Guest Column: A dual life in the military

My name is Alex, but for four years I answered to Fowler, preceded by my rank. I’ve found that the name your parents give you is meant to express individuality; the military gives you another to stress order.

I served in the U.S. Army as an Aviation Operations Specialist, though as with most soldiers, I would hold a dozen or so titles with various responsibilities at any given time. The Army sent Specialist (SPC) Fowler all around the world, including Iraq, to work as part of a unit. The success of these missions required a lot of time and attention, which required sacrifices to be made by Alex in his personal life.

Alex’s past friendships dissolved, his marriage ended and he was only able to see his son a few times during the first four years of his life. Yet, even as Alex lost grip of his identity, SPC Fowler thrived knowing that the work he put in was making the lives of his brothers and sisters in uniform safer.

After leaving the service I found it difficult to manage as just Alex: no rank, no unit, no direction. I bounced around between jobs, finding no satisfaction in doing what I felt were unimportant tasks. Important to a boss, maybe, but no lives were at risk if I didn’t show up or failed to do something I was asked.

I decided to try going to school using the G.I. Bill and hoped that I could find something to spark my interests again, but that proved unsuccessful. I began failing classes and was placed on academic suspension. Unsure of what my next move should be, I met with Jerri Ellis, the MHCC Veterans Services coordinator, who recommended a new program called the Veterans Cohort. She helped me get my student status back and to register for cohort classes.

Within a few weeks I found myself opening up to the other students and the teachers in ways that I had not been able to previously. It was easier to form connections with people that genuinely understood or had been through similar experiences as myself.

After a full term of being in veteran-only classes, I began to branch back out to regularly scheduled classes and am now enrolled full-time in non-cohort classes. I can still reach out to the friends I made in the cohort program for encouragement, when needed.

My grades have risen and I’ve started being able to find new interests and form new friendships. Through the cohort program and a lot of hard work, I have again found identity where I was unsure it could be.

As this Veterans Day approaches and I reflect on my life before, during and after service, I am proud to say that I am a veteran, and my name is Alex.