Joining the Military
Finding a Higher Purpose
For me, joining the military was a very easy decision. Senior year of high school was full of all of this pressure to apply to colleges and I was in no way certain about what my future plans were. I certainly was not ready for college debt. The prospect of leaving all of my childhood friends seemed sad but I knew that I had an obligation to my country and to myself to challenge the norm. I grew up in a military family so a lot of my initial questions and apprehensions were answered by my dad, a Marine of 17 years. So I started my search with the Marine Corps. I was drawn to the respect that the leaders demanded and how they commanded the room. The recruiters didn’t try to sell me on any bull, it was just do you want to be a Marine or not. It was actually my dad, Gunnery Sergeant Keller that convinced me to look at the other branches of the military.
My next stop was the Army. The recruiters were approachable and helped me navigate what I wanted out of the Army. I paid no mind to most of what they were saying. I just knew I wanted to be in the infantry. I wanted to be the guy that was really roughing it. I also knew that I wanted more out of the Army. I had no idea at the time what the Rangers were but I knew I wanted it. I wanted to be part of a higher quality unit. That’s where I found my niche. It was with the special operations community. All Ranger ignorance aside, I took great pleasure in what I did. I may not have made it as far up the chain at 2/75 but I am damn proud to have been there. However, my Army career was plagued by injury.
I had just gotten back from a short training deployment to the country of Oman when I was in a car accident. I was next in line in my platoon for Ranger school (an Army leadership school open to all branches) and I fractured my C6 & C7 vertebrae.I remember showing up that Monday to the company area wearing a C-Collar and all of the guys ragging on me. Rightfully so, I looked ridiculous. I was on muscle relaxers and slightly concussed so I can imagine that added to the humor of the situation. Strangely enough this fracture wasn’t what put me in my wheelchair. But it was severe enough where it required a year of physical therapy and within a few months I was taken off the line in D Co and moved into Headquarters Company to focus on my PT. Some nerve issues persisted and I had to drop my airborne status which caused me to be moved to another infantry unit on post.
At this new unit I had the honor of getting to know some of the best leaders in my military career. Unfortunately an old Ranger buddy of mine decided to play with his handgun. You know the rest.
My time in the military wasn’t very long. I am currently going on towards 6 years if you include my time in the CCU going through my medical evaluation board. I have made incredible friends and I have had some crazy and awesome experiences. I can never say that I didn’t give it my all and I am proud of that. If you have impacted my career and life in anyway, good or bad, then thank you! Thank you for shaping me to who I am today!
All of this Army talk is just the nitty-gritty of course, there will be plenty of more in-depth posts following my Army career. Thanks for reading and as always,
God Bless.
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