The Cheerful SoldierEssay Preview: The Cheerful SoldierReport this essayThe cheerful soldierAs I sat by the phone, I rocked back and forth on my seat impatiently, just waiting andwondering. The wait was long, but I finally heard a ring, then a second one. Thats when Ireacted and picked the phone up. I said, “Hello”. It was my friend who greeted me with goodnews. Immediately after she had greeted me, her brother, who was on the other end as well, said,“What do you want to know about my experiences in Iraq?.” He said it in a sad and almostirritated tone. I hesitated for two seconds. I didnt know what to say next. Then he said soundingcalmer, “Sorry, I didnt mean to sound like that. You can come over tomorrow. After all, you aremy sisters friend, so Ill help you with your assignment.” Feeling relieved, I said, “Thanks a lot,I really appreciate it.”The next day I drove to my friends house a little after four in the afternoon. I was a littlenervous thinking to myself, “What if he doesnt answer using specific details?. I need all theinformation I can get”. I rang the door bell. My friend opened the door and greeted me with ahug. As I entered, I smelled something delicious cooking. Surprisingly, her brother was in thekitchen cooking. I asked, “Why is your brother cooking now? Does he want me to come backlater?”. My friend answered, “No not at all. He is cooking because he wants you to feelwelcome, and he said there is nothing better than eating, at least for him, before answering thetough questions you will be asking him.” He cooked what he called his specialty, spaghetti andFigueroa 2roasted chicken. After eating a delicious meal, I went straight to my questions. He looked veryrelaxed, confident and ready. He preferred not to give his real name, so I will call him Jr. Theinterview took place in the family living room. The walls were covered with many familypictures. In the pictures there were some children, teenagers and what appeared to be theirgrandparents. There was also a picture of a baby boy with his mom and dad and weddingpictures of my friend and her husband. The pictures that caught my attention more were the oneswhere he was in his uniform looking very proud and a picture of another soldier who lookedmuch older than he did.What if anything in specific inspired you to join the armed forces?Hmmwell thats a tough one. No Im just kidding. Ever since I was in high school it became an interest. I guess hearing my brother and my friends talking about it made me think about it more. Then I dreamed of being in a uniform and just feeling important. Thats how I felt about it when I was in high school, but as I got older like my second year in college, I thought about it in more serious terms. I saw more clearly the meaning of it. So thats when I joined in my second year in college. It actually benefitted me with college by paying the rest of my way through.
What did you have to do to get into the armed forces?My brother guided me through some of the steps; he was already halfway there. First I had to find a recruiter, which wasnt difficult; my brothers recruiter helped me with that. That was just the beginning. Then I was required to take a standard test, which Im ashamed to say I failed the first time. I got a second chance to take it, and I got a very good score. Then came the rigorous training which included some classes in an actual classroom. It is not just all physical training like many people think.
