Posted on 06/04/2006 6:15:58 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Karen Dandridge, Richard Forrest Jr. and Rolando Medina all graduated from high school last week and live only a couple of miles apart, but they never ran with the same crowd until now.
The U.S. Army has brought them together.
Fresh from proms and final exams, they have made the life-changing decision to volunteer for the Army, even as public opinion of Operation Iraqi Freedom sags and casualties climb. Like the 73,373 nationwide who raised their hands for Army duty last year, these three came to the South Holland recruiting station with their own reasons for signing up.
They will be welcomed into a military that has struggled lately to fill its ranks. Last year, the Army missed its goal of enlisting 80,000 active-duty soldiers by 6,627--the largest shortfall since 1979. Enlistment of both African-Americans and women has particularly suffered in recent years.
The three recruits all live in Calumet City--a town that closely resembles the nation as a whole when comparing economic and social characteristics, including the number of veterans as a percentage of the population.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote to James Monroe that every citizen should be a soldier at some point.
"This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state," he argued, believing that service improved both the military and the man.
This does not happen today in the United States, of course. There is no universal conscription. There is no draft. Instead, people like Dandridge, Forrest and Medina elect to serve.
Their motives range from patriotism to pay. Although their paths to the Army have been their own, they now enter this new endeavor with similar measures of fear and fortitude.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
I appreciate it, and he's been informed of it as well. He won't be able to communicate with us, except perhaps by letter, for the next three weeks.
He's going in as a boy. He'll come out as a Marine. It brings a lump to this old man's throat.
God Bless your son. My prayers are with him.
Thank you.
We need brave, strong, and patriotic young men and women to volunteer for our armed forces. We are at war whether the MSM believes it or not.
I'm proud of my son, and I am of course concerned for his safety. But I back his decision 100%.
Which was actually Las Vegas, New Mexico, IIRC.
Yes, and Para-Rescue as well. Those are some bad dudes. But you have to volunteer for it.
Two of the boys announced they had enlisted in the Army and Marines respectively, and each received a round of applause from the congregation. Each time it brought a tear to my eyes.......
LOL!! The military needs those too!
What a way to hijack a thread!
What service your son shoudl go to depends on what he wants to do and what sort of man he is already.
If he wants to fight, he should probably join the Army or Marines. They do the fighting. Twenty years ago I would not have recommended the conventional Army at the same level as the Marines; today I would. A young man does not need to be in the Marines, SF or paratroops to be with good peers and great leaders. Of course, in any of those elite forces he gets valuable bragging rights.
If he is more interested in something else, like saving money for college, or learning a trade, the Air Force is the best bet. It has the most technical fields (although few of them translate into a specific civilian job). There are a few gems in there though. A military trained air traffic controller can step right into an FAA job on leaving the service, and the FAA is hiring (Army, Navy and AF all have this specialty).
The Navy has some challenging jobs but it is also the least egalitarian, most feudal service. While the physical conditions (housing, food) of Army service are the worst, the navy can be an unpleasant place for a free man, unless he is an officer. In recent years the "travel" has become a lot of riding around in the ship with not so many visits to exotic ports. One good thing for the education minded, on the bigger ships (especially carriers) they have college classes... professors and everything.
If he wants to help his country and people there is one more service that deserves fair consideration: the Coast Guard. I was talking to a young man a while back that said his job -- rescue swimmer -- was the best job not only in the service, but the world. And he meant it. For that job, you need to be smart and strong.
But there are a lot of different jobs and with a smaller military, most of them make a real contribution to the safety and security of the nation.
Finally, a young man looking to "find himself" probably belongs on active duty (rather than in college burning mom and dad's money. The college will still be there in four years). But for some people the reserves or Guard are a better option. That lets you combine military service with civilian living.
My own background colours my own opinions, of course. As a college dropout, I joined the Army in the 1970s intending to do four years and go back to school. Somehow I wound up getting into it, and served 8 years active, 8 years reserve, and over 10 in the Guard. Along the way I finished the college degree, while getting a lot of training that doesn't apply well to civilian life. (I can disassemble a BAR, construct a 1/4 wave HF antenna, treat severe deceleration trauma, construct an anchor point in earth or snow for hoisting a vehicle up a cliff, and name all the pieces of a Madsen submachine gun... I can command a unit of up to battalion size in about six languages. None of which impresses dates).
As a mother, you will worry about risks. You know, it's a rough age for young men. The ones that are not facing IEDs in Anbar will be learning lessons about drunken driving and other youthful risk-taking behavior. At least in the service, like the Boy Scouts, there are some adult leaders.
And their moms worry about them, too. I was in my 40s in my last tour and my elderly mom was still worried sick the whole time. Sorry, Mom.
By the way, when he comes home from basic training -- whichever service he selects -- he will have much new vocabulary. You are STILL his mom and don't need to tolerate that!
Best of luck
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
It all depends on what skills he wants to learn. I joined the Air Force because I loved technology and Aviation. (the quality of life the AF provides was a good bonus!)
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MEL's -PASSION- sparked by -WE WERE SOLIDERS-
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1085111/posts
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Go Navy, Go Submarines
Another bit of Red Dawn trivia: The same guy that wrote Jeremiah Johnson also wrote Red Dawn and is/was a big cheese in the NRA.
Great Post
He didn't die; he broke his neck and his mother/father spent the next 30 years dealing with caring for him. He died in an automobile accident a few years later.
Your situation? I don't know what to tell you other than to let him make his own decision. If you brought him up right, he'll make the right one. Interceding in someone else's future should be left to those with wings.
Sounds like you need to date a higher class of women! ;-)
Glad you liked it. Made it worth my time typing up. :-)
"What a way to hijack a thread!"
I am so embarrassed. I didn't mean to do that.
I have been completely overwhelmed by the input from everyone who has replied with their thoughts and experiences in the military.
I am going to apologize to everyone who sent me a reply and thank all of them.
Thank you for your input. It was way more than I expected.
God bless you.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
Another poster thouht I had hijacked this thread which was not my intent. I want to apoligize to you.
God bless you.
Thank you for your input.
Another poster said I had highjacked this threat and that was not my intent. I apologize.
God bless you.
Thank you for your reply.
Another poster said I highjacked this threat and that was not my intent. For that I apologize.
God bless you.
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