Re-Enlistment
My eyes open, it’s pitch black. I’m sweating. I swing my arm to stop that annoying beep that’s making me cringe. I think to myself “ugh I need to change that thing”. I turn the light on my phone on as to not wake the 13 other people in the tent. I grab my shirt and I hear a voice “hey hurry up so we can go to the gym”. I throw on my shirt and my shoes and we step out of the tent. I start sweating more from the heat that’s coming over the horizon with the sun. I feel like I stepped into a car that’s been sitting in the sun with the windows shut for a few hours. We head off to the gym but today is abs and cardio day, we start out doing sit-ups then move on to the plank. We do 5 sets each and he asks if I ever have second thoughts about what we are doing. Out of habit I just say “Hey man, its what we do”. A short pause goes by so I insisted we go for our normal run around the base but this time do it twice! He says to me “It’s already one hundred degrees and the sun just came up” I say to him “It’s not going to get any cooler, let’s go”. “If you can keep up” comes out of his mouth next and we take off down the back wall. I beat him back to our starting point so I have time to catch my breath. While waiting the couple minutes for him to show up I remember the question he had asked me earlier “Do you ever have second thoughts about what we are doing”. After he gets back and catches his breath we start walking back to the tent. I ask him “Given the situation I’m in, do you think it would be a smart decision to re-up?”
"I wonder what will happen if I re-enlist. Where should i go?" Being a mechanic I could chose almost any of the bases the ARMY has. Ever since I left for my deployment I had the feeling my wife was going to leave and take my 4 Month old daughter (Her name is Kayleigh) with her back home, I was looking into finding a base that was close to N.H. so i could go visit my family and my daughter. There were two places i was looking into, one was too cold even for me and the other was in a decent place and not too far from home.
I went to my NCO(Non-Commissioned Officer) and told him i wanted to re-enlist for Fort Bragg. He asks "Why". I told him "Just incase i get divorced and she goes back home ill be closer and Fort Bragg has a Hockey rink on it". It looked like he was thinking about something for a few minutes and then he asks "Why not Fort Drum, It's closer and i met some cool people there in up-state New York". I replied "There is a difference between ARMY cold and Civilian cold, plus i don't like New York". He says "Oh ok" and starts to go through the paperwork that is needed for me to do this. There are a lot of formalities that go into re-enlisting. I sat there for what felt like an eternity just waiting for him to finish the paperwork that will bind me in this uniform for the next six years. He finishes and asks if i'm ready, "Sure" I replied. "let's go" He says as he starts walking to the commander's office to to notify her that i was ready to "re-up".
We go outside and we get a few people over to hold the flag as a backdrop. The Commander and I then stand in front of it. I raise my right hand, and she has me recite after her the "Oath of Enlistment". “I, Jared Fletcher, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” I am now signed up for six more years and am going to Fort Bragg, NC.
"I wonder what will happen if I re-enlist. Where should i go?" Being a mechanic I could chose almost any of the bases the ARMY has. Ever since I left for my deployment I had the feeling my wife was going to leave and take my 4 Month old daughter (Her name is Kayleigh) with her back home, I was looking into finding a base that was close to N.H. so i could go visit my family and my daughter. There were two places i was looking into, one was too cold even for me and the other was in a decent place and not too far from home.
I went to my NCO(Non-Commissioned Officer) and told him i wanted to re-enlist for Fort Bragg. He asks "Why". I told him "Just incase i get divorced and she goes back home ill be closer and Fort Bragg has a Hockey rink on it". It looked like he was thinking about something for a few minutes and then he asks "Why not Fort Drum, It's closer and i met some cool people there in up-state New York". I replied "There is a difference between ARMY cold and Civilian cold, plus i don't like New York". He says "Oh ok" and starts to go through the paperwork that is needed for me to do this. There are a lot of formalities that go into re-enlisting. I sat there for what felt like an eternity just waiting for him to finish the paperwork that will bind me in this uniform for the next six years. He finishes and asks if i'm ready, "Sure" I replied. "let's go" He says as he starts walking to the commander's office to to notify her that i was ready to "re-up".
We go outside and we get a few people over to hold the flag as a backdrop. The Commander and I then stand in front of it. I raise my right hand, and she has me recite after her the "Oath of Enlistment". “I, Jared Fletcher, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” I am now signed up for six more years and am going to Fort Bragg, NC.