The military serves and protects the United States civilians while also inspiring high school students, like senior Anna Thompson, to join the ranks of the US military.
“I wanted to accomplish something that people thought I wouldn’t be able to do,” said Thompson. “It is the best training America has to offer.”
Thompson signed her contract locally April 9, 2012 , but joined officially June 22. She chose the Army National Guard branch because it suited her best.
“After a year of research I figured the Army National Guard would suit my job interest better,” said Thompson.
She is not the first of her family to join the military, but Thompson is the first of her family to join the Army National Guard while the rest are Navy Seals. Currently, Thompson is training in Ft. Smith where she does drill once a week each month.
Thompson is not the only military member who still goes to high school. Joey Dawson, who is a senior, is part of the Air Force.
“I’ve had family in wars all the way down to World War I,” said Dawson. “They fought for different countries like Germany, France, US, and Luxembourg.”
Dawson felt compelled to join the Air Force because of family reasons and personal principles.
“That’s the only [branch] my family hasn’t been in, so I’m carrying on the legacy,” said Dawson.
The reason Dawson likes the Air Force is because it encourages a healthy body and physical fitness.
“It gets me fit and teaches me about education like technical stuff, mechanics, engineering, and also architecture,” said Dawson.
Dawson has wanted to join the military since he was seven, while others, like senior Jon Temple, have only recently debated the idea of enlisting.
“I looked through all the branches and I had periods where I was pretty focused on joining, but the Air Force was the one I settled with the best,” said Temple. “They treat their people the best in my opinion, not discriminating against other branches.”
Temple is the first of his family to be in the military. The decision was easy for him, but required further consideration.
“If anybody is wondering, I would really recommend going down to talk to the recruiter, then talking to your parents about it if it’s what you really want to do,” said Temple. “For me, it was pretty easy because I didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school and I had nothing else.”
Dawson encourages students that are debating the pros and cons of joining the military to just do it.
“It is a great way to serve your country and it teaches you a lot of fundamentals about life,” said Dawson. “It helps prepare you for the outside world.”