Serving in the Military

Since I was young, I thought of joining the military because I felt it would be exciting to train and work with others. When I turned 21, I served two years in the military. Most Koreans have to serve two years for the military even if they do not want to serve. This is because South Korea is facing the danger of war against North Korea. The Korean War was occurred on June 25, 1950. We are still in suspension of war. This is why all Korean men are to register for the military at the age of twenty. That was the one of the thing I wanted to avoid if I could but I did not have a choice.
When I was in the military, I drove a five ton truck. My other duties were to transport and repair trucks. Transportation is very important in the military because it is very crucial to keep the soldiers supplied with food, water, and weapons. However, I had gotten a driver’s license just before I joined the military. Driving a truck was not easy for me. As a result, I had so many car accidents during the first year of my military life. When I was backing the car out, I hit the other car several times. I also hit the wall when I was making a wide turn. Fortunately, those accidents were minor. Even though I had so many car accidents, I did learn about how to drive safely and it was a great experience for me.
All soldiers are to reach the rank of captain before they are discharged from the military. I was good friends with my fellow soldiers. When I became captain, I did my best to help everyone out. Every member had to follow my orders when I was a captain. I had to take care of them. I also had to divide work and instructed to each people. There were times where they disagreed with my orders, but I was always able to calm the situation because I learned how to relate to different people. When I was a freshman of the military I saw the captain how he calmed he’s fellow soldiers. Thus, that was really not a big deal for me. I still keep in contact with my soldiers as a friend.
Every soldier can have thirty day leave during the two years of duty. Soldiers usually divide their leave into six times. Our thirty day leave is the most important thing among us. I still remember that I had a great experience with my subordinates after I was discharged from the military. Actually, we just had some food and drink but that was really fun for us because we could not do that in military at all. By that time, we could eat, drink and talk as much as we wanted. Each of my past subordinates spent their one of their days seeing me. It was very meaningful because they had only five free days every 6 months. I’m sure that they had really missed their family, girlfriend, and friends before they went on leave. I am really appreciated them visiting me. I will never forget that great times I had with my subordinates.
Training was the hardest part of being in the military. During all seasons, a part of the training was to live in the mountains for four to seven days. Especially in winter time, training was very hard because of the weather. Up in the mountains, it was about -15 C, which was extremely cold. No matter what the weather was like, we have to adjust to it. Most soldiers had a hard time with the harsh weather. I had to fight to overcome the hard times. After I underwent that training, there was nothing to afraid in the world. I felt that,” I just completed the hardest mission in the world.” This experience made my mind stronger.
During the two years serving in the military, I had made plans of what I was going to do after being discharged from the military. I had considered what I really wanted to do in the future. There were many times I had to use the computer during my service. I was in charge of making and maintaining a website for military enlistment. This really sparked my interest for graphic design and web design. My goal was to study web design and learn English in the US.
Although I spent my younger years in the military, I received many advantages after I was discharged. I made good friends and my mind is much stronger than before. In addition, the most important achievement in the military was that I found my goal which was to be a graphic designer. The time that I spent in front of computer for maintaining a military website gave me the goal. Serving two years for in the military was an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life.