:: H.A.T.S. ::

Cool careers - Interviews with guys who have really cool jobs, like a comic book writer, soldiers, and a HAZ-MAT guy.

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Life As A U.S. Army Soldier By Stan Collins

Sgt. Stan Collins is in the U.S. ARMY, his specialty is Military Intelligence. For M.O.T.H. Stan’s specialty is seeking out people with cool careers and giving us all the “intel” on what they do and how you can get a job like there’s. But back up a second, Stan! With a job as cool as his, we had to insist that his inaugural article be the 4-1-1 on himself! .



H.A.T.S. – LIFE AS A SOLDIER


Growing up poor in a small town in Oklahoma, I never would have thought that I’d be where I am today. Not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would live in England, be a Counter Terrorism Analyst, or travel all over the world with my job. I’ve been to South America, South Korea, England, Germany as well as Missouri, California, and Texas. As a child, I’d barely been out of Oklahoma! I am also very proud of the husband and father I am. I am confident and make things happen for myself. Most importantly, I am proud of the man I’ve become. The Army has helped me achieve all these things. In my eight years as a soldier, Army has given me the opportunity to experience many things that most people can only dream about. And has also helped mold me into a man I am proud to be.


As a boy and then young man, I never had a steady positive male influence. The Army has provided exactly what I was missing, teaching me many things that helped me develop into the man I am today. The Army has seven “Army Values” to help guide you through your life as a soldier. These values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. Living by these values has helped me figure out the answers to a lot of the questions I had about life. These values are enforced not only by the people in charge, but also your peers. You see the people above you setting a good example and you want to be like them. Strong soldiers who are the model for what every man wants to be, confident, strong and always doing the right thing. Knowing that whatever he does, he will be proud of what he has done.


How I joined the Army is a lot like other people I have talked to, I was contacted by a recruiter who had been give my number by a friend. At first, I really didn’t want to join, but the recruiter convinced me to take the entrance exam, just to see what jobs I would qualify for. After taking the test, I found that I could do almost anything I had been interested in, mostly Military Intelligence. After a couple of more test, I enlisted in the Army for training as a Signals Intelligence Analyst (more on this later.) I signed up under the Delayed Entry Program. I signed up in December and didn’t ship off until August of the next year. I was still seventeen when I joined so my Mom had to sign a permission slip, I thought this was pretty funny. I finished High School then spent the summer with my friends. The recruiter was sure to tell me that if I changed my mind, I could back out at any time until I actually shipped out in August. Although the thought crossed my mind, I’m glad I never chickened out.


The first step in becoming a soldier is Basic Training. I know that most people think that basic training is a pretty awful place. I really don’t think it was. Even while I was there, it didn’t seem to be all that bad. Basic Training is also the place I think I grew up the most. It definitely changes you. Before Basic, I had never lived outside of my home or really been away from my family. This took some getting used to, but after a while, I got used to it. Even though there are a lot of rules, there are also many opportunities to make your own decisions. It also shows you what you are really made of. You are made to push yourself to the limits of what you thought you could do, and sometimes even further. You learn fast to give 100 percent 100 percent of the time. Trying as hard as you can all the time is something that has worked out very well. I have never wished I had done something better because I didn’t try. If I have failed at something, its simply because I wasn’t ready for it, not because I didn’t give it my all. It is really a test of your personal courage. When I got to Basic, I could barely run two miles. When I graduated, I could run two miles in under 14 minutes. I could also move a squad of soldiers against an enemy, set up a mine and build a defensive position.


Basic Training also teaches you to work as a team. The Army Values play a big part in this, especially Loyalty and Selfless Service. No one had ever really set an example for me of how important loyalty is until I got to basic training. Basic training also taught me to that In could depend on other people as well as myself. In basic, you have a “battle buddy.” This person never leaves your side. You depend on each other nad look out for each. You are also held accountable for anything each does. It really helped me realize that that respect and loyalty were a two way street. Your integrity is also tested. Often, a Drill sergeant will ask a question about something that was done. Usually he just wants to know who did something. The trick is that you don’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Owning up to your actions is something a lot of people struggled with in Basic. The faster you learn to own up, the easier life becomes. I’ve found this to be true not only in basic Training, but in life in general. The best thing about Basic Training is graduation day. Not just because the training is over , but because of the sense of pride graduating gives you. You get to wear your dress uniform and stand with all your buddies, having completed something that once seemed impossible. Its something I will always remember.


