Age: 23
Years of service: 5
Hometown: Saginaw, Mich.
Unit: 508th Transportation Company, 58th Trans. Bn.
Military Occupational Specialty: 88M motor transportation operator. These Army professionals are key to the military’s logistical capability. They are trained to transport troops and cargo in a wide range of vehicles from Humvees to tractor trailers, according to www.goarmy.com.
Background: Growing up in a once-thriving industrial town that fell into economic depression, Young said the Army was a means to improve her life. She is the head of a household that includes a younger brother and an ailing father.
Why she serves: “I don’t want to go back to where I was before. Right now, this is the best situation for me and my family.”
One telling event about Army teamwork: “My (2-year-old) son passed away in February. When that happened, everyone in my unit came together, and they were there for me. They were more of a family than my own. Someone was at the hospital with me almost every single day; they came to my house; they brought me food – whatever I needed. If I called any of them, they were there. It said a lot.”
What the Army has meant along the lines of personal development: “It has made me more mature … taught me how to be mentally strong; taught me that I can’t give up because there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
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