Who or what was your biggest inspiration to enlist in the military and why?

2017-02-15T11:07:54-05:00

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 15 at 2017 11:14 AM

2017-02-15T11:14:07-05:00

A draft number of 2. That way you had some control of service, MOS, school, etc.

Response by PO1 John Johnson made Feb 15 at 2017 11:15 AM

2017-02-15T11:15:04-05:00

17 year High School graduate in June of '79 with nothing on the plate except pumping gas and I wanted nothing to do with college, so I took the bus to Philly and walked into the first Recruiting Office that was open for business, which happened to be the USCG. Thank God the Navy Recruiters weren't in yet as I walked past their office!

Response by PO2 Robert M. made Feb 15 at 2017 11:15 AM

2017-02-15T11:15:09-05:00

Being able to leave an area that had the bottom fall out due to companies using foreign steel!

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Feb 15 at 2017 11:17 AM

2017-02-15T11:17:41-05:00

I would probably say my younger brother. He enlisted before me and it really changed his life around. I was at a point in my life where I needed a change so I took that leap of faith.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2017 11:21 AM

2017-02-15T11:21:36-05:00

GI JOE!!!! GREATEST AMERICAN HERO!!!! GI JOE IS THERE!!!!

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2017 11:48 AM

2017-02-15T11:48:22-05:00

Hi, PVT McDonald.

I joined for a lot of reasons, but the big one was to honor my father’s service in Vietnam. He was killed by a drunk driver six days before I enlisted, and that honor became paramount.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2017 12:11 PM

2017-02-15T12:11:17-05:00

Alright...not gonna lie on this one...growing up in western Colorado where I grew up skiing, and with high school graduation looming, my only ambition was to be a ski bum and spend as many days on the slopes as possible. My "master plan" was to ski all day, every day, bus tables or wash dishes, or whatever at night, and live out of my Chevy Blazer. My folks, being a bit more knowledgeable than me, knew that was a STUPID plan and basically bribed me to join the Army, to the tune of $1,000. Back in 1988, as a 17 year old kid, that was a lot of money, so I guess you could say my biggest inspiration was my folks, by the way of $$$. And here I am, 29 years later, still doing the Army thing...who woulda thunk it?

Response by CPT Jacob Swartout made Feb 15 at 2017 12:31 PM

2017-02-15T12:31:55-05:00

The fact that I could call myself a veteran for serving a few years or more. Seeing them as a kid growing up made me want to do the same. Great benefits too and the opportunity to see the world.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2017 12:36 PM

2017-02-15T12:36:20-05:00

Most directly, is my Dad. He is a retired Armored Cav Officer who rode around Vietnam on a M-113 APC with the 1/4 Cav (L Troop, 4th ACR, 1st ID) However, his first few months in Vietnam were as an Infantry Platoon Leader, as we all know that the lifespan of new lieutenants in Vietnam was measured in minutes. So he got shanghaied by the Infantry as soon as he got off the plane. He eventually got back to his troop though. When he got back, he successfully went through the SF Q Course and was a member of the 11th Group in Florida. He also branch changed to Transportation, where he taught what would become "Combined Arms" like how Combat Support and Combat Arms work together.

Indirectly, the Army has been a "family business" since 1775. I am related to Timothy Matlack, the "Penman of the Declaration of Independence" who was also a LTC in the Colonial Army, part of the prosecution of Benedict Arnold, a founding trustee of University of Pennsylvania, and the founder of the "Fighting Quakers" after being tossed out of the Quaker community for taking up arms during the Revolution. His meeting house still stands today in Philadelphia.

In the early 70s, families would accompany their Soldiers on drill weekends, and afterwards the women would go somewhere together, and the men would sit around campfires, telling war stories about their recent service in Vietnam. I grew up in the middle of this, listening to recent Vietnam Vets, and seeing these men as superheroes, and a band of brothers that I wanted to be a part of someday. A few decades later, I would be.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2017 1:08 PM

2017-02-15T13:08:50-05:00

PVT Private RallyPoint Member I had two reasons. My father, an Air Force Captain, had served in WWII and Korea and was killed when his plane crashed on a training mission in 1956. I also felt that supporting South Vietnam was a just cause.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2017 2:53 PM

2017-02-15T14:53:26-05:00

PVT Private RallyPoint Member Even though I had family members that served, my main and only reason was that I needed a job IOT support my pregnant girlfriend at the time.

Response by SGT Patrick Reno made Feb 15 at 2017 2:56 PM

2017-02-15T14:56:31-05:00

My Grandfather, he was a Bataan survivor. He was my biggest inspiration to join the Army.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Feb 15 at 2017 6:12 PM

2017-02-15T18:12:13-05:00

My late grandfather (mom's step-dad) was my biggest inspiration and influence. He had served 20 honorable years in the Air Force before retiring doing a lot of amazing stuff during the Vietnam War. After retirement he worked as a reserve police officer in Colorado (influencing my decision to be a cop, though I'm looking at full time) and he also dove into his love for aviation by getting his private pilot's license (yet another goal of mine and one he loved to promote). All in all much of what I have done has been for him and even though he isn't here on Earth anymore I still work to achieve my goals as I know he'd be happy at seeing what I've done.

Response by SSG Laurie Mullen made Feb 16 at 2017 2:40 AM

2017-02-16T02:40:38-05:00

My father, a WW II veteran.

Response by SFC Harry (Billy) Tison made Feb 16 at 2017 12:17 PM

2017-02-16T12:17:24-05:00

My grandfather. He served in World War 2, and retired as a CW4 in 1981. He taught me how to care for my troops and how to get the most out of them. He told me that if you take care of your people, they will make you look good by their devotion to your leadership style. I've carried this into my retirement work, and it still holds true