Regrets, I’ve had a few…

I have finally gotten around to reading a book that I bought back in the spring. It is Tommy Franks autobiography American Soldier. He is a great man and we are lucky to have people of his caliber leading our men and women in uniform. Reading this book has finally prompted me to write about one of the biggest regrets in my life: Not having served in one of our armed forces.

Understand that my regret is not because I missed the chance to play John Wayne, but rather because I missed out on serving my country and I missed out on the shared brotherhood that can only be found in military units.

My entire life I have been fascinated with military history. I knew the American Civil War like the back of my hand. I played Army. I read profusely. I played war games. I just knew I was going to wear the uniform of the United States.

To be sure, I had several opportunities to join. When I was in high school I thought of going to one of the military academies. I actually applied to the Naval Academy but got a brief letter stating two things I already knew: my SAT’s were to low and my eye sight is poor to say the least.

I was gun-ho about going to one of the academies when I was in middle school and early in my high school days. But when it came time to apply, I half heartedly applied. Getting the brief rejection was all I needed to shift my attention elsewhere.

To get out of class for a day, I volunteered to take the ASVAB. I aced the test and soon calls were flooding in from recruiters. For some strange reason, and I do mean strange, I thought I might like the Navy. The guys at the Navy recruiting office tried to talk me into submarines. They said with an ASVAB score like I had, I could write my own ticket and the best ticket to write was to be a nuclear technician on one of our nuclear subs. I was flattered and very much intrigued by the idea of being a submariner.

I had just gotten accepted into Georgia Tech and the recruiters were pressing me to make a decision. I remember one night talking with my dad. He told me that serving my country is a wonderful thing and he respected the fact that I was considering joining, but why not go to college FIRST? That way if you are still interested in joining up you could go in as an officer. That sounded good to me and besides the urge to be in a submarine had worn off.

My dad and I also talked about the possibility of joining ROTC while in school. This would get me in as an officer and would help offset the cost of tuition. But I never followed through with it.

Why?

The main reason was love.

My wife and I started dated again (again? yes it is a long story) a mere 4 weeks before I left for Tech. We were in love and wanted desperately to be married. The only thing I could think about was being married to her and setting up a home and a family. The idea of going away for training and being deployed began to lose its luster.

The next major reason for not joining then and not joining today is finances.

It is totally a selfish reason. Men and women who serve our country do so at a cost. They are away from their loved ones and the pay sucks. I knew that coming out of Georgia Tech with a Civil Engineering degree, I would be making at least $35,000 a year. Back then (1992) a 2nd Lt. would make around $25,000 a year. I also knew that in my profession that your yearly pay would almost double after ten years of practicing. That has pretty much held true. Looking at the military, that was never going to happen.

Like I said, purely selfish reasons. I had visions of a wife, 2.5 kids, a house in the suburbs, a mini-van, etc. Military pay would not give me that. Private sector employment would.

After 9/11 I seriously toyed with the idea of joining the Army. I had this overriding feeling that I needed to join. I needed to defend my country. But, I had a good paying job, a one year old at home, another baby on the way and I was trying to buy a house. Joining the military would mean that I would be gone from my growing family for training and then deployment. I would not be able to buy a house. I would take a pay cut. My wife would have to work to make up the difference.

Each of those reasons are selfish reasons. That is one of the reasons why I never wrote about this before. That is also why I admire those of you who serve or have served. You gave up something. You made a sacrifice. Some of you are still making that sacrifice. I never did. I know it is ok. There are enough people willing to sacrifice so that I do not have to. The home front needs Civil Engineers as well.

Like I said, this is one of the regrets in my life. There is nothing I can do about it now. I am 32, 60 pounds overweight with three kids and another on the way. I have a great paying civil servant type job with great benefits. I hope to one day in the next ten years to start my own engineering firm. What can I do?

I can support our men and women in uniform. If you have read this blog for any length of time you know that I mean it when I say I support our troops.

WunderKraut salutes you!