Major A.Tingle
Student, Command and General Staff School
U.S. Army Combined Arms Center
Fort Belvoir, Virginia

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Reasons Why I Serve My Country

Since graduating high school, twenty years ago, I have been in the service of my country. Military service is by its very nature a noble undertaking, and there are a number of reasons why someone would want to serve their country. I, like most, aspire to lead an accomplished life--military service helps me fulfill a “higher calling.” For me, the reasons I serve my country are a mix of the pragmatic and intangible. Fate not only directed my career path toward service in the Army, but also enlightened that path. I serve because of my simple monetary obligations, my career aspirations, and my desire for self-actualization. The least important of these reasons is my simple need for employment.

Regardless of the nobility inherent in the service to your country, being an army officer is a job. Most people require some sort of paying job to remain a productive component of society. As simple as it sounds, most people would be unwilling or unable to accept a position as a full-time officer if the pay was insufficient. I am no different. While it seems like a petty reason to serve your country, the fact that it pays an adequate wage is a major reason for undertaking such an obligation. I do not want to over-emphasize monetary motivation in my decision to serve my country. Pay is a minor, yet mandatory, part of why I decided to spend the greater part of my adult life in service to my country. More important to my decision was how fate intervened in my career path.

Chance was a significant part of my decision to join the Army. I started my service immediately after high school when I enlisted as a medic. I initially enlisted because I was presented few options and I wanted to gain some experience and earn money for college--essentially I joined for all the quintessential “recruiting commercial” reasons. Among those reasons was my desire to serve my country. At the time I had no idea what that meant, of what that obligation entailed. Irrespective of my motivations, I had no intention of serving past my initial obligation of four years. The truth is, at the time I was a little concerned at the length of my initial service contract. I think I would have preferred a two year enlistment.

Ironically, I ended up serving just two years before I was given the opportunity to attend the West Point Prepatory School. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up and soon I was on my way. After graduating West Point, I had a service obligation of 5 years, but because of September 11th, I was “stop losted” and I did an additional year. I eventually got out, but I came back in the Army as a functional-area officer. Now, after sixteen years on active duty, it is evident that my career path, and thus my service to my country, has been determined as much by fate and circumstance as by desire and planning. I have no regrets, for during those times when my desire to serve my country waned, fate intervened to provide insight, if often after the fact. Fortunately, one of those lessons destiny imparted was on “perspective.”

The most significant reason I serve my country is because it far more rewarding than any other career or job I could practically undertake. Fate taught me my lesson on perspective after I was stop-lossed. I got out of the Army, and while searching for a job I was exposed to numerous government contracting firms and civilian corporations. The prospect of taking one of these jobs left me feeling empty and discouraged. The idea of spending my life working for a company whose only goal is profit was disheartening and embarrassing. The idea of working for Home Depot when I used to work with soldiers was depressing. Eventually I took a job at a consulting firm working on a government contract, and this period of my life gave me the desire to continue to serve my country on active duty.

It has been twenty years since I first signed on to serve my country. While occasionally it has been a hard life, it has been rewarding. What started out as just a job has grown into a career and a lifetime of service to my country. Fate provided me the opportunity to glance into the normal world and see what it is like as a civilian. While I’m thankful for that opportunity, I am happy to serve my country as a full time Army officer.