Jackualynn-- Congratulations on joining the Army to serve your country. May God Bless you in your endeavors.
Jaqualynn Bridges wears her favorite purple high top Converse sneakers with pink laces. On Aug. 18, she'll report for basic training to Fort Jackson in South Carolina, trading her Chuck Taylors for U.S. Army boots.
Jaqualynn, who will graduate on Thursday from Cross Creek High School, enlisted April 15.
She comes from a military family. Her late grandfather, Alvin Bridges, served in both the Army and the Navy.
"He was always, always the family man," she said. "No matter what, he always kept that smile."
She enlisted because she wants to travel, and she hopes the military will help her find discipline.
"I didn't want to go straight to college because I'd probably fail out," she said.
She has been assigned to work with chemicals, a subject she enjoyed in high school.
"I had a chemistry set when I was young," she said.
After Fort Jackson, she'll be stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., starting Nov. 2.
"I've always liked the idea of serving my country," she said.
She plans to retire from the Army, get a college degree, then start a business.
Jaqualynn attended Cross Creek High for her junior and senior years, and was a member of the chorus and Navy JROTC.
"I've always loved the drilling," she said. "I guess it's like a structured dance."
She also had another reason to enlist, a 1-year-old daughter, Dahlya.
But you can't join and serve active duty as a single parent, so Jaqualynn decided her mother, Rebecca Quinn, should adopt Dahlya. Because Mrs. Quinn did such a good job with her and her siblings, Jaqualynn said, she knew she'd do well with Dahlya.
Now, Jaqualynn is optimistic about her future.
Her mother worries about her going overseas, but she is also proud of her daughter's decision.
"We don't get to pick their dreams; we just get to support them," Mrs. Quinn said.
WE WANT YOU
Enlistments have exceeded goals for Army recruiters in the Augusta area, which includes Augusta and Evans and North Augusta, Aiken, Orangeburg and Greenwood in South Carolina. For the seven-month period since this fiscal year began, the recruitment goal was 239 and 288 enlisted.
Army recruiter Sgt. Samuel Williams said many high school students consider college first, though the opportunity to get funds for a college education is greater if they enlist right after high school.
At the Augusta recruiting office for the Navy, Petty Officer Chad Robinson said high school graduates tend to wait until after the summer to enlist. Recent high school graduates made up 24.3 percent of Naval recruits in 2008. The Army has seen an increase of less traditional recruits: "more bachelor's degrees are coming in than traditionally I've seen," he said.
The Army isn't accepting applicants with only a GED, so this is the first opportunity for high school graduates to sign on. The economy has changed the atmosphere, Sgt. Williams said.
"As a career, the military shouldn't be a last resort," he said.
This year's graduates have a long memory of being at war -- they were in middle school when the war began.
"We almost universally let them know that a deployment is a pretty good chance," Sgt. Williams said. "You're going to do your job."
The Air Force has seen an increase in goal and recruits during the past year, according to an e-mail from Christa D'Andrea, the chief of civic outreach for the Air Force Recruiting Service. For 2008, the goal was to gain 27,800 Airmen. The number enlisted was 27,848. For 2009, the number has grown to a goal of 31,980; 20,305 have joined as of this month.
Comments
Jackualynn-- Congratulations on joining the Army to serve your country. May God Bless you in your endeavors.
I respect your decision to serve your country. However leaving a daughter to be raised by your mother because you want to travel and find discipline??
god bless and thank you for standing up for our freedoms
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