A section of my magazine will focus on true life stories on various topics. For January, I'm doing a True Life - I've Enlisted.

I want to hear from anyone who has enlisted, possibly seen war, and would want to share their stories. I will be checking YN if you want to leave your stories hear or noisemail me for my email.

1.What was your reasoning to enlist?(i.e. sense of obligation, following in footsteps, etc.)
Well it was a combination of three things for me, a long time ago I decided to hold myself to the highest standard I possibly could. A standard that only a few people could say they followed. I found that challenge with the Marine Corps. After I converted to this view point I found out my grandfather had been a marine. This plus the need to defend my friends and family cemented me in to joining the Marine Corps
2.If it was something other than free choice, would you have done it anyway?
Well if there wasn't a free choice in it, it'd just be conscription wouldn't it? The thing that makes the Corps and the US military at large unique is that we're all volunteers. There was a military thinker who said give me 1 volunteer over 10 conscripts and that's what really holds true in my mind.
3. Are you glad you did it?
Yes
4 How has it positively changed your life?
Well I'm in better shape for one. Add in massive health and education benefits and from a pure financial persepective I'm doing alright. From a more personal level it's shaping me in to a better person, discipline, courage and direction
5. Any downsides to enlisting?
Not so far, I mean okay 3 months with out girls is going to suck but really there we're not getting a very raw deal.
6. If you've alreay made it through boot camp, have you been deployed?
I'm not through boot camp yet so no, but I expect to eventually. I mean with the Corps you sign up knowing full well that in one term of service much less a full career you will be in combat. That's what we signed up for, every Marine, recruit and poole has volunteered for combat.
7. What's it really like to be a soldier?
Damned if I honestly know yet, but gathering from the guys at the office and the other marines I'm in touch with it's a pretty normal life in all honesty. Sure your day job is a hell of a lot more intresting and you have to go away for work 6 months out of the year but we eat 3 squares, sleep, drink, fall in love, listen to loud music, swear, get sick, settle down, have kids. That's where military life gets really hard as I understand it, 6 months (or a year and a half for the army) is a hell of a long time to be away from someone, no matter how much you love them.
8. How to talk to a guy who just enlisted
This isn't really a question from the intrepid journalist who asked for this interview but it's more a commentary about what I noticed in my own enlistment. Please don't tell us we're going to go to iraq like it's something we don't know. We're not stupid we know we're signing up to a military service, we know we're going to the middle east try to accept that we know that.

1.What was your reasoning to enlist?(i.e. sense of obligation, following in footsteps, etc.)

2.If it was something other than free choice, would you have done it anyway?

3. Are you glad you did it?

4 How has it positively changed your life?

5. Any downsides to enlisting?

6. If you've alreay made it through boot camp, have you been deployed?

7. What's it really like to be a soldier?

That's all for now, but if you can think of anything else to add, please do. Just try and look at it like you're an outsider and you are wanting to know anything possible.

Like I said star, ask away, le amp will awnser