United States Army Reserve

some poor, hungry people in the mud for big powerful America. And shoot them for what? They never called me nigger; they never lynched me.” Antagonistic, yet honest words from World Boxing Champion Muhammed Ali at his refusal to be enlisted in the U.S Army in 1967. Unlike the previous World Wars that were unquestioned as to America’s involvement; the Vietnam war, even from its onset is one that has held a contentious point of division among many in America. Platoon is a film that that attempts…

to join the U.S. Army they have a preconceived notion of what an Army soldier is, what an Army soldier represents, and how life as a United States Army Soldier will be like. They contemplate how their friends, family, and the public will perceive them when they wear the uniform. Past and present Army leaders have worked diligently to form and maintain an Army image of disciplined, well trained, and true professional soldiers. Over the past 15 years, this outstanding image of Army Soldiers has…

In his article describing the status of the US Army near the end of the Vietnam War, Robert Heinl highlighted issues concerned with escalating incidents of sedition, the increasingly strained relationship between Soldiers and organizational leaders, and an overall climate that seemed to foster criminal activity. His critique painfully painted a picture of the US Army as it reached a deplorable state of discipline and readiness. The question then begs, what were the proximate causes that…

How is the futility and hypocrisy of war and bureaucracy explored by Joseph Heller and Francis Ford Coppola in Catch-22 and Apocalypse Now respectively? Catch-22 authored by Joseph Heller and Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola are critically considered two of the finest examples of contemporary anti-war literature and cinema, despite neither being explicitly against the concept of combat as such, but rather, both opposing the bureaucratic absurdity that war inevitably entails.…

history of mission readiness and success. The past few weeks of observing the unit, in addition to, careful analysis of more recent historical documents from Army research organizations such as the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) and Center for Army Leadership (CAL) have provided necessary insight in understanding the unit’s current state of readiness, culture, and organizational structure. However, derived from this insight, it is supposed that the 4th ABCT’s current operating…

Taigen Per. 2 and Per. 5 2 December 2016 Valley Forge; Would You Have Quit? On the beautiful winter day of January 27, 1778, I made the most difficult choice of my entire life. My fellow soldiers and I became, over time, more jealous of General Howe’s army, which, of 18000 men, was comfortably quartered in Philadelphia. Our hut, which consisted of 12 men, had no beds at all. The mud floor consisted of straw, providing an uncomfortable “bed” of sorts. I have decided to not re-enlist for three…

God Is the Path to My Future I, too, shall find my new path to follow with God’s help as I have time and again throughout my life. As my life has currently lost its purpose, I ask myself, “Will I know it when I see it, will I suddenly jump for joy or feel a warm sensation throughout my body. Realistically, I know that I need to listen for the direction from God. For my path to recovery, I should listen to Elijah when he tells us he heard God’s “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). As I look…

The South Carolina legislature couldn’t, of course, have been able to come to this conclusion when it first hoisted the rebel battle flag on the state capitol grounds (in 1961) as they were too busy contesting school…

Careful analysis of Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” and Harold Moore’s and Joseph Galloway’s “We Were Soldiers Once… And Young” reveals two markedly different portrayals of the United States’ army during the Vietnam War. This change mirrors the dwindling optimism of the American people from Moore and Galloway’s account of the 1965 Battle of la Drang and O’Brien’s more comprehensive account of the later stages of the war and post-war period. While O’Brien, Moore, and Galloway all served…

It all started in May of 2017 at my current job, UPS. As I was coming down the steps to get to my bay, I saw a new hire who started that day with a trainer. Although I only saw his back side, I noticed this man had a tattoo on his neck of Roman numerals. I liked the tattoo, but I was never the type of person to greet somebody on their first day. As I walked passed, I said hi to the trainer because he trained me when I first started. Luckily, he introduced me to my current boyfriend, Dameon.…