The Birth of an American Soldier

Although I am not currently serving in the U.S. Army, I am still an American soldier, and a U.S. Army veteran deep inside my heart and soul. I will always be a soldier and a veteran for the rest of my life.

I am very honored and proud to have spent six months serving my country while trying to complete my basic combat training (boot camp) in the Army from March to September of 2005 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

During the six months I spent trying to complete my basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood, I accidentally incurred two left pelvic stress fracture injuries while doing some routine, daily physical training exercises with the rest of my fellow soldier trainees (running, push-ups, pull-ups, etc.).

I was 33 years old when I first enlisted in the Army and I incurred my first left pelvic stress fracture injury during my second week of basic combat training with my first basic training unit.

After my initial injury, I was placed on crutches and on medical profile until I was sent home for 30 days of sick leave to stay with my parents while trying to heal my stress fracture.

After I completed my 30 days of sick leave at home, I went back to my first basic training unit where I stayed for a few more weeks and then was transferred to a physical therapy rehabilitation program (PTRP) at Fort Leonard Wood.

I spent almost two months going through PTRP where I slowly made a full recovery from my first left pelvic stress fracture injury. After I was completely healed and I had completed my PTRP training agenda, I was then transferred to a new second basic training unit at Fort Leonard Wood to start my basic combat training all over again.

During my second week of basic combat training with my new training unit, I accidentally incurred my second left pelvic stress fracture injury while doing some very hard and intense disciplinary physical exercises with the rest of my fellow soldier trainees in our barracks.

This accidental second injury to my left pelvic bone is what eventually cost me my career in the Army. In September of 2005, I received an honorable medical discharge from the Army and was given the status of a U.S. Army veteran. A few weeks before my honorable medical discharge, I was also given a promotion in my rank from Private (E-1) to Private Second Class (E-2).

For six months, I had spent most of my time going through my basic combat training either on crutches or being on sick call and it made my training situation in the Army a lot harder and more difficult to endure. Army Drill Sergeants do not tolerate weakness of any kind in their soldier trainees.

Therefore, you can just imagine what my Drill Sergeants thought of my situation when they saw me always standing or moving around on my crutches while I went to my daily classroom training or field training exercises with the other soldier trainees in my platoon.

Although I did not make it all the way through my basic combat training the first time with my first basic training unit, I did make it through the first nine weeks of basic combat training on my crutches with my second basic training unit.

However, I did not graduate with the rest of my fellow soldier trainees at my second basic training unit because I was not able to complete my required field training exercises.

I spent those nine weeks of basic combat training on my crutches where I just accompanied and observed the other soldier trainees of my platoon while they completed their daily field exercises.

The only thing I was able to complete everyday were my classroom training requirements and serving hot field rations to the rest of the soldier trainees in my platoon whenever we had to go do any field training exercises.

Spending six months trying to make it through my basic combat training at Fort Leonard wood was, without a doubt, the most unique experience of my life and certainly, something I will never forget for as long as I live.

It is very difficult for me to put into exact words what the Army did for me and how it completely changed my life forever during the six months I spent trying to make it through my basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood.

The Army was like my extended family for the six months that I spent serving with them. They taught me skills in self-confidence, the Army Values, the Soldier's Creed, and other mental and physical training disciplines that will be a part of my heart and soul for the rest of my life. I first enlisted in the Army in March of 2005 because I wanted to serve my country and help President George Bush with fighting the war on terrorism.

I remember watching President Bush's State of The Union Address on cable television in February of 2005; shortly after the citizens of Iraq had just completed their very first free election process to vote for new leaders within their own country. I was currently living in Spokane, Washington at that time.

I remember at one point during President Bush's speech that he promised the U.S. military forces that he would send them the best people and the best resources possible to help them complete their mission of winning the war against terrorism.

When I heard President Bush verbally make that distinct promise to the U.S. military forces, I suddenly felt inside of me this overwhelming strong and patriotic desire to enlist in the U.S. Army and become one of those "best people" that President Bush had promised to deliver to the U.S. military forces.

Therefore, the next day, I went to the local Army recruiting office and started the long process of enlisting myself into the United States Army. One month later, I was on my way to begin my basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri -­- exactly 230 years after the first Continental Army was established in June of 1775 to meet the demands of the American Revolutionary War. Little did I know that my left pelvic bone would not be able to handle the intense physical demands of basic combat training in the Army.

