I don’t remember the exact date, but I vividly recall my trip to the Jackson Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS).
I remember raising my hand and reciting these legally binding words: “I, Leslie Ferguson, Jr., do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
After those words, the changes came fast. I flew to Orlando, caught a bus, and arrived at the U.S. Naval Training Center for boot camp. After just a few hours of sleep, I was awakened at zero dark thirty by a banty rooster of a Filipino Drill Instructor who threw trash cans and screamed at us to get on the line and rub our blankety-blank heads. The chaos was unlike anything I had yet experienced.
We then marched to breakfast in our civilian clothes, had our heads shaved, were issued uniforms, and received several inoculations.
And then the real fun began. I spent eight weeks with our Filipino drill instructor and still didn’t understand him by boot camp graduation. Fortunately, we had a second DI who could interpret, but only when he felt like rescuing us from misunderstood commands.
I’d do it all over again.
After boot camp, I moved to the other side of the base for my first electronics school. Next, I went to school at Great Lakes Naval Station, then further training at the U.S. Naval Guided Missile School in Dam Neck, VA.
I’d do it all over again.
After a year and a half of schooling and training, my permanent duty station was the guided-missile cruiser USS Josephus Daniels (CG27), based in Norfolk, VA. That’s when the true adventure began.
I’ve been all over the Caribbean, drawn six months of combat pay in the Persian Gulf, and made a cruise around South America. I’ve passed through the Suez and Panama Canals, crossed the equator, and visited places I never imagined. I’ve stood mine watch, worked in damage control, maintained computer gear, and carried my all-time favorite Browning 1911 pistol on roving patrol.
I’d do it all over and over again.
It is customary to thank Veterans on Veterans Day, but this time I’m flipping the script and saying thank you first.
Thank you!
Thank you for the opportunity to serve my fellow citizens. Thank you for allowing me to be part of something noble, worthwhile, and bigger than myself. Thank you for the education and discipline I gained in service. Thank you for helping me learn to set boundaries and live out my priorities.
Thank you, America. I believe most Veterans would join me in saying I’d do it all over again.
“And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15 CSB)
Les Ferguson, Jr. is a minister and faith-based author. He can be reached at lfergusonjr@gmail.com