My actual job in the Army is a Signals Intelligence Analyst. I read and interrupt enemy communications and write reports based on what I figure out. I also break out enemy communications networks. This required over three months of training in Texas and another month in Arizona. This is where you go after basic training. Depending on where you are assigned later, you might have additional training and there is always on the job training too. My job allows for a lot of thinking outside the box. I am also often times given direction and left to do work without someone constantly bothering me.

Right now, most of the time I work in an office at a computer. That wasn’t always the case though. I have also worked a communications room and even as an air crewman aboard an airplane, flying reconnaissance missions (searching an area for enemy troops and bases) over enemy territory in South America. Some of my proudest moments have been since 9/11. I’ve been able to find and help proved many people were terrorists. Mostly this is done through analysis and then writing technical reports. I also brief high-ranking officials. I’ve had the opportunity to brief at the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies numerous times. I also work on the cutting edge of technology and have even help develop new programs for other intelligence analysts. Pretty good for a small town kid from Oklahoma.



The best part of being in the army is the other soldiers that you serve with. I’ve made friends that I will probably have the rest of my life. These are men and women who would do almost anything for you and you would do almost anything for them. You depend on each other and trust each other. When I was an air crewman, Noncommissioned Officer (NCO), our leader was told to do something that he thought was unfair, especially since he was an NCO. He was asked to perform duties that were below his grade. This wouldn’t have mattered much, but being deployed as he didn’t have the time to do these things when there were others around who could easily work it into their day. He was told that if he didn’t do it he would be taken off flight status and could no longer fly. After he told us this, we decided we would take matters in our own hands. We all went to the commander’s office and lined up outside. Then, one by one, we each went inside and told the commander that we were turning in our wings because of the decision to take our leader off flight status. We all said we trusted our leader and considered him an important part of the team and were not going to see him treated unfairly. It was a great display of loyalty and selfless service and I’m proud to say that out leader was put back on flight status and was treated better from then on. This was one of the proudest moments as a soldier. I had never seen so many people willing to put in on the line for someone else.


Not only has the Army helped me grow, but has allowed me to help others as well. As a Noncommissioned Officer myself, I am responsible for the safety, well being and training of my soldiers during peace time and in combat. I’ve been able to help many people with problems ranging from trouble adjusting to being away from loved ones to people who thought they might have a problem passing certain aspects of training. The Army allows mentoring and teaching younger, less experienced soldiers. It doesn’t matter if its on the rifle range or trying to work out a personal problem, I get to help. The only thing better than watching soldiers perform duties perfectly, knowing you have trained them is seeing someone smile after you’ve helped them through a difficult time in their life. Being an NCO does have its drawbacks though. Sometimes the soldiers under you just don’t want it bad enough and fail. It does help you deal with disappointment. I had a soldier once who was on the weight control program, a program for people who are overweight in the Army. Although many of us worked with him, he never seemed to lose any weight. He was a good soldier, he just didn’t want be in the Army anymore. We were all disappointed but in the end, he was happier out of the Army than in the Army.


The Army has been very good to me. Everyday I go to work, I put n my uniform and know that I can make a difference. I am a member of a proud and time-honored tradition of men and women willing to give up everything for our country. It has help me grow from a scared and aimless boy to a confident man who knows what he wants and achieves it. It has given me a stable environment to start a family and helped me develop the skills needed to keep that family together. The Army has helped me grow into a man that my family is proud of, a man I’m proud to be. My name is Staff Sergeant Stanley Collins and my hat is the beret of the United States Army.