SSG JOHN MARTIN - DEPLOYMENT AND COMING HOME

What's it like when a Soldier serves overseas? Find out from Cathy, whose son John has made a successful career out of the Army—and has served overseas several times.

ohn Martin always wanted to be a Soldier. With three generations of the Martin family serving in the Army before him, John learned early the honor and pride in serving one's country. And he was excited to get started.

But that didn't keep Cathy from expressing concern when he wanted to join at the young age of 17.

“We just had a serious discussion about all the pros and cons and made sure that it was the decision he really wanted to make.”

— Cathy

His decision wasn't typical. Then
again, John isn't a typical
Soldier. He went to BCT after his
junior year of high school, then
attended AIT after high school
graduation. A few years of
National Guard duty followed
before he transferred to
Active Duty and truly started
his full-time Army career.

Flash Version

Despite having Army
experience in the family,
Cathy was still worried when
John volunteered for his
first deployment.

"John's father was Active
Duty, so I'd been exposed to
seeing the training and
what's involved," she says.
"There is some danger
involved in what
these guys and girls do, but the Army
goes to great lengths on safety issues."

A mixture of pride in her son and trust in the Army offset Cathy's anxiety. If John was prepared, she could be too. Of course, this first deployment was just the start of his adventure.

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Continue John's Story >

Cathy: John has said from the day he started talking, 'I'm going to be a Soldier when I grow up.' So it was something that wasn't unexpected, and wasn't a surprise.

John: I enlisted the day after my 17th birthday, and went to Basic Training at Fort Benning 30 days later.

Cathy: He'd been in the same small town for his whole life, and I thought it would be good for him to see some other places and some other cultures and some other things.

John: It's just something I always wanted to do?serve my country and be a Soldier.

Cathy: Apparently, he was made to be a Soldier because he's done well, he has. It's been good for him and I think he's been good for the Army.