Spring Break
Welcome to real life
Chris Topham
Issue date: 9/30/08 Section: Forum
There are few realizations in life that hit you quite as hard as realizing that you are devoting the best years of your life to ensuring others make it home safely. I now find great joy in realizing that my soldiers are depending on me to do well by them, and thus I have no problem packing my bags and joining them in this hellish war. So here I sit, enjoying these last few days in Oregon before I leave for Georgia, watching the incoming freshmen scramble around campus in the mad dash of excitement that is youth.
There are over two dozen soldiers from all across Oregon who are going to be deploying with us in the upcoming months, and scores more who have already served their country in the Iraq war. It is not money or glory that drives them to serve, but the knowledge that some good can be found even in the darkest of times. The road is long but it is walked by people who also believe in a greater calling than themselves; it is a selfless thing to devote one's life to service and yet it is done every day by the young men and women of America's Army.
Over the course of the following months I will detail the life of the modern Army officer; from training in preparation to war, to the day-to-day happenings of military life, to the war itself, and back again. The next column will be from Fort Benning, Ga., where I will be attending the Infantry Officers Basic Course, a stepping stone for all Infantry Officers and one that I am looking forward to.
My last thought before I go is this: enjoy these days of peace as you live the day-to-day on campus, because you never know when your life will be turned upside down. Life is too short to spend living with regret; rather, take every challenge as an opportunity to show what you're made of.
There are over two dozen soldiers from all across Oregon who are going to be deploying with us in the upcoming months, and scores more who have already served their country in the Iraq war. It is not money or glory that drives them to serve, but the knowledge that some good can be found even in the darkest of times. The road is long but it is walked by people who also believe in a greater calling than themselves; it is a selfless thing to devote one's life to service and yet it is done every day by the young men and women of America's Army.
Over the course of the following months I will detail the life of the modern Army officer; from training in preparation to war, to the day-to-day happenings of military life, to the war itself, and back again. The next column will be from Fort Benning, Ga., where I will be attending the Infantry Officers Basic Course, a stepping stone for all Infantry Officers and one that I am looking forward to.
My last thought before I go is this: enjoy these days of peace as you live the day-to-day on campus, because you never know when your life will be turned upside down. Life is too short to spend living with regret; rather, take every challenge as an opportunity to show what you're made of.
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Bob Topham
posted 10/08/08 @ 10:13 AM PST
I was very impressed with the depth and quality of the article (9/30) written by Chris. His sense of duty and commitment is a tribute to his self confidence and generosity towards others. (Continued…)
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