By | January 28, 2015
I grew up in a rough area in West Virginia and had been living on my own since I was 16 years old. When I was 20 years old I realized I was headed down a bad path and new I needed to make a change. A lot of my friends were joining the Marines, and well, I cut all my hair off and joined the Army. They had the most rugged looking uniform and I wanted to do rugged work. I joined as infantry and deployed for 15 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007 through 2008. My supervisors had the greatest impact on me during my first few years in service. I grew up without a father or brothers in my life and my leaders and peers were great examples of what I wanted to be; they truly took over the roles I had missed out on during my youth. They became my brothers and sisters-in-arms. I have a wife and daughter now and love the time I’ve spent in the Army. I don’t know where I would be right now if I hadn’t joined. -Army Staff Sgt. James Wilson, 841st Transportation Battalion at Joint Base Charleston.