Terry Packer “Lives Strong”

   Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. These are the 7 core values of the Army. These are the same values my dad has established in me. My father has been my hero since I can even remember. Entering the Army in January 1986, Terry Packer has since then excelled at every one of his jobs a

ssigned to him. He attended East Carolina University and while he was there, he didn’t really know what to do with his life. The military recruiter kept calling him because he had a great ASVAB score, which is a test to see which branch and job you would best fit in to in the military. Eventually he went to the recruiting office to join the Air Force. Well, when he arrived, the Air Force recruiter was not there. When he was about to leave, the Army recruiter caught up to him and started to inform him on certain aspects of the army, so he decided to join. I asked him, “Why didn’t you wait for the Air Force recruiter?” He said he felt that it was just fate.

   Once Packer was in the Army, he had to start by attending basic training. There he had to do anything the drill sergeant said. This is where he learned all the customs of the military as well as hard discipline. After basic training, he went to specialized training for his job, which was in the dental field. He shipped off to Fort Sam Houston, Texas and has since been stationed in 8 places.

   He moved up in the ranks in the Army rather swiftly. When asked how that came to be, he described that his sergeant sat him down and told him what he needed to do in order to gain rank and be successful quickly. So he did exactly what he told him. He went to school after work hours, he studied hard, exercised regularly, and since he was a hunter when he was younger, could shoot fairly well already.

   My dad is my hero because he balanced having a son, being in the military, and earning more degrees through military college programs. I asked him what it was like to be a father in the military. He replied that the military now is fairly lenient with having children. They allow you to have your family time. Although there were some early mornings, they have a good support system so you make the best out of everything.

   Packer enjoyed his time in the military very much. He made lifelong friends such as Ron Rowens, his best friend that he met when he first joined the army in 1986. He still keeps in touch with many people whose lives he has affected positively. He has gotten to live in many foreign countries such as Germany and Korea. Thankfully, he was never deployed, which allowed him to really appreciate his career in the Army. He retired on October 31^st, 2006, but not without gaining the rank of First Sergeant. When asked if he would have done anything different, he replied that he would have studied a little more and taken more science classes in order to become a dentist. He was sad about his retiring but also relived because he was tired of moving around. He could finally settle down. But a week after he took off his uniform he was back in the same office working another job on post as a civilian.