Military linguist7/25/2023 ![]() ![]() At that time, I got scared and felt deceived by my recruiter. At Basic Training, a Colonel told us that all of us were going to be deployed no matter what our jobs were. They were real they exploded!Ī: I was stationed in Hawaii, where I helped service members maintain their language proficiency. That was pretty exciting-I never imagined I could’ve done that. I shot machine guns and even threw two or three live grenades. ![]() By the end of this training, I was transformed-initially, I could barely do two push-ups for my qualification test by the end of my Advanced Individual Training, I scored 300 on my PT test. However, I was old enough to understand that the sergeants simply wanted me to be tough, although they were harsh. They curse at you non-stop I thought to myself, “I didn’t sign up for this,” and I thought about quitting. When my recruiter told me, “you’re going to basic training,” I thought that meant being in a classroom listening to lectures and watching PowerPoint presentations: “training” for linguists.Ī: It was a total culture shock. I didn’t think I could be deployed because my recruiter told me-specifically-I would serve in Hawaii. I eventually joined because, at that time, I wanted to become a translator, so I naively enlisted to become a linguist, not knowing all of the physical requirements it would entail. It’s my filial piety to honor her and to bury her. I witnessed 9/11 and admired those who enlisted for the war however, I didn’t initially want to join the military because I’m an only child-I couldn’t bear the thought that one day my mother might have to bury me. I was too naïve to know that no one is perfect or infallible. Here, in America, we honor our service members, but they are not automatically “perfect.” There, however, military service members are glorified, perfect saints, almost deified heroes. After serving in the US Army, I knew I was brainwashed in my former Motherland. Q: What were some of the reasons that you joined the military? How did you choose your branch of service?Ī: I grew up in China, where the military, to the outsiders, seems holy. This interview was condensed and edited for clarity. Han relays her experience of working as a linguist in the army, pieces of her background, and the misconceptions many citizens have about military service. Esther Han, a Mandarin teacher at BASIS Independent Brooklyn who also proudly served our country. While the onset of COVID marked an outpouring of respect and gratitude for health care workers, first responders, and integral personnel, this community of people still should not be forgotten two years into the pandemic. The new wave of pandemic stress has driven an aggregate of educators away from their jobs according to the National Education Association, a reported 55% of teachers across the country claimed they would leave their positions earlier than planned. Amidst the latest surges of COVID, essential workers continue to face difficulties. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |