Interview with a Military Young Gun

John, thanks for your time with this interview. You have been involved for a few years now with the jr. military program at your high school and pretty much know what to expect. Why do you want to enter the military?

"I lack self-discipline. I need the challenge to help better myself and I also need to develop the skills that are acquired only by going into the military."

What self-discipline do you lack at 17?

"At times, I feel like I just don't care about anything. I feel apathetic to everything tha's happening."

What do you mean you just don't care about anything?

"I feel that I just don't care. It seems like there's nothing to care about and that everything given to us in life is fake. What we have been given as "reality" is fake."

How will the military help you with self-discipline?

"You've heard the commercials, it's all about being all that I can be. I feel that there's no other opportunity for me where I can be all that I want to be without the skills and training from the military. I also know that there is support from my peers in the military who share the same goals and passion that I do."

What is it that you want to be?

"I want to be a professionally trained assassin. I've already been tested and this is what I'm qualified for."

You'll have to fight wars and kill many targets to become very good at your trade.

"I know."

You might even be sent to Iraq, there's a pretty big war going on over there.

"I already know it's for oil profits but I feel I have to do this for my country."

There's a chance that you won't come back.

"I know. I already told my parents to expect a knock on the door someday from the military handing them an American flag and saying that 'you're son died a brave soldier fighting for his country.' I told them not to cry for me because this is what I want to do."

Your parents are originally from Iran, immigrants, and you were born here in the United States. What happens in the event that you get sent to Iran?

"The past doesn't matter. Everything is different today and that's what matters."

What do your parents think about you joining the military?

"They don't want me to go but they also know that they can't stop me because it's my own decision. I tell my dad that I don't want to be like him, working when I'm old. I want to enjoy life without working 8 days a week. If I finish serving my time, I'll have benefits for the rest of my life. I'll have a monthly income, health insurance and retirement, which is a lot more than what's offered in the workforce today."

You may come back traumatized and have only one arm or be in a wheelchair.

"It's still better than working a dead-end job for the rest of my life."

What have you done in the meantime to help you prepare for the military?

"I already know I want the military to be my career. I have been playing a lot of sniper video games online for practice. I'm a good virtual sharp shooter. See this game. I have been logged onto it for 266 days and killed 1,700 people. I keep my computer on and logged into the game while I sleep or leave my room. It's been so long that I've been playing this same game and I can't lose this fight."

What happens if you log off?

"There's no way to save the game and come back. It's ongoing reality. I'm playing against other live people. If I log out, I lose my game and have to start over with a new game."

What happens if your computer crashes?

"It won't crash, I have a good backup system."

What about the other people playing the game?

"They're all over the country in different time zones. They're logged in too until they get killed."

John has his desk piled up with a driving dashboard with a variety of controls and foot pedals underneath set up to emulate a Sherman Tank.

Why do you have all these controls just for a video game?

"It cost over $300. I'm getting used to the tank. This is what it's going to be like when I go."

* Name has been changed by request.