I’d do it all over again

I don’t remember the exact date, but I vividly recall my trip to the Jackson Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). I remember raising my hand and reciting these legally binding words: “I, Leslie Ferguson, Jr., do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” After those words, the changes came fast. I flew to Orlando, caught a bus, and arrived at the U.S. Naval Training Center for boot camp. After just a few hours of sleep, I was awakened at zero dark thirty by a banty rooster of a Filipino Drill Instructor who threw trash cans and screamed at us to get on the line and rub our blankety-blank heads.

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