The Military Saved my Life

There was a point in my life where things were not going so well. Drugs had invaded my circle of friends at a very early age, and the type of kids I grew up with didn’t like to do anything half-heartedly, it was pedal to the metal.

After barely graduating high school, my cousin got me a job at the bakery he worked at as a delivery driver. This was a very good paying job at the time and things were going great for about a year. I had my own apartment at the age of eighteen (not fully by choice as I was kicked out of my house two weeks after graduating and spent a few months sleeping on various couches), a car and more than enough money at the time. The problem was that all the extra money was not being saved, it was going towards a few really bad habits that had been developed over the years. These started affecting my work performance and eventually the company let me go, something that I dwelled upon for years. For a while, I stopped caring about anything, except hanging out.

I thought things were going good for a year or two, however, in hindsight they were far from it. I had no goals, no sense of career progression and little self-esteem. Everything changed for me during September of 2001. After our country was attacked, I felt like maybe the Air Force was something that could be for me. Honestly, I just wanted to get away, plus I desperately needed direction. Growing up, joining the service was never something that crossed my mind, but everything changed after those events. Within three weeks I was enlisted to the United Stated Air Force and being shipped off to boot camp. Making it through boot camp and having my mother and aunt come to my graduation was the proudest moment in my life to that point.

For the first time in my life my body and mind was filled with confidence. My first duty station was just outside of London and I lived there for three years working as a military police officer. During this time, I had met my future wife who was also stationed there. After dating for a year, we were married. Two years later my son Alex was born and fourteen months later my daughter Taylor arrived. Since then, we have both separated from the service.

After working a desk job for a year, my wife (who has tremendous ambition) was offered a high paying job working for a federal agency. This job has many upsides–like pay and job security, but on the flipside, she travels daily and is away from home about seven to ten nights a month. Thanks to my military service, the GI Bill allows me to go back to school for free and be around daily for my kids. I would not be able to do this without the support of my wife, just as she would not have been able to take her job without me.

Things are going great. I still talk to a lot of my old friends; some are doing good, some not, more than handful are dead and a few in jail. I can look you right in the eyes and tell you that my life was heading down a dark path. There are many uncertainties in life, however for me one thing is for certain, the military saved my life. This I believe.