Photo by Art Guzman
Daniel Dewald’s Grey Feathers book on actual operations during the Vietnam war narrates the dangers soldiers must constantly endure during wars. Despite these, why do people still consider being one in the first place?
Once people start making decisions for themselves and thinking independently, one of the questions they typically get centers on the career they wish to take in the future.
A job decision is one of the crucial choices people have to make in their lives. Whatever job they’ll be landing will give them the financial capacity to survive. Likewise, if fortunate enough, it’s what fuels their passion to continue fighting in life. It’s a crucial decision that needs conscientious deliberation.
Hence, this is why children who are freshly learning about jobs or high school students who are about to decide what course they’ll be taking are commonly called on to answer this question.
A Common Method for Decision
It’s innate for people to desire a meaningful life. Thus, people commonly want a career that serves a purpose. Most may lean toward a position that leaves an impact and allows them to help improve others’ lives. People want to serve their country and protect the people around them.
They want a career that positively affects society, their community, or the general public. This is why being a doctor, lawyer, or engineer is among the most popular careers in today’s generation. However, there’s an ideal job many desire to partake in, but most have commonly reconsidered upon thorough deliberation.
A Common Yet Not-So-Common Career Path
When people hear the word “soldier,” they typically associate it with negative words like war, blood, chaos, and even death. Hence, despite being a profession allowing people the most opportunity to make changes in the world and help the most, few have firmly pursued the path.
Whether it be in movies or literature, soldiers often undergo the worst circumstances people can experience. After all, they’re the people countries have to send to fight in wars and win power and dominance over other countries.
Author Daniel Dewald’s Grey Feathers’ book on actual operations during the Vietnam war narrates the events that transpired. It gives an exhaustive account of what the soldiers experienced during the battle, the difficulties they had to deal with, and the rigorous days they underwent to acquire the well-deserved grey feather, a symbol of bravery.
With the dangers soldiers constantly face, why do a few still brave through the army?
The Adventure
Besides the evident purpose of serving the country and saving people, a big part of being a soldier involves adventure. The ARMY provides one of the most adventurous careers for every interested individual that the typical nine-to-five can never offer. Soldiers usually have to brave through the hottest deserts or tread around dangerous waters, literally and figuratively.
Unpredictability is a central attribute in military service, given that they constantly have to travel and interact with various people. Not to mention having to pass through different trails and experience crossing rivers and climbing mountains, some may even have to survive through the coldest, most dynamic environments.
The Growth
When it comes to the growth soldiers experience, this doesn’t only involve their physical features. While their exhaustive training and complex circumstances are the perfect means to develop a bigger physique, soldiers also learn other skills throughout the experience. These may include physical abilities like creating better stamina and better strength. But most of all, soldiers master maintaining calmness in dire situations and quickly processing and coming up with out-of-the-box solutions.
All the skills they will learn throughout their service will also apply outside their lives. Hence, though going through the dangers of military service, soldiers still come out better than ever.
The Respect
Soldiers are given the highest regard in society, given the purpose of their careers and the tasks they must complete to uphold this. Reasonably so, since they continuously have to risk their lives, survive in the harshest environmental conditions, and especially be separated for a long time from their families. Soldiers sacrifice a lot to serve the country and fulfill their purpose. They deserve nothing less than the respect they’re getting.
The respect, along with the fascination and awe from the others, provides people more reason to be interested in becoming a soldier.
The Benefits
People don’t only consider a career for the purpose it serves. They must also choose one for practicality. A person’s job is their primary source of income. Hence, it’s crucial to choose one that provides the most benefits. Soldiers don’t only get a relatively higher salary than the other careers. They’re also offered a lot of other government benefits.
While money indeed comes second to the satisfaction that soldiers get in protecting and serving their country, it’s not disagreeable to also consider the position for the benefits it offers.
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