Having a five year long contract, this only means that I'm half-way done with my enlistment. Barring any unforeseen or unwanted/warranted re-enlistment or extension. But thirty months is better than 3 months. The time has gone surprising fast. Sure the days are longs, and even weeks sometimes drag along. But the two and a half years that I've been in, have been the fastest of my life.
Though the time in my military career has seemed somewhat short in comparison to the rest of my experiences in life, I can't seem to get over the fact of how much I've learned in that short time. Not just about other people, leadership, and the technical skills of my job, but about myself. Who I am, and who I want to be. I always strive to improve myself, and the people around me. I will probably always work on some kind of team, just because the camaraderie is such an amazing thing to be a part of. During even it's ups and downs.
Reflecting on the last thirty months of my life, I have a lot to be thankful for. Let's just start at the beginning. I arrived at Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training. It was March 6th, 2007. The next fourteen weeks were spent developing new habits, dealing with new people, and learning that I wasn't the immature, irresponsible person I thought that I was. I gained a new sense of self-pride and confidence in that. The completion of basic training was easier than I had ever anticipated something like that being, and I was quickly on my way to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. I remember that Airborne School didn't hold up to the prestige that I thought it had, and after three weeks, and five jumps from an aircraft in flight, I was on my way to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
There are so many weird characters that you will meet in the military. Everyone is from around the United States, and so you get a little taste of every state, county, and different city, just by befriending complete strangers. Though the voices, the accents, the ideals and religions are varied, the common interests are not that far off. I think boozing, strip clubs, and cigarette smoking is an American language that isn't separated through statehood. Though I've had the pleasure of meeting so many great people, and even creating life long friends in the process, you still run into those characters that are simply going to be forever etched into your mind. The James Brown of the Army will never be forgotten. We have some extremely weird people in the Army. They are generally from the South.
Fort Bragg has been my home since July of 2007. My friends are also work colleagues. We have ventured out on weekend trips to Myrtle Beach, and Raleigh, destroying everything in our paths along the way. We are the biggest fraternity in the United States I suppose. There have been as many fun times for all of us, as there have been bad times. I've made as many new friends as I've seen leave. Get out of the Army, or go to a different unit. My facebook friends have multiplied and my Thanksgiving dinners away from home, haven't felt the loss of love from the distance, due to friends-family.
Since I'm at the half-way point, and overall appreciative of what I've personally accomplished, and what I've had a part of, the sense of pride I can, and will have for all of this, I do have to set goals for myself and look forward to what is attainable in the next two and a half years. I'm sure there will be ups and downs, and obstacles to overcome. I've got my eyes on the prize and am certainly ready for the challenges that will most certainly be on there way.
He who knows best, knows how little he knows- TJ
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