Categories: Seniors

Daily Life of an American Soldier: Serving My Country

Imagine waking up everyday to the reality of a demanding newborn. The crying, the feeding, and the comforting are around the clock. In addition the parents’ needs play second-fiddle to that of the demanding and sometimes thankless job of parenting. Even so, similar to parenting is serving one’s country, for the individual that volunteers to do so must downplay his or her needs to that of the greater good. Life in the military doesn’t leave too many options for personalization nor for special treatment.

Opposite to comforting a newborn is the induction onto the Army lifestyle, in part owing that the volunteer does not receive the reassurance a child does from his or her parents. In fact, the Drill Sergeants will tell you that they are your new mom and dad. Further they particularly emphasize to the recruit that milk and cookies are a part of the past. In short sugar-coating reality is not part of the Army’s itinerary, but discipline is.

Yet despite all the hoopla about Drill Sergeants and hence the Army, many of the same duties a parent performs are also part of the military lifestyle. A person can learn a lot about parenting from serving his or her country. Reason being is that serving the United States through the military involves sacrifice, compromise, and determination. Likewise so does the full-time job of parenting. For example, if a person hasn’t hiked twelve miles before, the extra weight of a fifty pound rucksack might wear him or her down like a sack of potatoes. Sounds a lot like everyday life, right? We all get worn down by life every now and then, too. Therefore a little thick skin and grit helps as well as a strong character. A person must be mentally, physically, and emotionally present to be fully accountable for his or her choice. Case in point is once a decision is made, there is no turning back. It would be like going back on your word.

I received many wake-up calls in the Army because the value of a hot meal, a hot shower, and a warm bed are often taken for granted by a material culture in contrast to roughing-it in the Army. For instance, basic-training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, involves least of all swallowing food in the mess hall. Seems like an everyday occurrence right? It would be if new recruits were given more than five minutes to eat. Therefore enjoying the taste of a well-prepared meal isn’t a luxury afforded to busy recruits. Another version of roughing it occurred while I was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. To explain, our unit would often go to the back-40 to train. And since the back-40 is a large wooded area lacking modern conveniences like water-beds, hot showers, and shopping malls, soldiers would sleep on fold-out cots and even the hard ground sometimes. It seems the more a soldier progresses in the Army and in his or her life, the more his or her basic needs become paramount as they are relegated to second-fiddle in the face of more responsibilities. Age doesn’t make one an adult, for a newborn’s need are also paramount.

Life in the United States military can be a little overwhelming because not only is the physical reality grueling via constant exercise, but a soldier’s peers are still in his or her face when the day is done. Owing that military life can be impersonal, there is little room for privacy and opinion. Seemingly irrelevant tasks are the order of the day. The point is that nobody is irrelevant for we all have similar needs. The military and some tough-love give the individual a sense of purpose bigger than him or herself while also emphasizing personal integrity.