However, when President Bush made his public promise on national television to send the U.S. military forces the best people and the best resources possible to help win the war against terrorism, I had felt extremely compelled to enlist in the Army and help the President of the United States with fulfilling his promise.

All I wanted to do was faithfully serve my country and help President Bush with keeping his promise to help the U.S. military forces with winning the war against terrorism. I was willing to volunteer and sacrifice my very life and my soul for my country and to serve my fellow American citizens by protecting the freedom and democracy of the United States of America.

I did not realize at first how brave of a man I was for choosing to enlist in the U.S. Army during a time of war. All I cared about was serving my country. I did not care about earning college money or getting an education while serving my country in the Army.

All I truly cared about was becoming a real flesh and blood American soldier and doing my patriotic duty to defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

In the end, though, I became much more of a patriotic American veteran and a soldier then I had ever anticipated, even though I failed to pass my basic combat training in the Army.

If you were to ask me today if I think of myself as being an American soldier or an American citizen first, I would proudly tell you that I think of myself as being an American soldier first and then an American citizen.

There is a lot of honor and pride that goes into becoming an American soldier, which eventually leads into becoming an American veteran. Today, some people might look at me and wonder why I spend so much time concentrating on being a veteran or being proud of having served my country for only six months as a soldier in the Army.

Once you have spent any lengthy period serving your country in the U.S. Army, you can never fully revert to who you once were as a civilian before you became a soldier. You cannot just simply forget all the training, the hard work and the discipline that you received while being trained in the U.S. armed forces by the United States Department of Defense.

Today, every American soldier and every American veteran in the United States is a very valuable and indispensable part of our nation's national security and ultimate defense against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

American soldiers and veterans have unique military skills, training, knowledge and experiences that the government of the United States has invested hundreds and thousands of dollars into molding and shaping, which makes every individual American soldier and veteran "official U.S. government property" for the rest of their life.

As an American nation, we depend upon our soldiers and our veterans to help preserve, promote and defend the freedoms and the democracy that every American citizen takes advantage of on a daily basis for his or her own private pleasure. We depend upon our soldiers to be positive leaders in our local communities across the United States and across the world.

We also depend upon our soldiers and veterans to always be there for us when the United States calls them into active service to protect our nation and to become leaders by exemplifying what it means to "lead by example" through a special code of military honor and moral beliefs.

We want our soldiers to help protect the sick, aid the wounded, save the helpless and those who cry out in the middle of the night and ask the government of the United States for assistance in a dire need of distress.

Training high-quality men and women in the U.S. Army to carry out the important job of obeying direct orders, and representing the American people and the President of the United States, in both peaceful military affairs and hostile military combat situations is never easy. Only the very best qualified American citizens serve today in the U.S. Army to protect and serve our nation and the U.S. Constitution.

The United States Department of Defense cannot afford to enlist any American citizen into the U.S. Army who does not have the best character, loyalty, respect and dedication to the moral and ethical principles that make our nation the greatest country in the free civilized world. To do so otherwise would greatly erode and destroy the very foundation of freedom and democracy that our nation has today.

Perhaps a few American civilians, soldiers and veterans out there might disagree with me on some of the things I have written in this book. However, I am an American soldier and an American Army veteran.

I have proudly served my country for six honorable months in the United States Army while trying to complete my basic combat training. Those are the honest facts about me and it is the truth.

Although I am not perfect by any means, I am simply one man who had one unique experience in the Army. A man who was brave enough to try and place his life on the line for the greater good of the United States of America. No American citizen could be asked to give any more of themselves then serving his or her country during a time of war.

What we ask of our American citizens who voluntarily choose to enlist in the U.S. Army is to make an important and dedicated sacrifice to the ultimate welfare and safety of the United States of America. It is not easy for any American citizen to live up to the dedicated sacrifice that one has to be willing to make as a future soldier in today's American Army.

However, the sacrifices and the promises that are made by every individual American soldier today, will help ensure the freedom and the democracy of the United States tomorrow.

Without our American soldiers serving in the U.S. Army right now, our freedom in this country would never seem free. Never forget that important fact. If you enjoy your freedom in the United States right now, please take a moment to thank an American soldier or a veteran today.