Kimberly Marks

My name is Kimberly Marks - most of my family and friends call me Kimmy. My two beautiful children call me Mommy :) I was in high school many years ago when I decided I wanted to join the military. Both of my Grandfathers were in the Army, and the man that raised me as my father was in the Army. It wasn't even worth a second thought when I hopped into Army JROTC as my extra credit class! Oddly enough, life often changes your mind for you...

I was a sophomore in High School when I met my husband. You change your mind, rethink possibilities, and let things go for whatever reasons. I instead got right out of school, was married 2 months later, shortly after that I was blessed with my first child, My son- A few years later I was blessed once more with my daughter. Shortly thereafter I felt at a standstill in my life. Things were happening and I was feeling like the world was crashing down around me. The only thing I would allow myself to do was stand my ground. This would be ensuring that my two children were always safe. No matter what the sacrifice.

Now, I'm almost 30 years old with two beautiful children and I'm coming back to the road I remember back in high school. At my age, I'm pulling 48 pushups in 2 min, 72 sit-ups, and my 2 mile run is finally within the time limit to pass! My son and daughter often cheer me on and remind me what I'm fighting for - Granted I'm fighting for my country and for honor, but to me, my children are my country and my honor. They keep me fighting through this, even when I start to think "I don't know if I can." They remind me "But, Mommy you can't quit! You say so every morning! 'Never accept defeat, Never Quit' " - Even at my age, Amazing things are possible! HOOAH!!!!! 68A (Biomedical Equipment Specialist)

Tone Eberhart

Hello. My name is Tone' Eberhart. Every since I was a child, I grew up with only stories about my grandfather who served and died fighting in the Vietnam War. The stories of his legacy were like music to my ears. It sparked an interest and I had always wanted to join and follow in his footsteps; but there was only one problem. I was horribly obese.

I was always the fattest guy of my class. As I got older, more reasons became apparent in my life as to why I wanted to join the Army. Some included wanting to help keep the greatest country on earth safe; and to make myself a part of something bigger than myself; to give back to this country that has nurtured me since birth. However, there was still that one issue. I weighed WAY TOO MUCH to qualify for the Army. When I finally went to see a recruiter he told me to lose a certain amount of weight and to come back and see him. Honestly I thought to myself that he probably didn't take me seriously since I was an amazing 320 POUNDS!!!

What he didn't know was that I was a HIGHLY MOTIVATED and DEDICATED INDIVIDUAL...I was told to only lose "SOME" weight, but I never really accepted the bare minimum. I ended up losing over 80 pounds and totally transformed my image. I did it without buying gym memberships, weight pills or anything that could offer an easy outlet. ONLY HARD WORK PAYS OFF. After that was complete I proudly signed my contract with a sense of accomplishment and an attitude that I was truly ARMY STRONG. My MOS is 35N (Signal Intelligence Analyst). I'm headed out pretty soon and I believe if I can do it then NOTHING CAN STOP ME...HOOAH!

Shane Southard

My name is Shane Southard. I enlisted into the United States Army for multiple reasons. The first, I wanted to be a part of something bigger than Myself. Secondly, we all remember where we were when 9/11 happened, and at that time I was just in 3rd grade. I didn't understand terrorism and what truly had happened on that day eleven years ago; but I remember fourth grade. We had this memorial at my school and we all took part in burning the flag. The event changed who I was. I wanted to be a soldier and fight for freedom. That day I came home saying one day I would join the Army and I did!!!

The last reason I joined was for the educational benefits. In the future I see myself going into a full time Ministry. A degree in Theology isn't cheap and so I am going to use the financial resources from the Army to one day accomplish my other Dream of being a church planter.

I enlisted December 2011 and since that time, I have been physically and mentally preparing myself for what the Army requires throughout basic training and daily life. Also, since that time I have been doing my future solider training tests. I leave in a month and I know I am ready for this new chapter of my life. My MOS is 68W (Healthcare Specialist). I went through EMT/fire school last year so AIT will be a breeze.

Alex Pacific

Hi my name is Alex Pacific. My MOS is 19K (M1 ABRAMS ARMOR CREWMAN). My story starts roughly about a year ago I began to talk to my local recruiters about the Army. The thought spurred from my brother who is in the Army Reserves. Before this process however, I was lazy and unmotivated. For example, I stayed up till around 2:00 A.M. every morning playing online games with friends, listening to loud music, dodging homework assignments, and arguing with my parents. I never got out of the house or did anything physical. Also I did not have any plan for what I wanted to do after I got out of high school.
The road I was taking was hazardous to my success, and at the time I still didn't care. I was a 14-month senior, and I was in panic mode trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. My brother came to talk to me about possibly joining the military. I had told him that it wasn't the thing for me. I had no physical strength whatsoever and that I had little work ethic. With his persistence he convinced me to talk with a recruiter.
I wanted to join as a reservist after the talk. I was concerned about what could happen if I went active; and I didn't want to commit myself to anything major beyond the point of being a Reservist. After a few talks with the recruiters I began thinking about what I was getting myself into, and possibly all I could do in the future. I decided to join Active Duty because there isn't anything here for me as a civilian.

Since August, I have been hell bent on being the best I can be. I have never worked so hard in my life to forge myself into something I wasn't just one year ago. The second Future Soldier training I went to was a APFT. I decided to go for it to see where I stood. It didn't go so well. I didn't pass any of the events, and the closest I got was halfway meeting the sit-ups requirement. This was a wakeup call. I worked hard after that test and when the next one came around I managed to pass 2/3 of the events. My pushups were off by approximately 10. Going for the next APFT, I passed it. Looking at the APFT as of now, I'm just trying to max it and I'm getting pretty close.

