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Blogs by Marie Wadsworth
Personal Journal 2 -- The Military 5/15/2020 7:34:48 PM
Many people have a hard time picturing me serving in the military. They find it hard to believe I was in the military. Recently I was talking to a friend about this and we were talking about this subject. I told her I have had several family members who had served in the military but that's not why I decided to enlist. I told her I didn't know why people had such a hard time seeing me in the military because it's part of my experience; it's hard for me to see it from another person's perspective. My friend said it's because I don't have that hard ass personality she thinks most military people have; that's why people have a hard time picturing me serving in the military. If I think about it honestly, I was really a round hole in a square peg while I was in the military.
I told my friend my father had even advised I not serve in the military. My father had told me he thought the military would be challenging and difficult for me and I should reconsider enlisting. My friend asked me why I didn't obey or listen to my father. I told her the military was the only option I felt I had at the time. I had been fired from my first reporter job after four months. Because I lacked experience as a reporter, I wasn't able to get another job at as a reporter. Most newspapers don't like to hire rookie reporters. At the time I was working at a convenience store, and I thought I didn't go to college for this. I went to college to become a journalist. I didn't want to be stuck working at a convenience store the rest of my life. I felt I needed an employer who would train me and give me experience as a journalist, and I felt the military could give me that.
I had been on unemployment and had been required to talk to potential employers each week. I went to talk to an Air Force and Army recruiter. The Army recruiter guaranteed me a job as a reporter, and so I continued to go down that path even though I had to get a waiver for my vision to be in the Army. Again my father suggested I leave the military alone, but I continued to pursue it. The day I received orders to report to boot camp at Fort Jackson, S.C., I got a job offer as a reporter at a newspaper. I had to turn it down.
My father was right. The military was hard and a challenge for me. I had trouble passing the physical fitness test and qualifying on my weapon. The Army isn't exactly the military branch who trains its recruits in their jobs. The Army expected me to be a soldier and I constantly struggled to meet that expectation. I excelled as a journalist but as a soldier I managed to get through my four year enlist. When colleagues asked me if I planned to re-enlist after 4 1/2 years in the military, the answer was "not no but hell no!" Some people comment that I wasn't in the military for very long; I tell them it was long enough for me. I had served my time and I got out with a wealth of experience as journalist, leadership skills and discipline.
If I had to make this choice to be in the military again, would I do it? I don't know. I was injured in the line of duty so I'm unable to run or squat for long periods. I don't regret serving my country and if nothing else I'd do it again just for that reason.
