Personal Narrative: A Career In The Military

My life in the military was challenging yet rewarding. I have received an enormous amount of training for the two different jobs I served in. I have been to a multitude of duty stations. Also I have been deployed four separate times and worked many soldiers along the way. I had enjoyable careers while in the Army and have done and seen a lot.

A lifetime worth of experience in a short 17 years between two amazingly different jobs. After completing basic training in 2001, I became a mechanic after going through the classes for being a mechanic. I worked on an assortment of vehicles, ranging from a HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) to a small lawn mower because everyone loved to fix them. Being a mechanic is hard work, but very satisfying. Also, I have been a Counterintelligence Special Agent which I helped the Army figure out what classified information the enemy already knows, secrets are not secrets if the enemy already knows. Through my training I can also figure out if my soldiers are lying. I was very fortunate to have served in each career field for eight to nine years.

I have not been stuck in one place for very long.

I started off at Fort Carson, Colorado, where my son, Aaron was born and also the State I was born in. Form there I was sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Most of Fort Campbell was located in Tennessee however, because the post office was located in Kentucky it is considered to be in Kentucky. After being stationed at Fort Campbell I was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Fort Knox, happens to have the Gold Vault also known as the United States Bullion Depository. Then we transferred one more time to Fort Hood, Texas where I hung up my hat. I have fortunate to be stationed at these four

locations.

I’ve been deployed a little bit, well perhaps more than average. I have worked in operation Iraqi Freedom, deploying the first time in 2003 to Northern Iraq. My barracks room while in Iraq was a luxurious jail cell that I shared with four other soldiers. Going on to my next deployment I was deployed to the middle of Iraq near its capital city Baghdad. To a sweet smelling spot located between a sewage waste plant and a garbage dump which burn garbage daily. After that deployment I was going into Operation Enduring Freedom. Next to the safest place ever in Afghanistan because of the Pakistan border and how dangerous it was. After my long two years stay at home, I returned again to Afghanistan, where I had the opportunity of working with soldiers from many different allied nations. I am blessed to serve my country so many times.

Despite the time I have lost with my family due to deployments and military training I have I have received the knowledge and experience beyond my years. I have learned two different jobs which have very different skill sets and require different personalities. I have been stationed all over the country and seen a lot of sights that I would not have seen if I was not in the military. My several deployments which have provided me different points of view of different cultures. I am less than 40 years young, retired and have seen and done a lifetime’s worth. I am on to my next chapter in life.