When high school seniors begin thinking about the future, they have many options to weigh. Some attend college, others enter the work force. But there are also a number of area graduates who have committed the next several years to the military.
Edmonds resident Kody Gurnett recently graduated from Kamiak High School. He enlisted in the Army and will arrive for basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., July 27.
Gurnett said he has thought about joining the military since he was young, when his grandfathers, one of whom was in the Marines and the other in the Army, told Gurnett stories about their experiences.
Early in his senior year, Gurnett made contact with a recruiter who visited his high school. He said since then, he has grown more enthusiastic about joining.
Gurnett said joining the military is his way of doing his part for the United States, and he said he was not deterred by the current situation in Iraq.
“It made me want to go more,” Gurnett said. “I feel like I have to do something about it and this is my opportunity.”
After completing basic training, Gurnett will head to Fort Bragg, N.C., where he will train for around two years to join the special forces troops. With this training, it is possible that he could be sent to wherever action may be, Gurnett said.
He is excited about the opportunities he will have with the Army, he said, and he is happy to be serving his country. This was also a driving force behind Bothell resident Kyle Bernhardt’s decision to enlist in the Army.
Bernhardt will be in Fort Knox, Ky., July 14 to start basic training. Someday he would like to be a pilot, he said, so he will attend helicopter mechanical training for 20 weeks in Virginia after basic training.
Bernhardt said joining the military is an honorable thing, and it was something he had always thought about doing while growing up.
“We get all this freedom, and you have to pay for it somehow,” Bernhardt said.
Because aviation jobs require more time, Bernhardt has committed six years to the Army, although he is considering making it a career, he said. “I’ll just wait and see how it goes,” Bernhardt said.
One thing he said he is looking forward to is traveling. He said he would not normally have the opportunity to see areas in the eastern United States if he had not enlisted.
Gurnett said he also has considered making a career out of his time in the Army. He said it would provide good stability, but he also said he will wait and see how his first five years go.
Diane Mitte, who works in the career center at Meadowdale High School, talks regularly with students about the options available after graduation. She said it is typical for students to decide to enlist in the fall, rather than preparing for enlistment throughout their senior year.
Mitte works with students to decide which branch of the military is right for them, and then puts students in contact with recruiters.
“I try to get kids to have an idea of what’s the difference between being in the Army, being in the Marines, and so on,” Mitte said.
Many students, like Gurnett and Bernhardt, worked directly with recruiters from the beginning.
Mitte said this is not out of the ordinary, as around 95 percent of the students who enlist do not utilize the career center.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
