From Road Blocks to Super Highways

I love my wife more than anything, and the adage is true that people the closest to you hurt you the most. The have the ammunition because they know your likes and dislikes; you strengths and weaknesses and what buttons to push.

My wife is one of those that tell it like it is, even if she is totally wrong. Perhaps we are all that way.On Sunday I had mowed the lawn and done some work around the house. I didn’t say much to Amanda or Steven that whole weekend. I wasn’t mad at them; it’s just that I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t slept very much since I came home but I wasn’t tired.

That evening Amanda went into our home office and I could hear her typing on the keyboard. She was playing around with the calculator and looking up stuff on the internet. She came back into the living room. “September will work. Call your recruiter. He’s going to take you back up to MEPS on Tuesday he has reserved the job you wanted.” I think I was more stunned than when the MEPS CMO told me I was medically qualified. I asked her if I really did fail the hearing test, because I wasn’t sure if I heard her correctly. “Robert, this maybe your last chance and for you to pass the physical when you couldn’t pass the hearing test nineteen years ago, that means this was meant to be.”

I almost cried. Part of me wanted to kick her in the butt for putting me through this. But, on the other hand, the Aviation Inn had some really good food and the people there aren’t half bad.

I had talked with my Lieutenant about altering my schedule so I could go back and he wholeheartedly agreed, even though he could have said “No, you are behind on your work.” He would have been correct. I had told him in the past about the possibility of joining the Reserves and he has been not only supportive of this endeavor, but very encouraging. I rode with my recruiter, along with his partner and we went back to MEPS the following Tuesday. We were supposed to get me singed in and be back around 1300 hours. I wore a shirt and tie because as soon as I came back I wanted to go into work and work on a hot case. We arrived at 0900. While one of the other recruiters went before a “Recruiter’s Board” I would wait upstairs on the second floor. Occasionally I would get up to stretch my legs or get something to drink.

I did notice that the folks that had not been “sociable” the following week were walking up to me, shaking my hand and shooting the breeze. Last week I was wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans while the others were wearing baggie clothes and shorts. They were professional last week but were very strict and talked to people like they were kids, including me. On this day, I wore slacks and a tie because as soon as I got back home I was going to work. I sat there for two hours before MSGT Calderon called me in. He said the main system was down and as soon as it came up he would call me back in. However, if it came up passed 1300 hours I would have to stay over that night. That wasn’t happening. I was not going to ask my lieutenant for another day off when I had already asked for two and he gave me three. I had work to do and didn’t have the time to waste because someone made a critical error and crashed the Adjutant General’s primary enlistment computer network. In his Puerto Rican accent, I heard a phrase that I had only heard once by one of our prosecutors “We are at the mercy of computer geeks.” At 1200 we went to the Aviation Inn. This time I got a salad and a wrap with un-sweet tea. I ate with one of the MEPS enlisted staff members, a 1st class Petty Officer who somewhat reminded me of Capt Byron Hadley from the Shawshank Redemption. Except this time he was treating me like Andy Dufresne after Andy helped him keep an inheritance without contributing to the IRS. He was not a bad guy; he had his job to do just like we all do: babysitting grown adults. I respected him for that. It is not an easy job to do. At 1230 I went back to MEPS and checked in early with MSGT Calderon. The system had come back online right after I went to lunch and he had all of my paperwork ready. I had to electronically sign my name, go downstairs, go back upstairs, back down, back up, and this went on until 1500 hours. There was a slight glitch in my processing that was corrected and that was why I had the trips up and down the stairs. The date for me to report back to MEPS was 8/4/09. I would take a bus (van) up there on the 3rd, stay overnight, weigh in and finish my processing on the 4th. From there I will ship to Fort Knox, Kentucky and begin BCT on or about the 14th. In October I ship to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri for AIT. Nine weeks of BCT and seven weeks of AIT. I am projected to return home by 12/19/09. It wasn’t September but not July either. It was now or never. I signed the contract. At 1530 I was called into the briefing room, along with 4 other applicants, for my swearing in ceremony. The Army Officer was a 1st Lieutenant. We sat down at some desks and were called one by one to verify our contracts. The two first applicants responded “yea, and aight (alright).” Both were told to sit down, but with a voice of authority. He skipped the next two guys and called me up. I know I have not ever been in the military but I kind of thought at this was probably be the time to address a Military Officer as “Sir.” I also got a tip from a Sgt. 1st Class whom just completed a tour at Ft. Benning, Ga. He showed me how to stand at attention and how to properly salute an officer. I went before the Army officer and stood at attention. He asked me questions about my contract and I replied, with enthusiasm, “Yes sir!” or “No sir!” He took my photo and said “fall out.” I sat back down. He said “That is how you present yourself before an officer! The next one of you that replies “yea or aight” all of you will drop and give me twenty!” They all complied. We went into the ceremony room. We all stood at attention and gave the oath. He congratulated us. He looked at me and said “Private Holster, order the men to fall out.” I ordered the guys to stand at attention. We all saluted the Lt and after he returned the salute, I ordered “Fall out!”

After the festivities petered out, my recruiter was ready to go. We left Montgomery and came back home. It was a long day, but this time, I felt a sense of accomplishment. But this is no time to rest. I still have a lot of work to do so I can get into shape for Basic. The majority of those that failed basic could not keep up with the physical rigors, but the majority of that was because they were not mentally prepared. Even though I am now under 220 pounds, and I can run over a mile in eight minutes, I’m still not where I need to be. But I’ll get there, one day at a time.

My wife has grown more excited by the day, and my son has too. They are going to Disney when I’m gone, and to my wife’s hometown of Syracuse, New York and they are gong to party like it’s 1999. I can’t blame them. They have put up with me for this long they have earned it. In retrospect, my wife was right. To make sure this was something we could do. I mean, there is a difference between nice to have and need to have, but for me, the Army is both.

She was ticked off that I go in August instead of September, but she conceded that had she let me go….lol. I actually worked out better this way. I will return home before Christmas!

I hope to come back a better and stronger person, mentally and physically. I hope to share my experiences with my family and co-workers. After all, I didn’t do this just for me; I’m doing it for all of them. I’m doing this for those who have dreams of doing something and it gets laid out in front of them and obstacles seem to get in the way. I’m doing this for guys and gals my age who think they are too old or too out of shape. I’m also doing for the guys that already serve: after all, it’s about the soldier next to you. I’m not a soldier, yet. I haven’t earned it, but I will.



I know this has been a lot of reading. I did try to proof this stuff, but even spell check will miss a word or two. I hope to add to this blog when I return from Basic Training and AIT. I’m just a simple guy, living a simple life who wants to do the right thing for his family, his community and his country. In no way, shape or form am I trying to make myself out to be anything other than an ordinary guy. I just hope people read this and realize their dreams may be a nightmare away. For me, the weight loss was too easy, and although there was a slight “hiccup” there were no problems with the physical or enlistment. It was a matter of having a passionate desire for it. Make your dreams a reality so you never regret what could have been, or should have been, even if its for short while. I am not only alive, but I feel like for the first time in a long time I feel like I’m actually living.

And finally, how could I have passed the hearing test after failing it nineteen years prior? Or how did I do so well on the ASVAB when, even after high school when my grades were good I did horrible? Or why was enlisting such a painless process for me when back then, I was at the mercy of others? Again, if I offend, sorry but Jesus Christ is the reason. I wasn’t saved when I tried to enlist the first time and had I died in battle, I would have died lost. That is the only explanation I can give, and perhaps the only one necessary.

Forsaking
All
I
Trust
Him