Personal Narrative: Joining The Armed Force

I went pre-med before getting deployed and as an intern I've seen a lot of horrible things. But when it's your friend... Someone you serve with... It stays with you forever.

“Fire, bullets, death” that’s everything I saw when I was in Afghanistan. I open my eyes, i’m at work again, but, everytime I close my eyes I see all the tragedies that happen over there. Before war everyone use to tell me, “Jeff don’t be too shy” or if not “Jeff you are so loveable and friendly with everyone.” Brandon Wallace was my best friend since childhood, he even went to war with me. Then there's, my lovely wife, Nicole Sebastian, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I was in my senior year in high school when army men came to my school and ask for recruiters for war. At that moment I asked myself, “what am I going to do after high school? Am I going to survive in war? Should I enter myself in this situation?” After all, I out my name down, my heart was pounding, my breath was hard, I knew there wasn’t no turning back. When I got home

Many people have experienced the worst time of their life once. Some of them could say how football practice was bad, or how college calculus destroyed whatever brain cells they had left. Well there is a small number of people who experienced an event that no one else could ever experience. This event is something occurs only if you’re willing to sign up for the military. The day you fly out or ride to boot camp it’s a tradition and procedure that happens with every military all over the world. This tradition that makes people fear the military and the dreaded drill sergeants. No one will ever know the experience of shark attack like I have experienced it.

I originally wanted to join the military to defend and protect our country, but realized that it wasn't going to bring the satisfaction I desired. I wanted to fight and defend closer to home, the one that involves Traffic incidents, Drug and DUI enforcement. One Friday afternoon, after getting out of High School, there was a video game tournament being held at a Movie Gallery just a few miles away from where I live. I attended the event and met a cool young man who was 18 years old at the time. I believe I was 16. I talked with him about games and the future tournaments that would be great for the community. It was the beginning of a wonderful new friendship. However, the next day at around 3:00p.m., my dad came into my room and told me he

A few days ago, during battle, we were battling Vietnamese soldiers. When I was about to kill a soldier I began to think about the Vietnamese village and the innocent lives that I killed. I froze and a Vietnamese soldier shot me in the chest and in the leg. When I was shot, I thought that this was the end for me. The Lieutenant, Dennis Rider, immediately asked for help to take me to the hospital. While was being drove to the hospital in a Jeep, I wanted to be with you guys if I was going to die. I began to regret joining the war because I wanted to be with you guys if I died that day. I prayed to God to let me live because I wanted to keep writing to you guys to continue telling how I’m doing and how I’m surviving in this environment. When I woke up two days later, the doctor told me I barely made it. When I was out of the hospital, I couldn’t battle for a few days. When I was back up on my feet again, I went to go the lieutenant to thank him because he was the reason why I was able to live. I believe that I will very soon be finally coming back home. When I heard this news, I knew I immediately had to write to you guys to let you guys know. I learned a lot through these experiences I had to go through in Vietnam. Many innocent soldiers here had to die, but they died with pride and did all this for their country. I’m grateful to be alive, and realize how the war has changed me in

United States Army Recruiting has gone through numerous challenges in war time. Even during the peace time, recruiting command engages on real time mission day after day, month after month. I can clearly say that the command was in war of accomplishing mission of providing strength of all volunteer Army well before the 911. It takes a gut, total commitment, and winner's attitude for accomplishing mission regardless of the situation. I am really glad that I am in the honored profession called Army Recruiting that gave me so much of what I am supposed to be and better person period.

In the hospital bed I lie, on the cold, soft, bland, bed. I feel so hopeless about what I’ve done with my life. Joining the war was one of my worst decision that I could have made. could have made.

1. My experiences in combat and in garrison has provided me with an insightful perspective on our nation’s most precious resource, the United State Army Soldier. We are obligated to tell these Soldiers’ stories along with the respective commands they serve in with our local partner communities and national public. I see the VTIP as an excellent opportunity to continue serving the United States Army in a different capacity.

When I was a boy, I had a dream to go in the military. The Marines corps to be exact. The toughest of the tough. My mom did not approve. Why you ask? Because her husband,my dad, had been taken prisoner of war and went MIA is WWI. My dream came true, but not without a price. I had paid dearly for it. Now here is my story…

Our three day journey began in the state of Virginia. We drove through West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and it came to well anticipated ending in Colorado. That is where my father's new military base was stationed and that is why we had to move, I think. To me, a fourth grader at the time, the reason being did not matter. The only thing that mattered was the fact that we had moved for the second time in my nine years of life. The only thing I focused on was the rear door of our 1997 Ford explorer being lifted into the air. See the rest of my family had decided with there being no seats lefts at the front of the truck, my tiny stature would fit perfectly in the back, along with the luggage. So for three days straight the six of us had been stuffed into that truck like a can of tuna. This was not the first time we had moved and it was certainly not the last.

When I was finished serving my time in the military, I had a really hard time adjusting back into the “civilian” life. I would drink constantly, and mix my medication to help me sleep and cope with my problems. I had a hard time sleeping and was struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I was too embarrassed to ask for help, because I did not want to show any form of weakness towards my family and friends. As a result of abusing my medication with alcohol, I lost my job, broke my ankle, and had a hard time paying for my bills. Finally, my family begged for me to stop and seek some kind of professional help, because they feared for the safety of my life. I felt guilty for putting my family in that position, and I wanted to

My dad, Warren “Smitty” Smith was entered to the United States Army straight after high school. Upon entry, my dad attended Big Ben community college in Fort Polk, Louisiana. He left college for his military obligation.

When I joined the Army, I never imagined it would be like this. We’re Americans. We are supposed to be invincible. On December 31st, 1941 we got to the peninsula and a few days later the battle began. We defeated the first wave of Japs after a couple of months and things got quiet for a while. Food supplies began to dwindle. Soon after we arrived, our rations were halved. A month later, they were halved again. We were near starving to death on miniscule amounts of fish and rice. We ran out of medication and soldiers contracted malaria and started dying. Before we knew it, the Japanese were back. We held them, but our line was never solid. A month later, the Japanese made it through our lines. We tried to run from them, but there

Jared’s response to my question, “Why did you join the military and why did you pick the branch you’re serving?” was very honest and straightforward. He explained to me he wasn’t going anywhere in life and decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and chose the military. When I asked him what his first days working were like and if it was different than training for it he immediately snapped and said “It was the hardest work I’ve ever done in my life.” He thought it was very different than training for the job because once he meant his boss they would teach him something different. I would say his favorite topic from me was when I asked him to tell me about Boot camp. He explained to me what he learned and it was you have to play as a

I turned to James who was the man who helped me survive this treacherous place as he was a server whenever we had food. We stood there looking at each other until the soldiers told us to move. We marched with guns pointed at our backs you could hear the buzz of the electric fences that stopped us from escaping this perilous place that I have known as home for such a long time. BANG. The sound of a gunshot made my ears ring. I couldn't tell what happened until we were told to continue and I stood over the body of a man who tried to escape reality.