The White Rhino is an alias my Company Commander gave to me while I was in the Army. But before the military, I was a small town boy ready to "take the midnight train going anywhere." A native Ohioan raised in Mt. Orab, I began a journey, or "vision quest" if you will. The summer before my freshman year I began weight-lifting preparing for football season. I was part of a team that went 10-0 for the second time in school history, and made a first time appearance in the state play-offs. Moving forward, I began looking into my future and what I wanted to do with my life. When I was seventeen, I was accepted to college by the University of the Cumberlands. However, I felt like something was missing from my life. I felt a higher purpose, and a call of duty. My mother had to sign my contract to join the Infantry, she fought tooth and nail to prevent me from joining. With tears in her eyes she finally signed it. I graduated high school on 28 May 2010, and left for basic training on 6 June 2010. Fort Benning, Georgia is where I spent the next seventeen weeks for OSUT (One Station Unit Training). They took our phones, cut our hair, made us stare into nothing for hours, and broke us down to rebuild us. The only communication we had was through letters. The first time I spoke to my mother on the phone was ten weeks into training.
Mom: "Hello?"
Me: "Hey there!"
Mom: "Hey!...Who is this?"
Me: "It's me mom, it's your son, Houston."
I could hear the lump in her throat on the other end of the phone. Hearing my family was one of the greatest things in the world, when you have been stripped down of basic human rights, you realize what is important in life.
Mom: "Hello?"
Me: "Hey there!"
Mom: "Hey!...Who is this?"
Me: "It's me mom, it's your son, Houston."
I could hear the lump in her throat on the other end of the phone. Hearing my family was one of the greatest things in the world, when you have been stripped down of basic human rights, you realize what is important in life.
Upon graduation from training, I received orders to Fort Stewart, Georgia. Fort Stewart is home of the 3rd Infantry Division, where spent the next four years. I made some of the best friends a man could possibly make, the best times an eighteen year old kid could have, and learned how to be a man and take responsibility. After three years of rigorous training with my unit, the day we had all anticipated finally came. We were heading to Afghanistan.
Ten months of hell is more what I would like to call it. You wake up and wonder to yourself "today could be the day." That thought of not knowing if you would live to see tomorrow. Everyday we took rockets to our base, and gunfire whenever we walked out of the gate. Doc was my best friend over there, he kept me going through the whole mess. I would tell more about my experience in Afghanistan, but do not want to share my stories over the internet. To give you an idea of my friendship with Doc and a certain situation, check out my link "The Relationship Between Doc and the Warfighter" on my essay page.
My goal is to finish college and become a project manager with my company, Towne Construction. Until then, its up early, and home late. I know for a fact it will be all worth it in the end. "It's a long way to the top, if you wanna rock and roll." So for now I will play my bagpipes until I rock and roll. Catching my drift? Thank you for taking the time to read my bio!