“Life in the military is hard, easy, fun, sad, angry, and different — not in that order,” says William Knight, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
William Knight, who is from Houston, Texas, was 23 when he volunteered to go to the Army in 2003.
During his time serving in the Army, he was in war. He did tours in Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
He was deployed to Iraq in 2004 and in 2009. When asked was the draft a good or bad thing, he stated, “I do not know, will it come back? Possibly after a major conflict kicks off by being understaffed, the draft may be an option.”
Knight worked his way up to be ranked E5 in the Army. His job title at first was 19K and his job duties along with that was a tanker, as 19 Delta his job duties was ground pounder, now he is an88M truck driver.
Knight was stationed in many different places like, Fort Polk, Louisiana, Fort Carson, Colorado, Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Humbug, Louisiana.
He also traveled to different countries like Japan, Germany and Ireland.
Since being in the military, his life has definitely changed.
“I am not the same as I once was after my two deployments,” Knight said. “I pushed everyone I love away, relationships did not work out, angry all the time, and had nightmares.
“I am good now thanks to God,” he said.
Knight has had many bad memories during his time in the Army, but the most memorable moment on the positive side was the first day in basic training. Knight would not go into details, but it started when he first got off the bus and all of the Army drill sergeants were yelling so close in their face and they could not react in any way.
The advice he would give for someone is to go to the Air Force and the Navy, he feels that is the best decision.
“When you choose your job get an office job and a job you can apply after you get out,” Knight stated.
He feels like the military is a great thing and truly believes men and women should at least do the minimum because the military teaches so many core values — teamwork, and so much more.
“Life in the military is hard, easy, fun, sad, angry, and different — not in that order, but it is definitely an experience you will never forget. If you find yourself in war fighting, remember it is all in God’s hands when we come and go, do not forget, make the best of it”. His career now that he has left, is a Louisiana Highway Deputy and Transportation aka Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. He currently does not have any children and is not married.