I want to ensure reader's and my friends and family, that they will be included at the conclusion of this series. I had so many friends and family that ultimately shaped my future.... too many to name now. Also, will use initials so as to not put your lives up for grabs, so to speak.
Let's see, I left off at the recruiter's phone calls. It just so happened that when I went to meet with the recruiter, I was out of work. I made quick work of dissecting his "3 hots and a cot" and " You won't deploy " speeches. Finally got him to tell the truth, and got down to business. I scored 129/130 on the Army's aptitude test and had passed their version of a linguistics test. Many , many options for options lay in front of me. Unfortunately, being out of work....I leaned towards the Military Occupational Specialty of 88M ( Transportation Specialist ) because of it being the M.O.S. that I could join soonest. I remember driving home and seeing both my brothers and mom. Didn't take me long to announce that I had joined the Army. What was harder, was telling them that I would be leaving for my Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training soon....weeks. Was a surprise for everyone I think. I left in August of 1992 for Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri. Didn't take long to re-name it misery. I was the oldest member of my platoon at 22 yrs and 4 months, and it didn't take the other soldiers long to lean on me for support and advice.
I left Ft. Leonardwood in December of 1992 and went home for two weeks before my flight to my first active duty station...Ft. Stewart GA. It was December and I had never been that far south. After leaving the plane, I soon realized that I was overdressed. It was 86F with around 95% humidity. Thus began, what would become, my military life. END OF PT 2
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