.Soldier says he's ready to serve in Iraq
It is honored and off to war for Pvt. Jonathan Tyson, the third generation in his family to put on an Army uniform.
“I’ve been waiting since day one for this,” he said Friday. Tyson expects to go to Baghdad, Iraq, in the next two weeks with about 72 hours’ notice.
He is trained. He is assured. He is thoughtful. He is apprehensive. He is excited. He is proud. He is honored. He is committed.
Tyson enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 2005 and in 2007 was picked as the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade’s Trooper of the Year. He has a secret security clearance and training in information technology to keep command communications current and secure.
He also hit the bull’s-eye 40 of 40 times in marksmanship qualification.
The circumstances that pushed Tyson toward a hitch may have been different than his father’s, or grandfather’s, but Tyson is confident the result will be the same.
He sees his dad, who was an Army military policeman, and his late grandfather, who was captured in Nazi Germany in World War II while in the Army Air Corps, as guys who get it done. Tyson’s father is Craven County Commissioner Steve Tyson.
“I’m now a mission-oriented man, focused on tangible goals and how to achieve them,” Jonathan Tyson said.
He said his determination to turn his life around came with a little shove from his dad.
“I was a pretty wild kid,” he said. Tyson, now 21 years old, who would have graduated from New Bern High School’s Class of 2005 if his behavior had not sent him toward the Army and a GED.
“I decided I needed some discipline in my life and I got it at Fort Benning,” he said. He got further training at Fort Gordon, Ga., and is now stationed at Fort Bragg.
Tyson assumed that many of the recruits he would join in boot camp would be coming from trouble, too, he said. “Some did. But most came either came from lower-income families or just wanted to serve.”
“The Army was not exactly what I thought it would be,” he said. “There are some really intelligent people who could do anything anywhere.”
There was a $10,000 sign-on bonus, which he used to help buy an Explorer. He sees Army compensation a good deal for a young single guy, since room and board is provided. He gets Army-paid education while in service and $70,000 toward college when he gets out.
“I was always in pretty good shape and I paid close attention to detail in my training,” Tyson said. That focus prepared him for the tests and boards he faced to get the award and also prepared him well for what he expects to face in October.
“I like what I do,” he said. “There are good people; even those you don’t really get along with as part of daily life are part of a brotherhood. You know you are going down range together and you will have to watch each other’s back.”
Tyson has his own maroon beret and an Airborne patch on the sleeve of his cammies and is considering a 20-year Army career.
“I’m not fully ‘airborne’ but the award got me a jump with the Golden Knights from 14,000 feet,” said Tyson.
Tyson said it may surprise old friends but he has also studied military history and looked closely and from many directions at the war in Iraq.
“I support the war,” he said. “I was only 15 when the terrorist struck America but I can not forget what happened on Sept. 11, 2001. And I can’t sit around and let it happen again.
“I know people have to die. It is a part of war. Somebody has got to do it. I am more than willing to put my life down for it without regret. They are training us to stay alive and nobody is forced to be there. I don’t have any attachments and that makes it a lot easier.”
He is ready to go with the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade to the war in Iraq for 455 days, doing whatever it takes to get his part of the job done.
Tyson is a soldier on his way to war.
Sun Journal
“I’ve been waiting since day one for this,” he said Friday. Tyson expects to go to Baghdad, Iraq, in the next two weeks with about 72 hours’ notice.
He is trained. He is assured. He is thoughtful. He is apprehensive. He is excited. He is proud. He is honored. He is committed.
Tyson enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 2005 and in 2007 was picked as the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade’s Trooper of the Year. He has a secret security clearance and training in information technology to keep command communications current and secure.
He also hit the bull’s-eye 40 of 40 times in marksmanship qualification.
The circumstances that pushed Tyson toward a hitch may have been different than his father’s, or grandfather’s, but Tyson is confident the result will be the same.
He sees his dad, who was an Army military policeman, and his late grandfather, who was captured in Nazi Germany in World War II while in the Army Air Corps, as guys who get it done. Tyson’s father is Craven County Commissioner Steve Tyson.
“I’m now a mission-oriented man, focused on tangible goals and how to achieve them,” Jonathan Tyson said.
He said his determination to turn his life around came with a little shove from his dad.
“I was a pretty wild kid,” he said. Tyson, now 21 years old, who would have graduated from New Bern High School’s Class of 2005 if his behavior had not sent him toward the Army and a GED.
“I decided I needed some discipline in my life and I got it at Fort Benning,” he said. He got further training at Fort Gordon, Ga., and is now stationed at Fort Bragg.
Tyson assumed that many of the recruits he would join in boot camp would be coming from trouble, too, he said. “Some did. But most came either came from lower-income families or just wanted to serve.”
“The Army was not exactly what I thought it would be,” he said. “There are some really intelligent people who could do anything anywhere.”
There was a $10,000 sign-on bonus, which he used to help buy an Explorer. He sees Army compensation a good deal for a young single guy, since room and board is provided. He gets Army-paid education while in service and $70,000 toward college when he gets out.
“I was always in pretty good shape and I paid close attention to detail in my training,” Tyson said. That focus prepared him for the tests and boards he faced to get the award and also prepared him well for what he expects to face in October.
“I like what I do,” he said. “There are good people; even those you don’t really get along with as part of daily life are part of a brotherhood. You know you are going down range together and you will have to watch each other’s back.”
Tyson has his own maroon beret and an Airborne patch on the sleeve of his cammies and is considering a 20-year Army career.
“I’m not fully ‘airborne’ but the award got me a jump with the Golden Knights from 14,000 feet,” said Tyson.
Tyson said it may surprise old friends but he has also studied military history and looked closely and from many directions at the war in Iraq.
“I support the war,” he said. “I was only 15 when the terrorist struck America but I can not forget what happened on Sept. 11, 2001. And I can’t sit around and let it happen again.
“I know people have to die. It is a part of war. Somebody has got to do it. I am more than willing to put my life down for it without regret. They are training us to stay alive and nobody is forced to be there. I don’t have any attachments and that makes it a lot easier.”
He is ready to go with the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade to the war in Iraq for 455 days, doing whatever it takes to get his part of the job done.
Tyson is a soldier on his way to war.
Sun Journal
posted by madtom at 7:51 PM
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