To the editor:

There is one question that I have been asked several times when talking about my time in the military, "Why do people do it?" Why do people take time out of their lives to serve their country when there are so many other choices and it is not required? Some of these answers are what you see in the commercials. Education, life experience, and the opportunity to see the world. There are people who sign on the dotted line just for that reason. There are other reasons though, and many pieces to the complex puzzle that is military life. When you look at it, it doesn’t seem too glamorous. The pay is okay, the benefits are good, three hots and a cot and a guaranteed contract. The training can pay great dividends in some cases. In other cases it is tough to use in the civilian world. Training in the fields of infantry, artillery, etc. are hard to apply to a civilian career. As much as military experience helps you in the "real world", there are viable reasons that people choose to serve their country. In a way it is a calling that many cannot explain. They are driven to put themselves in the position to help those they will never know. A lot of first termers and many career military personnel feel that this is their way to make a difference, to protect the greatest nation in the world from those wishing to cause us harm. Throughout the last century many have come for different reasons, but most to serve, period. During some of the conflicts it was common for very young men, as young as twelve, to lie to get into the fight. They would use forged birth certificates to go to war. This is not youthful exuberance; this is the heart of the military ideals. Common people driven to serve and sacrifice everything for their fellow man. Dig into the Bible and you can find the idea millennia old. One common ideal of the American serviceman is that if they serve, their children will not have to. It is the idea that every family must give back to their country and who better to do it than they? While life in the military is not a living hell, there is not much glory and accolade in training day after day to go to war, working long shifts during the holidays and missing precious time with loved ones. Life in the military can be fun, but it can also be incredibly tough. Military life is not the easy path to travel and there is always the chance that you get deployed to fight a war that you did not bargain for. You could also spend a short tour in Thule Greenland. But yet they sign up, year after year, to serve this nation. No they are not crazy, and they are not warmongers, they are just Americans, proud of their country and willing to put it all on the line for every one of us. One thing remains certain for most veterans, no matter how bad life gets the pride instilled in you during your service is one thing no one can ever take away.Curtis Hendel Adrian