re: What motivated you to join the military?

My family couldn't afford to pay for college and I didn't know much about student loans. Apparently my parents made just enough to prevent me from qualifying for grants. Neither of my parents had gone to college and my Dad was a Navy veteran. I liked the idea of getting away and "seeing the world", having my college paid for through the GI Bill and continuing the military tradition of my family. I served from March '86 - March '90.

I was an electrician aboard a guided missile destroyer stationed in San Diego. I spent the first 8 months in Great Lakes, IL for boot camp and apprentice schools. I had ports of call in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Diego Garcia, Seychelles, Hawaii, Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Acapulco, Monterey and Long Beach. I met lifelong friends, used the VA Loan to buy my first house and the GI Bill to pay for my Bachelors. I earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for my ship's involvement in Operation Nimble Archer in the Persian Gulf in '87. Without a doubt, I got more out of it than I put into it.