and made it walk across the page!”
My husband’s is so bad even he can’t read it sometimes. I never can.
Of all the things in my work career, hearing things like that made me grit my teeth. The only thing worse was a boss who was afraid of hiring someone to work under him or her because that person was smarter than they were.
Well, a micromanaging boss was pretty bad, too.
I salute you. In reading that, you have led a most honorable life. And you did what you said you would.
I am embarked on my own journey towards Christ, and your story really does resonate with me.
Especially when you said: “And the Navy, in the 18 or so months of my contract with them, taught me I could do things I did not know I could do...”
100%. I was not a screw up, but I had serious self confidence issues. The US Navy taught me I was capable of so much more than I knew.
And for that, I will always be grateful.
True enough. It is getting out and on your own. Being responsible for yourself...that makes us all grow up faster and stronger.
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