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Go Dodgers
In March of 1994, my brother Eric and I left for the military at almost the same time. It was a crazy coincidence because he’s 5 ½ years younger than me…we arrived at the decision to enlist from completely different paths. I went to college first and couldn’t find a job in TV news. When Glendive, Montana returns your tape with a rejection letter, it’s time to find a new path.
My brother while trying to break the record for most weed smoked in high school, joined the Marines on a delayed entry program before graduating high school. We ended up swearing in at MEPS the same day…and going through basic/boot camp together but apart.
We sent each other letters as we progressed through training. Someday, I need to write about this part of our experience…it’s a shame we’ve lost the art of letter writing and the joy of something good in the mailbox.
As adults, Eric and I always got a kick out of reliving this brief moment in our lives where we shared this experience, but in completely different settings.
During advanced training, I was assigned to Ft Huachuca to become a counterintelligence agent. My brother was on the east coast becoming a Marine armorer. Armorer school takes fewer weeks than CI, meaning, though I entered the Army 2 weeks ahead of him…he had liberty in the evenings sooner than I did.
