Soldiering Starts Here
Amadou Tall
“Soldiering starts here”
Narration Essay
ENGL110 – College Composition
February 13, 2013
Joseph Massa, M.A.
“Soldiering starts here”
I vividly remember stepping inside the building of the Military Entrance and Processing Station in Fort Hamilton, New York on October 8th, 2009, along with Sergeant Joshua Thomas who was my recruiter. After a night at the hotel we were driven back to the Military Entrance and Processing Station for the routine paperwork and were put on a plane that night. Little did I know at that time that at the age of 34, I was embarking on a new lollapalooza of an experience that started right at reception.
When I disembarked from the plane at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, I reported to the United Service Organizations (USO) office to check in. I arrived at night, which adds to the nerve-wracking feeling of the beginning of a new way of life. I got there with a group of three other people, which includes later to be my friend or buddy, Wan Bin from China. We were all tense I guess because of the combination of thrill, and expectation, and that caused us to start pacing back and forth. I felt like an escaped prisoner who would be caught at any minute. It really made me look at the people going about their normal routine in a different light. I was about to embrace a new path and it was just another night at the airport for all of them.
Along with the other three new recruits, I walked to the desk where a Sergeant was waiting. We approached him with apprehension and expected him to start his tyranny immediately on us as I’ve seen it on YouTube. We addressed him in the best way our little civilian minds knew how to do it, from reading online posts. The Sergeant just kind of giggled and had us fill out some paperwork and then to get on the bus. Alas, he was not a Drill Sergeant but a bus driver. He treated us like cattle (we will later found out that being treated like
“Soldiering starts here”
Narration Essay
ENGL110 – College Composition
February 13, 2013
Joseph Massa, M.A.
“Soldiering starts here”
I vividly remember stepping inside the building of the Military Entrance and Processing Station in Fort Hamilton, New York on October 8th, 2009, along with Sergeant Joshua Thomas who was my recruiter. After a night at the hotel we were driven back to the Military Entrance and Processing Station for the routine paperwork and were put on a plane that night. Little did I know at that time that at the age of 34, I was embarking on a new lollapalooza of an experience that started right at reception.
When I disembarked from the plane at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, I reported to the United Service Organizations (USO) office to check in. I arrived at night, which adds to the nerve-wracking feeling of the beginning of a new way of life. I got there with a group of three other people, which includes later to be my friend or buddy, Wan Bin from China. We were all tense I guess because of the combination of thrill, and expectation, and that caused us to start pacing back and forth. I felt like an escaped prisoner who would be caught at any minute. It really made me look at the people going about their normal routine in a different light. I was about to embrace a new path and it was just another night at the airport for all of them.
Along with the other three new recruits, I walked to the desk where a Sergeant was waiting. We approached him with apprehension and expected him to start his tyranny immediately on us as I’ve seen it on YouTube. We addressed him in the best way our little civilian minds knew how to do it, from reading online posts. The Sergeant just kind of giggled and had us fill out some paperwork and then to get on the bus. Alas, he was not a Drill Sergeant but a bus driver. He treated us like cattle (we will later found out that being treated like