Joining the Military isn’t an easy decision to make. There’s a lot of back and forth on whether a person should join. Many people wonder if the good out weighs the bad. The main way to tell how the military is going to be is to ask someone who has been through the challenges and hardships of the military. There is no one else I’d rather ask then my uncle, Lester Klene, Jr. He had the typical cliché movie type story of a boy from a small town that joins the military to make a change in his life. His father was very excited to hear that he was going into the US Navy since he was also in the navy, along with my great Uncle Don. My grandma, on the other hand, thought he was joking and wasn’t serious, so she was surprised that he was actually joining. 

My uncle joined the US Navy in 1984 and served until 1990. He joined because he wanted to take advantage of traveling around the world and getting the free education that they offer. He did just that. He started out going to his basic training at the Great Lakes Navy Station by North Chicago. Once he finished his basics there, he went on to California, was stationed at South Carolina after a little while, and finally was stationed at the Naval Hospital of Bremerton. At this hospital, he got to aid in an operation on Ronald Reagan. This operation was the most memorable experience that he had from the Navy. He gives all the credit for his success on the fact that he decided to serve this country. This decision opened up the door of opportunity and, after he got out of the Navy, he became a nurse outside of the Military. He did this for two years. Then he went to police school, and he is now a cop in Washington. He really advises people to join, because “there are so many options that they offer in the military. It really helps give you stability and gives you a routine and self discipline, which some people lack.” Joining really changes a person’s life and by joining someone might be able to have the successful journey like he did.