by Derek Farwell
Columnist
Given my experiences in the Army, one of the things that I get asked a lot by people is whether or not I regret joining or whether or not I would do it again, knowing what I know now. I also get asked a lot about joining the military and if I think it would be a good idea for one person or another. For me personally, at this point in my life I wouldn’t join the military again right now as I now have different priorities than I did when I was 20 years old, and I have some pretty good reasons to want to stay home, however, if I was 20 again I would do it. My time in the service has left me with some permanent physical and mental damages, but I like to think that it was an important part in my growing up and getting me to where I am today, and I wouldn’t trade where I am now for anything.
As for the other question, would I ever recommend anyone else joining the military is a really tough question. I have some mixed feelings about suggesting the military as an option for people because I know full well the negatives and low points that someone can go through as a result. While joining the military and serving overseas may have been ok for me, that’s not always the case. I think that joining the military can be a great idea and do great things for someone because of the structure and the sense of family that some people haven’t ever had before, and there are people that go the other way. They get used to the way of life in the military which is dramatically different than anywhere in the civilian life so when they get out they have nothing to fall back on, no direction and things just go south for them. It’s very tough to judge which way a person will go so I’ve never suggested to anyone that the military is the route for them. I’ll leave that to the military recruiters who can promise the world to every young person they come across.
The best I can do is tell my path to joining the military and the effects it’s had on me. I didn’t join right out of high school. It took me two years freedom and making questionable decisions to realize that something needed to change. I was technically enrolled in college but saying that I had my priorities a little mixed up would be a pretty significant understatement. I went to college for two years and didn’t really take much away from it. I started to think about some other options since going to school wasn’t really taking me in the right direction. After talking with my family and several military recruiters, I decided the Army would be a good option for me. An enlistment bonus of $20,000 helped persuade me, but I figured it would give me time to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Little did I know at the time how much that decision would play in shaping the rest of my life and force me to grow up in one hell of a hurry! I was well aware of the fact that there were two wars going on, and I knew that being in a combat infantry unit I would be deployed but the true scope of that didn’t dawn on me until the first time I was shot at in Iraq. I went from a 20 year old kid to a soldier who had been in fire fights, saw my friends get killed, and been given the responsibility of deciding who lived and died. I learned how resilient I could be and how much and how far I could push myself physically and mentally and still come out the other side alive. I also learned how fragile life is and how easily and quickly it can be taken away.
While joining the military was in the long run good for me, I don’t think I would ever encourage anyone to take that route. I know the possible negative outcomes and the scars it can leave you with as I have plenty of my own that will never go away. I know the feelings of hopelessness that can develop and nag at you. And I know that it was harder and far worse for my family than it was for me because I reached the point where I just didn’t really care what happened, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else.
drfarwell@hotmail.com