That was just physical part. I'm still in high school and I'm passing all my courses. I'm good to graduate and all, but I haven't put nearly as much effort into school as I have learning what is expected of me as a soldier going into basic training. Now I can safely say that I know all of the ranks and alphabet. The general orders are a breeze. I know The Soldiers Creed by heart. Land navigation is really fun to do. Drill & Ceremony and Marching is fun to practice. Battle Drills are amazing, though we've only had one session of that, and wedge formation. I still know every bit that was taught to me.

Overall, the Army has changed this lazy, good for nothing kid into someone who now has absolute motivation. I cannot think of another choice that would have benefited me as much as this choice. I can't wait to leave in July. Hooah!

Future Soldier Erica Garbers

Hello, my name is Erica Garbers. I am 19 years old. Towards the end of January this year, I enlisted as a 91D (Power Generation Equipment Repairer). I am very excited to be leaving for basic combat training in June. I joined the Army in order to become more independent; and also prove to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to.

After being stuck in a small town in central Indiana all of my life I decided I needed a change. Growing up, I was an honor student and always thought that college would be where I would thrive. Within my first semester I decided that even though I enjoyed the challenges college brought, it wasn't a place I truly wanted to be. The second I stepped into the recruiting office I felt as though the pressure of the world was lifted off my shoulders and that this was where I was meant to be. I have already noticed a change within myself after signing my contract.

So far, my process has been both nerve wracking and exciting. I have already met some amazing people along the way and can hardly wait to be part of the Army family. Physically and mentally to prepare myself for BCT I have been working out regularly, as well as learning the Soldiers creed and the general orders (I finally memorized them both!) I am very proud to become an American Soldier. Hooah!

Hi my name is Daniel Silva and I’m a Cav Scout (19D). Joining the Army was something I have wanted a long time for myself. I wanted to serve my country and provide better opportunities for my future.

During my time as a Future Soldier, I experienced a lot of hurry up and wait. In my process for enlistment I had a lot of going back and forth.

I loved doing PT at the station with Recruiters and the other Future Soldiers. Physically I prepared myself with personal pt, with p90x and working at the recruiting station once a week. The last thing I wanted to do as a civilian was to spend time with as many friends and family as possible. The hardest part of saying goodbye was saying goodbye to my son.

 I was nervous and excited to begin the next chapter in my life. Leaving later in the year, I was excited that I knew I would have the opportunity to come home over Christmas break for Block Leave/Exodus. I couldn’t wait to ship and I would look at all kinds of information about my job and what to expect. I spent a lot of time on YouTube watching all the videos about my job. I spoke with buddies of mine that went to BCT and got some pointers, too. I remember thinking about being in front of Drill Sergeants and that was intimidating. I didn’t want to mess up and I wanted to stay off the “radar.”

We had the Shark Attack and that was alright. Things are cool now with our squad and the Drill Sergeants. They were intimidating, but they taught us valuable information, and are now more relaxed.

I think red phase was the worst. It was a large squad with a large amount of people wanting to do things differently. The most challenging part of red phase was learning to work together and getting smoked when some people couldn’t follow orders or messed up. I love getting letters from family and friends, and now that our squad recently graduated from the BCT (part of the OSUT) we’ve got a few privileges. I can use my phone to call family and friends and hear about my son. We were warned that we can lose these privileges though.

Another hard part of BCT is following orders on missions where new leadership is appointed. Things are done differently than you are used to, or the way things were previously done. Just listen to the direction instructed onto your leaders from the Drill Sergeants. Stay positive and stay motivated. Stay connected with friends and family and the time will fly by. It’s always encouraging to receive letters and pictures - so stay in touch with friends and family.

Future Soldier Josh Cochran

Josh Cochran a photo by Official Army Future Soldier Center on Flickr.

I had a fun, young, and short childhood with my older sister, Jessica LeeAnn Cochran-McCray. My parents divorced, then we moved to Spicewood, Texas, which is now my hometown. As a young kid I was always active, running, biking, playing around, and just exploring the woods around the nice country area of Spicewood until about 5th grade.

In middle school, I started to become lazy and hated my life, my family, everyone and just didn't want to do anything about anything. I would stay home all the time or go to a friend's to play video games, and we'd just play, eat, and sleep. This made years go by faster than they should've, I think.

By the beginning of my Junior year of High School, I was nearly 300 pounds, mainly fat, weighing in at 280 pounds. Two weeks into my Junior year, I wanted to play football, so I talked to the head coach and finally got to join. I was in football for about four to five months, I ran, weight-lifted, and exercised like I never did before. I probably lost about 20 pounds of fat from just being in football.

After football, I left Marble Falls High School, and finished up my High School Credits at Falls Career High School from Jan 31, 2011 to Dec 16, 2011. To be honest, if it wasn't for the joining football, I wouldn't have enlisted. I would probably still be obese and probably wouldn't be as active or in shape as I am now.

I love to and hope to inspire kids, women, men, and anyone who needs it, to be the best they can be, to make a change, to be healthy, and to not let their lazy habits ruin their happiness in life.

I have always wanted to be a Military man, an American Soldier, a Guardian of freedom and the American way of life! Hooah! I hope to be the best I can be, physically and mentally, no matter what troubles or obstacles fill my path.
I will stay fit, mentally and physically strong, improving myself until I can't, then breaking through the plateau to improve some more!

I am an American Soldier! Hooah!
- PVT Cochran