Why I Want to the Army

¶ … Join the Army

My name is Ryan O. Forbes and I am currently a member of the United States Army Reserves. I have learned, from my personal experience in the reserves, that the reserves are a critical part of the fighting force of the United States military defense. I am proud to have served the nation in this vital capacity. The reserves are the backbone of the United States defense. Now I wish to become part of the forefront of those armed defenses and become part of the Unites States Army.

The reserves have taught me a great deal. I have received professional training through the mentoring and education I have gained through the guidance of those above me in the reserves. As a result of my service, I have become more disciplined as a person. The reserves also taught me how to become a professional mechanic. Thus I can thank the reserves not only giving me vital personal skills, but also vital vocational skills as well.

The sense of friendship and fellowship I experience in the reserves has been very important to me. At present, when I am not in the service of the reserves, I often find my work and personal life vocationally adrift. I consider myself a happy and well-adjusted person in my current circumstances, but I always like to feel as though I am working to a larger personal goal, financially and in terms of my profession. I am currently working at R& S. Strauss as a mechanic. While I enjoy my work, it does not provide me with the emotional sense of fulfilling a larger obligation to the United States and to society that I crave.

I am not yet a citizen of the United States, although I hope to become one. I come from Jamaica, a land where a close sense of fellowship and obligation between friends and family is very important. I wish I could send more money back to my family at home on the island of my birth, but currently I only make $7.75 an hour. After working a 40-hour shift as a mechanic, I return to a room which costs me 150.00 per week. Thus, I have little financial savings.

My family understands my situation but still I wish I were working at an occupation, such as in the army that would give me more immediate funds to finance their struggles back home as well as to better develop my skills. I would also like to make them proud of me, as I build a career and a new life for myself in the United States as well as simply make a living. Living in a single room without a sense of belonging to a larger cause and purpose in life can be difficult for a man so accustomed to living amongst and for others.