I decided to share the story of my journey to join the Marine Corps for several reasons. I decided to start journaling my experiences for my own benefit, so I could read through and enjoy them over again years and years from now. Sharing my journal followed naturally, I've found that it is extremely difficult to find any first hand experiences from Marines, short of talking to them in person. Even then, memories are faulty and often times focused on certain things, high and low points. I would like to provide a complete picture of the entire enlistment experience, from walking into the recruiters office to ongoing duty as a Marine, for the benefit of three audiences. The first audience is the young person who is considering enlisting. They have a lot of questions, most of which can only be answered by a recruiter, or by actually having the experience themselves. But an overall picture can go a long way towards alleviating stress and can provide motivation to keep on. The second audience is the Marine; those who have already gone through the whole process and have served or are currently serving. I'm sure my experiences can provide plenty for them to reminisce about, or educate them on the differences in the Corps since they left active service. The last audience is those people who have never served and most likely never will. Most of them probably respect the military, but have no idea about what is involved in enlistment and service. These people deserve to get a picture of what their loved one or someone they know might be doing as they enlist. Even if they don't know anyone in the service it can still provide a better perspective on what our military is.
I am undertaking this project with the highest respect for the Marine Corps and the United States Armed Forces in general. I am a strong supporter of the military and I believe in the values our Armed Forces represent. Out of respect I will endeavor to depict my experiences with the Corps and military service as accurately and objectively as possible. I will not omit those things which are difficult or frustrating, nor will I magnify them. My own enthusiasm may be evident, but facts and events will always be stated separately from my perception of those events. I will neither stretch, nor condense the truth, but I will freely commentate on it and share my feelings, opinions, and wisdom. I hope to pass on to any potential enlistees who may read this journal, the positive attitude I carry towards the Corps and the military, without twisting facts to make things seem easier or more pleasant than they are.
Without further ado:
My story begins in Poland as a missionary kid, sometime in the early 2000's, maybe late 90s. I was visiting the home of a family with whom my family were friends. Their three boys, close to my age, were completely enamored with this computer game called "America's Army". It was the first time I had ever played an army game, the first time I had ever played an online game against other human players, and it was the first exposure I had to the modern military. The game starts you off in simulated boot camp, where you must pass an obstacle course mission and a shooting range mission to even begin to play the game online. Both missions were modeled very accurately on actual bootcamp, with very accurate rules particularly for the shooting course. Other training missions were available to unlock other parts of the game, such as using the M249 SAW, M203 grenade launcher, Sniper rifles, Medic training to treat wounded teammates, Airborne training to qualify to play certain maps online, and SF training to unlock a whole new set of weapon and online map options. I was completely hooked on the game and spent countless hours of my teenage years playing America's Army. I was really only interested in it as a very realistic war game, but subconsciously it had changed my perspective of the US military from WWI and II history (which I'd always loved to read) to a modern perspective relevant to me.
As I got older I devoured the news about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and read every real account I could get my hands on. I began to seriously think about the fact that that is what I wanted to do someday, but knowing my parents disapproved I never admitted this feeling to them, or even to myself. I befriended a fellow who had enlisted during the summer of 2008, and hung on his every word extolling the virtues of the Army he was about to join. But I wasn't ready to admit that I wanted to do the same.
I went to a Bible College in 2009 after graduating homeschool high-school, and during the summer before my first year started I really began to feel like the Army was something I needed to do. I tearfully confessed my intentions to my parents (who weren't totally thrilled and felt I was rushing things) and visited a recruiter. The process turned out to be a lot more involved than I expected, and I never even turned in my basic security clearance paperwork. College started and I got too busy: then as I settled into college and realized how much I enjoyed it and enjoyed learning I felt like God wanted me to stay in college. So I did, and finished my degree. In my third and final year (it was a three year bachelor program, a small bible college deal), I started thinking about what was going to do when I graduated. I still had strong feelings for the military, but I also felt burdened to help folks in the military. My friend who had enlisted in 2008 was seriously messed up from drinking and PTSD by this time, and I knew many others suffered similar issues. Finally I surrendered that God wanted to use my interest in the military to help people as an Army Chaplain. This meant returning for a fourth year of school so I would have enough credits to go for the masters degree needed for chaplains. By this point I was engaged, and I promised my fiance and family that I would not enlist until we were married for a full year. I would go reserves and be able to work on a masters while serving as an enlisted reservist. Then once my enlistment was up and I met the requirement for the chaplaincy I could apply to become a chaplain. Finishing my fourth year of college, moving to Pensacola, getting married, and working then consumed my attention for roughly the next two years. Then with my deadline drawing near, I started thinking about enlisting again. During the first six months of my marriage however, something happened that would change my life. My best friend joined the Marines. Now we had always had a friendly rivalry concerning branches when we were younger. We'd play war-games and he was always a marine and I was always an Army soldier. I'd say "Hooah" to cheer and he'd say "Oo-rah". He always talked about marines and I always talked about soldiers. But it was still a shock when he actually enlisted. I looked into the Marine Corps to see what he would be doing, and I learned a lot, but I was still set on the Army.
The change began when I went to visit my friend on Family day, before his graduation from Parris Island. I knew when I headed over for the visit that I was planning to see an Army recruiter in the next week or two. The time was drawing near to enlist. The atmosphere at Parris Island captured my imagination. It was unlike anything I'd ever imagined or been told by my military friends (by this point I had three friends who had joined the Army.) Observing the pride in the graduating Marines, and the determination in the recruits we passed who had a ways to go yet was intoxicating. Listening to my best friend talk about what it meant to him to receive his Eagle Globe and Anchor and earn the title "Marine" made me feel like I was missing something. I left Parris Island after only five hours, but I knew that something had changed.
I wrestled with inner demons for a week, researching the Corps and the Army and looking at benefits and processes. My conclusion was that the benefits of Marine reserve service and Army reserve were the same financially and educationally. But the Marine Corps offered a far greater challenge, with a far greater reward both tangible and intangible. A new co-worker at my job, a retired Marine pilot from Vietnam, who had been out for twenty years, talked of nothing else but the Corps. I saw in Marines, people who set lofty goals for themselves, then achieved them. Honorable people, committed to something. Sure you can find lemons, but in comparison to what I had seen and heard from my Army buddies, I saw a difference in quality. Even the core values called my name. The Army core values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. They spell LDRSHIP and read like they tried to pack a bunch of positive values in and spell a cool acronym. The Marine Corps core values were simple: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. Those are powerful words, and words that I always strongly believed in. The day of the fateful first step came only a week after my visit to Parris Island. I had a day off of work and my wife was out of town visiting family. I drove right past the Army recruiter down the road from my house, and found my way to a Marine Corps recruiting office downtown. I told myself I just wanted to talk to them and find out what they had to offer, but inside I think I knew the decision was already made. I was going to be a Marine. . .
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