Growing up, the military was always something I had in the back of my mind. I was so unsure of which direction I wanted to go as far as Army Reserve or active duty. I knew I wanted to be in the Army, but which service was a tough choice for me.

During my junior year in high school, I made the decision to enlist with the Army Reserve. In between my junior and senior year, I went to basic training in hot, humid Southern Georgia for eight weeks. Coming back for my senior year in high school, I had so many cool stories to tell my friends and family that I almost felt famous.

During my time in the Reserves, I had the opportunity to experience leaving the country, which I had never done before. I spent 32 days on Army Garrison Hohenfels in Germany.

After high school, I decided to make the switch from Reserves to active duty. I was stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia. I served on active duty for 16 months, for a total of four years and eight months between the two.

Looking back, I’m not sure if I would do the same thing or do it the same way, but the military forms a brotherhood with so many people who are lifelong friends even if you never see them again. Those memories are the things I’m grateful to the military for.

My military service has made my teamwork skills stronger. Being able to rely on someone to get a certain job done and overall communication were huge factors in helping me hone the skills that ultimately benefited my credit union career at Lincoln County Credit Union.

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