News

Committing to the country

Hailey Lesh, Correspondent • November 16, 2024

COVINGTON TWP, Pa., Nov. 15, 2024-The decision to commit your time and, ultimately, your life is one of the most important decisions. Pressure is never placed on the commitment to the United States military but the honor and dignity that comes with earning the title of a veteran is what convinced many.

Matt Carpenter had never thought about joining the military until a few months prior to his enlisting when he knew he needed a change , “I needed to do something with meaning” says Matt. When he enlisted, Matt decided to go into the Army/National Guard branch with the intention of serving for twenty one years. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he was only able to serve for six of those intended years. When asked if Matt has any advice for those who want to enlist in the military, he stated, “ If you’re going to do it, meaning enlist and make that much of a commitment, go active duty don’t do National Guard.”

Eddie Thompson joined the military, specifically the army, directly out of high school with his, now, brother in law. Eddie served in the Army for two and a half years before he was honorably discharged following his father, Walter Everett’s, passing. During his time in the military, Eddie claims that “it was like a brotherhood, we all had each others’ back.” “If one of us went down all of us were going to get justice or die trying.” Although he was discharged earlier than anticipated, he would have gone on to serve many more years claiming that he didn’t have a set period of time that he wanted to serve but he had every intention of continuing to serve until he was no longer able to, he was sad that it came as early as it did. “If you’re thinking about enlisting, do your research. It’s a big commitment, bigger than most people realize. Make sure you’re ready to give it your all. It’s not all glitter and rainbows, it’s hard but it’s one the most honorable things you can do.”

Active duty, National Guard, regardless of the branch or length of service, the commitment to serving one’s country is one that is honorable and admirable. Although joining right after high school may not be on the bingo card, for some it may definitely be something to consider at some point in your life.

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About the Contributor

Hailey Lesh, Year 1

Hailey Lesh is a 16-year-old Junior. After moving to the North Pocono School District at age 7, she began her love of cheerleading and school. Following the Junior Trojan Cheerleading program from first grade to eighth grade, she tried out for the high school cheerleading team. Making the varsity football cheerleading team, she has cheered on the football team for three years and counting. She ultimately decided that cheerleading alone was not enough of a connection to the hobby and began coaching for the very program that she grew up idolizing. While continuing her passion for cheerleading, she has maintained High Honors for both years she has been in high school and began taking accelerated courses in seventh grade. Since then, she has followed through with her accelerated courses and even jumped to begin taking college level (AP) courses in her sophomore year beginning with AP Biology and AP Statistics, later taking AP Chemistry, AP Seminar, and AP World History in her junior year. She plans to pursue her passion of law and argument following her High School career with her final goal to become a corporate attorney. In the meantime, she will continue to challenge herself with an advanced workload while doing what makes her happy and trying to enjoy her last two years of high school as they are quickly coming to an end!