Why I serve my country by Larry Sharif

Major Larry Sharif
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."

To many people, service to your country can be described as being one of the proudest and patriotic things an individual can do in his or her lifetime. For some, it can be described as fulfilling their civic duty as a citizen of this country. From the early beginnings of time up to the present there have been many opportunities for individuals to serve their country in one capacity or another. They have served as police officers, firemen, or doctors, who fulfill his or her commitment to his country by helping those who are sick. Out of all the opportunities to so serve one’s country I believed that joining the military, especially the Army, was the best way for me to pay for my college tuition, take on challenges that most Americans do not want to do or cannot do to serve my country and last but not least fulfill my civic duties as a American Soldier.
As a teenager in growing up in the Midwest I always played some type of sport in high school, no matter if it was baseball, basketball, and football. I remember during my senior year in high school an Army Recruiter would come out every evening during our football practices and sit and watch us run drills, plays and scrimmage. After the practice he would come up to us and ask those of us who were still around if they had ever thought about joining the military, especially the Army. The majority of the team who was still there would always say, “No thanks,” and run off to escape the recruiter. Normally I would stay there to hear his spill or pitch but in the back of my mind knowing I was going straight to college with a scholarship for football and baseball. He would always say if you have any questions don’t hesitate to stop by the recruiting office to talk to him. The recruiting office happened to be located right next to our public library. One day after speaking with my father, an Army Veteran, he told me go by and see the recruiter and see what the military has to offer. That day came and I stopped by the recruiter’s office and he showed me video of World War 2, video of basic training and some other stuff. He also talked about how the Army could pay for my college just in case I didn’t get those scholarships I was expecting to get. He also told me about the Army Reserve Program where I could be a citizen Soldier, which didn’t seem to bad considering I could go to college and be a part of the Army once a month and two weeks in the summer. After finding out I was not going to be receiving the scholarships I called the recruiter and told him to sign me up.
I told the recruiter I wanted to do all the challenging things he had shown me in the videos. He showed me all the challenging training I would receive in basic training and other training programs I could go after finishing my basic and advanced individual training (AIT) that would challenge me mentally and physically even more. I remember calling home during basic training and telling my parents everything challenging I had done and how I felt like Superman at times. I remember writing my buddies back at home and explaining the feeling of going through the Gas Chamber, repelling off a tower, and firing the numerous weapon systems that the average American citizen would not have the confidence or skill sets to do. Up to this point by serving my country, I had my college tuition being paid for, and I was doing challenging things most Americans would never even contemplate doing. Army life was great until September 11, 2001.
I remember September 11, 2001 I was preparing to brief our Brigade Commander during our monthly Commander’s Update Brief, when our BDE S2 walked in and whispered something in the Brigade Commander’s ear. From that moment on my outlook on the Army had changed from just being in the Army to do challenging things to now protecting our country and allies from terrorism. At that point it had become my civic duty as a Soldier to ensure the protection of this country with a new outlook that encompasses it is a privilege now more than ever to serve this country. I was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq from Oct 05 – Aug 06 as Company Commander of a Quartermaster unit and even though I missed my family and friends I felt proud to be doing what we were doing for our country. I remember coming back from deployment and how people asking me,” Do I think we should have been there,” and my response always was I took a oath to defend the constitution bottom line!
I have volunteered numerous times to go back to Iraq or Afghanistan and it’s not for the combat pay, or the challenging events that will take place but it’s my civic duty to protect this country; a duty that I take highly and I’m proud to wear this uniform. I always think what our military or country would be like today if 9-11 never occurred. One thing I do know is that my perception then of what civic duty to your country is totally different now and I am proud to serve my country as part of my civic duty.