Greg Anselment (left corner) with his family at a Cardinals game in 2021.

What could be the main reason for joining the Army National Guard? “Serve my country and do good for others,” this is how Greg Anselment started his interview when asked that question. Greg Anselment joined the Army National Guard in 1990 when he was 17 years old and after 21 years of service he retired from the military in 2011. When he joined the army he said that all his family and friends were very supportive and positive about it. During his service he did all sorts of things and served in several units such as the infantry. He was the leader of an artillery unit and he worked at the computing branch of the artillery. He was also sent to Afghanistan. When he was there, the most important people for him were Samantha and Kenna, his wife and his baby daughter.

When asked about his experience there he answered: “[In Afghanistan] we only had one store to buy things, everything was very restricted and the government there was very different from ours.” However, that was not the most significant experience during his service. The floods of 2011 were the most impactful event on him. “I could physically see how I was helping people, like saving a local business from flooding or getting a person out of a car in the middle of the river as opposed to Afghanistan where I could not see how I was being useful for the people,” he stated. “The floods made realize how lucky we are for having all we got, and I learned that we don’t have to take for granted the special events in our daily life.”

Greg also encourages youth to join the army because they help people, they can get scholarships even if they don’t do the full service, they also don’t have to be physically strong or good at shooting guns, and almost everybody can join the US Army.

He also gave advice for soldiers who found themselves in a hard situation while serving abroad, ”Think about all the good you are doing, focus on why you are here and on what your mission is, watch out for your fellow soldiers, and they will do the same for you.”

He concluded his interview saying how impactful his 21 years were for his life and how they have taught many lessons and changed the way he lives.