What career among the many that the Army offers did you chose and why?First I got some information about every career. I looked at the information over and over, just to be certain that I understood what they were about. The one that caught my interest was Field Artillery Automated Tactical Data System Specialist. You must be thinking are all those big words a career name?. Im just messing with you. But, yea, thats the career I chose. Let me tell you briefly what its about. In the field I am responsible for operating field artillery tactical data, meaning that I have to maintain and operate communication systems which are extremely important. I also have to determine the location of the enemy using computers and specialized calculations. I assist fire control operations and train other soldiers. I read maps
I have more responsibility to the troops and the Army. I have complete control of the Army when I fire to locate the enemy and to target the enemy, I also know what they are doing and I know what sort of people they are coming from, it just goes on and on, I keep checking up on what is going on and I see what to do. The second I started doing this information I thought there might be some sort of a problem and so I started looking more. I saw my Army, military intelligence, military police. A lot of information. There were many different kinds, different things that were happening in the world, I found out what each one of these things was really like. I could see how they were different groups and different military. The military, military police to me were the best. In a lot of instances, there were not many of them, they were just scattered about. You couldn’t see where they were, that was just the best thing about the Army. That was the way people worked, but I had these ideas of how they were going to work and so I went off and looked more. I wanted to see more information about their skills, and a little bit of what they were doing. And again you will see a lot of things happening around your area but you will see a lot of things happening in front of you. It was just more personal.I also wanted to get a lot more information about the specific military they were involved in and why they were doing whatever they did, and in general would I like to learn about more information on the people that were around, how to get information and get more information, and they were very popular in Germany. They came back with the first one for me that I met through my friends, but they were also from Afghanistan. It didn’t take long. And I found out from an anonymous source that these guys were still around, when you look at their careers you can get a good overview of them. They were more experienced in more missions, at a higher level. Those guys were still in Afghanistan and they still work for these different agencies that are operating now as military intelligence agencies around the world. And I wanted to get a different kind of understanding of the people that these guys were that made their work possible. It was a big step. I was looking for help out of my Army and they had the best intel in the entire world. You will see how your organization can work with the right kind of knowledge. I did. That didn’t work out for me with the Army, there were too many of those things. That’s why I took those. I began to learn a whole lot with some of these guys and it really changed my mentality in my entire career. I now worked for them because of that. Once I left the Army I decided to pursue my personal interests at more and more. I was already learning from the guys and my experiences at the army. They just put really good effort into their mission, they didn’t want to come out of the Army at the wrong place at the wrong time. In a lot of instances I thought about doing more. I started looking outside the Army because Army intelligence was very, very popular in the United States, it was a very well
I have more responsibility to the troops and the Army. I have complete control of the Army when I fire to locate the enemy and to target the enemy, I also know what they are doing and I know what sort of people they are coming from, it just goes on and on, I keep checking up on what is going on and I see what to do. The second I started doing this information I thought there might be some sort of a problem and so I started looking more. I saw my Army, military intelligence, military police. A lot of information. There were many different kinds, different things that were happening in the world, I found out what each one of these things was really like. I could see how they were different groups and different military. The military, military police to me were the best. In a lot of instances, there were not many of them, they were just scattered about. You couldn’t see where they were, that was just the best thing about the Army. That was the way people worked, but I had these ideas of how they were going to work and so I went off and looked more. I wanted to see more information about their skills, and a little bit of what they were doing. And again you will see a lot of things happening around your area but you will see a lot of things happening in front of you. It was just more personal.I also wanted to get a lot more information about the specific military they were involved in and why they were doing whatever they did, and in general would I like to learn about more information on the people that were around, how to get information and get more information, and they were very popular in Germany. They came back with the first one for me that I met through my friends, but they were also from Afghanistan. It didn’t take long. And I found out from an anonymous source that these guys were still around, when you look at their careers you can get a good overview of them. They were more experienced in more missions, at a higher level. Those guys were still in Afghanistan and they still work for these different agencies that are operating now as military intelligence agencies around the world. And I wanted to get a different kind of understanding of the people that these guys were that made their work possible. It was a big step. I was looking for help out of my Army and they had the best intel in the entire world. You will see how your organization can work with the right kind of knowledge. I did. That didn’t work out for me with the Army, there were too many of those things. That’s why I took those. I began to learn a whole lot with some of these guys and it really changed my mentality in my entire career. I now worked for them because of that. Once I left the Army I decided to pursue my personal interests at more and more. I was already learning from the guys and my experiences at the army. They just put really good effort into their mission, they didn’t want to come out of the Army at the wrong place at the wrong time. In a lot of instances I thought about doing more. I started looking outside the Army because Army intelligence was very, very popular in the United States, it was a very well
Figueroa 3and charts. And I have to be fit. Thats pretty much some of what I do. If I tell you more wewill never finish.What do you think about this recent war with Iraq? Why did you go and how did you feel when you were there?Many people have many different opinions about the war. I have my own. I dont think mineis necessarily correct, so I rather keep it to myself. I just have one word for it, unnecessary.Why did I go?. I had no choice. When youre called to duty, especially war, you cant refuse. There is nothing you can do. Thats it. You just have to. If I had a choice, I would