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Great job Evelyn

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Emotional Advertising

A Military Degree

Evelyn L. Bruce

My life needed to change, so in 1995 I enlisted in to the United States Air Force. I was 19 years old and knew if I didn’t move out of my small Kentucky town I would be a bound to factory work. Unsure of what was to come, I kissed my family good bye with the hope of seeing the world and getting a great education for my sacrifice. Little did I know that my sacrifice was going to be greater than missing my birthdays and holidays with my family.

Fast forward 6 years to 11 September 2001. I am married to a military man and we have a 1 year old son. This is my third assignment and we are stationed in Las Vegas. That morning began like all others. We turned on the morning news as we always did about 20 minutes or so before we left for work. The world was forever changed that day. The unimaginable happened and we watched it unfold. For a minute or two I was detached from reality. I turned to my husband and I asked, “What is the military going to do?” He looked at me with a look of confusion and said back to me, “You mean what are we going to do?” My heart sank. I looked at my baby and cried, all I could say was, “I didn’t sign up for this I just wanted to get an education!” My husband on the other hand was ready for battle and there I was feeling betrayed and confused. In 1995, I never thought of war as being part of my plans.

I think back to all the ads on TV and the billboards you come across as you drive down the street. They didn’t make any mention of war all you would see was happy faces or Jets with the phrase, “Air Force a Great Way of Life.” Looking back I should have asked then what do you mean by that? In my mind getting out of the crazy environment that I grew up in and giving me a chance at a better life was doing just that. Still today you see the different ads, the one that gets me is of a young man in civilian clothing the next picture is of the same man in a military uniform followed by one of him in a doctor's coat. To any young man or woman these images are enticing especially if you want an education but can’t afford one. They even pull in those who may be trying to better themselves by getting out of a detrimental environment. Whatever the case maybe these ads do not tell you the whole truth. It’s not just about pride for your country. The military member suffers and so does the family. They need to be honest and up front about the sacrifice you are going to make for the sake of seeing the world and getting an education.

Six months after 11 September 2001, my family was split three ways. My husband was sent to Korea for a yearlong tour, I was sent to Turkey for a 15 month tour and we had to send our son to live with my mother who he had only met one time before. That was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

During my 15 month tour in Turkey being a medic meant I had to work first hand with the wounded and casualties of the war. Although I didn’t go to the front lines I saw the aftermath and I will never forget all the young men that crossed my path. Were they under the same impression as I was that all they had to do was to learn a trade to keep the military up and running and their reward would be a free education, or do their 4 to 20 years while getting an education along the way? If I would have been told before I joined that war is a possibility then I wouldn’t have been in as much shock when it was time to handle business. Some of you may think I was naive - so be it, but I know I’m not the only person who saw serving my country as a means to an education, not a 21 Gun Salute.

Do you think if these advertisements were closer to the truth people would still join the military?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal

2 Comments

1. MIX1 |Sep. 1, 2010 @ 12:20 PM

To the author let me start by saying "Thank you" for your service and sacrifice. I also want to congratulate you on having the courage to stand up and honestly say what so many others would not, that had the thought of going to war, going into combat be vocalize by the ad campaigns or even by the recruiter that you may have given pause about joining or better yet would have been prepared for the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. I too served but with a little different outlook. I joined expecting to at some point (if I stayed past my first four years) that I would be called to battle as were those who came before me. Yes, for me it was about the education and experience but I knew that they both came with a price tag. Nothing is for free. Someone, somewhere, somehow pays. Keep in mind that we were already involved at that time in an undeclared war in Iraq and Afghanistan on that fateful day. I do not know how many of those that I and you served with would have joined the military if even one of those advertisements had shown even a glimpse of the reality that they may face one day but I pray that they would have. As I watch the procession of young Airman go through Lackland AFB each week I know for sure that despite the "cool" ads that speak only of the safer side of things we have a generation of patriots that when given the chance will and do stand up and say count me in.
Thank you again for sharing and providing another prospective on the phrase…. “Truth in advertising” God Bless you and all who serve.

2. enaknhoj22 |Sep. 7, 2010 @ 10:44 AM

Evelyn-

As a non-serving American citizen, I want to first say thank you for your bravery and courage. I am not eligible to serve in our nation's military because of medical conditions that prohibit me from standing or walking for extended periods of times but that doesn't mean I did not try to sign up. I cherish my family more than anything in the world and I know that if it weren't for you and the millions like you who have served, are serving, and will serve, my freedom and my family's freedom could easily be stripped away. You're story is inspiring and I would want to say I can only imagine the anguish you must have felt when you left your child and husband to serve in a most frightening circumstance.

I understand the advertising the military inundates us with makes no reference to the violence and hardships that most definitely will be witnessed by our troops. The commercials show personnel operating unmanned aircraft, and soldiers lurking in the dark waiting on commands from officials far away in safe places. They make the military seem like a membership for adventure and travel. They leave you with the impression that your country needs you but you have nothing to fear and serving in the military is something you can do for a kind of adrenaline-induced entertainment.

The reality is much more bleek! War is not pretty. Our nation has made the statement that when and if there is oppression, and where human rights are being violated, and where there is a cry from people for justice, we will stand up for the oppressed, the violated, and those treated unjustly. That is a statement that takes a lot of reinforcement and, as a result, our military is probably the most active in the world's history. Perhaps you were naive to think that you would not see any conflict while serving in the U.S. military, after all, that's what the military does. But I think that is how the military is marketed, you hear people say the U.S. military is the strongest the world has ever seen, you hear that the enemies we fight are un-organized and uncapable. With statements like that it is easy to believe that your service is relatively safe; How could a bunch of un-educated, poorly trained insurgents pose a threat to such a mighty military force?

But I think when citizens of this nation decide they want to submit their services, they have to use a bit of rationale before making the plunge. Never in the history of man has a military force been developed for peaceful purposes, even when the objective is to keep the peace, there will be violence. When people say "bring the troops home, it's time they are taken out of harms way, they don't deserve to be there," I have to think that's what they signed up for. I don't always believe the fight is justified and I don't think violence is the answer. Furthermore, I believe that there are several so-called "interests" the U.S. sends troops to protect that are not in the "interest" of the American people so much as they are in the "interest" of the American leadership. However that is the way of the military and you must accept that BEFORE enlisting.

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