When growing up, some stereotypical childhood aspirations may include firefighter, police officer, astronaut or also professional athlete. For seniors Frank Huang and Jon Palma, theirs were to be a soldier and an officer in the Marines.
“It was a childhood dream of mine,” said Huang, “A goal I guess.” He added that he believes that everyone joins the army for different reasons, and said that the idea of the military paying his way through college was a large incentive.
Palma agreed, who said, “I guess I’ve always kind of been interested in the challenges that come with [military service].” Palma, who just received his United States citizenship in 2007, said that he wants to pay back his new country, and that a position in the Marines would give his life a good, stable base from which he could grow.
“I never had a stable life growing up,” he said, adding that he believes joining the military would also prepare him for life in the future.
Huang applied for service upon reaching eligibility, his seventeenth birthday on April 15, 2007. As the first member of his family to join the army, he said his mother was worried because of the ongoing Iraq War, but he eventually talked her into signing the parental consent papers.
“They think its great,” he said. “They think it’s a big step for anyone in my family.”
After the application is sent, “… it’s a very long tiring process of paperwork, mental and physical training, which eventually leads to boot camp,” said Huang, also calling it “basic combat training or BCT.” His training was completed over 10 weeks at the military training camp at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, nearly 60 miles south west of Oklahoma City. He said that his camp is known across the country as the second toughest training base.
Palma’s family is also supportive. “My mom has always respected my decision,” he said, adding that his mother, however, is concerned with the possibility of his education being disrupted. Currently, Palma has undergone the necessary and basic physical and aptitude tests and is now in a delayed entry program. The program offers him a priority status over the limited number of spots if he is accepted. He wants to enter into an officer program for a higher rank, which is “extremely difficult to get into.” “It’s a really long process; it kind of sucks,” he said.
During Palma’s basic testing in the beginning, he said the military tested his vision, hearing, blood, urine and gave him a complete physical. “They check you,” he said. In the beginning of the testing day there were about ten other people, and by the end of the day around 3 to 4 p.m., only Palma and one other were left.
“Once you’re [at BCT] life sucks for a while because you’re treated like sh*t,” Huang said. He said that the soldiers are treated that way because they have to earn the respect of their drill sergeant, as well as that of their comrades. The first week of Huang’s stay at the camp consisted of paperwork, immunizations, dental checks, drug tests and fingerprinting.
“Boot camp is actually very much like school,” said Huang, explaining that the trainees spend many hours in the classroom where they would take written tests comparable to a drivers permit test. Besides classroom time, Huang’s typical week might include trips to the range, road marches and physical testing (or PT) which includes running, push ups and sit ups.
For his age, he said he had to meet certain physical test standards. For example, 17 year old males must be able to complete 35 pushups within 1 minute, 2 miles in 16 minutes and 45 sit ups in 2 minutes. Through all of this, Huang said it was hard to concentrate because the soldier’s were only allowed a maximum of seven hours of sleep per night. To stay in shape, he regularly goes to the gym.
Additionally, trainees were subjected to drills such as experiencing the effects of tear gas. In the drill, soldiers would put on their 95 pounds of gear at 4 a.m. and march 9 miles to a gas chamber. Once at the chamber, the soldiers would inhale the gas for 30 seconds. “It’s the longest 30 seconds of your life,” said Huang. After the drill, Huang said many people in the group would repeatedly vomit, drool and sneeze. The experience is meant to teach soldiers how to do the right things when exposed to gas without protection.
As the weeks went by the soldiers were allowed more free will such as being able to use cell phones. “That’s a comfort definitely - calling your mom,” Huang said. In addition to communicating through phones, soldiers could also write and receive letters from home.
“Mail call at the end of the day is the highlight of the night,” he said, adding that it was always frustrating when he didn’t receive a letter from family or friends.
Despite the intensive training and some homesickness, Huang said he met people from all over the United States who come from different cultures with different views. “Pretty soon you earn their respect or vice versa,” he said, adding, “A lot of [what the military is about] is respect; a lot of it is pride; that’s a big one.” From these people he’s met, Huang said that he has definitely formed some life-long relationships and that it was hard to leave such great friends.
“That’s tough to go through,” he said. “You suck it up and say I’m glad I met you.”
“At the time [joining the military] seemed like the right thing to do,” said Huang, who said that he did it for himself, his country and financial reasons. Overall, he said, there is a fear of being sent to the war in Iraq, but said, “When you do get that letter you suck it up and you do what you gotta do. You signed up for it.”
Interestingly, Huang said that he does not support the ongoing war. “I did for the first two years but now its kind of ridiculous how they keep dragging it on and on,” he said. “…we forgot what we were fighting for.” Palma, on the other hand, believes that he does not have enough information to give an answer. However, he did say that he is “not much of a war person” and that there “should be better ways to settle [conflicts].”
Additionally, Palma said that he realizes he may be called upon to kill another person, which is a subject he said he does not take lightly. “There’s effects to what you’re doing,” he said.
This summer Palma plans to go to the military base in San Diego, Calif. for three months for his training. There, he plans to study and practice martial arts, but has heard that the program there is difficult.
“I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about it,” he said. “That’s the price you pay. I’m willing to pay it.”
In the army, Huang is in the reserves as a private, which is at the bottom of the army’s chain of command. As a private, his individual duties depend on his station and his military occupational specialty, or MOS. His MOS is unit supply specialist, which gives him the power to distribute equipment, such as Kevlar vests or canteens, to soldiers. This does not include weapons he said; those are dealt by the munitions distributors.
By performing this duty, Huang receives a fully refunded tuition from the army for any college of his choice. The system is paid class by class, so if he receives less than a C grade in a semester, his tuition for that class will not be paid.
Palma also plans to go to college, but the Marines can interrupt his education at any time, at which point he would be required to leave school for eight years and go on active duty, of which he said it “would not be cool with me.” In any event, the G.I. bill granted to Palma would not be enough to cover his college expenses, but is still a motivator for him to join.
“You need to choose which opportunities you’re going to take, and which ones you’re going to give away to get what you want,” Palma said. He added that he needs school in order to get where he wants in the military.
From the time he joined, Huang said he has noticed how he has changed physically and emotionally, adding that he thinks he is tougher mentally and physically. “I sure as hell appreciate my friends and family a lot more than I used to,” he said, noting that he also lost 40 pounds.
He said, “It’s pretty amazing to push yourself to see what you can do.”