Shameless Plug

This post is long overdue, but since Dr. Jay barked on me to update my blog, I figured I might as well get it out now.

This is dedicated to my girl and everyone who holds her down at USNA.

You make them strong. We make them Army strong!

The Few. The Proud. The Marines.

Accelerate Your Life.

Yup, you have seen the commercials, so I am sure you have heard these lines before (which I get a kick out of by the way for some strange reason). I am no advocate for military service- I know I would not do it. Only service I advocate is church service. Anything outside that, you are on your own. However, I am tired of those who have nothing good to say about the people that are trained to defend our country.

Here's why I'm mad:

A very good friend of mine, Queen Boss, is a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. I have known this young lady since I was 13! and for as long as I have known her, she never liked school. During senior year of college, she made the decision to enlist in the USMC. For five years, I never heard from her. Besides the fact that I moved out of New York City, she was all over the globe, including a tour in Iraq.

I kept in contact with QB through our mutual friends who would see her when she came back to NYC. When QB and I finally reunited in the spring of 2007, I nearly cried. Besides the fact that I was seeing one of my good friends for the first time in a long time, she was not the same QB I left in HS. The QB I knew was a fighter, literally, who loved to sing, dance, step and was always the center of attention. She did not really care for mundane tasks like classes and student groups. It just was not her thing. Four years later, here she was, and instead of the same feisty girl I knew in HS, she was now a reserved woman. QB still had her spark and her sass, but she was less quick with her tongue. Here was a woman who actually THOUGHT about what she had to say before she said it- QB, you KNOW you were not like that in HS!! :) Being in the USMC did not change who she was, but it refined her characteristics by decreasing the negative ones and accentuating the positive ones.

Right now, QB is finishing up her second year at the Naval Academy and has two more to go. When she graduates, with her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, she will be the first African American female Marine to graduate from the Naval Academy. She has rubbed elbows with the Centennial Seven and is friends with the first African American to become Command Master Chief of the Naval Academy, who also happens to be a woman.

I have had the pleasure of visiting the Naval Academy numerous times and I was more than impressed with the caliber of African Americans who attend the academy. A few of them go because their parents were graduates or were Naval officers, while others go because they might have been in jail if they had not.

I say all this to say that when talking to our children about their career options, the service is not a bad break. Some of our peers might not have had a chance otherwise. QB does not fall into that category- I know her mother, but she knew in her heart that USMC was where she needed to be. Upon graduating USNA, she will return to the Marine Corps where she will continue to grow and climb the ranks. Her goal is to one day be Secretary of State. Being where she is now, the world is her oyster; she may very well fulfill that dream.

I do not want anyone to think I am glorifying our military, which has its ups and downs, and pros and cons, including death. I have talked with QB about the politics that go down, so I know life in the military is not all that it is cracked up to be, but show me an institution devoid of drama. This post is not encouraging everyone to go off to the military or send their children there, but to show that for some people, it is a great option and an even greater career opportunity.

I am very happy to have QB as a friend and that I had the pleasure of seeing her lifestyle, (which is almost jail like lol). QB is close by now that she is located in Annapolis, but we both know after her two years are up, we have no idea where she will end up. However, I am comforted knowing that she is on the right track, like many of our soldiers are. Plus, she is trained to kill. Keeping that in mind, I know QB will be OK.