Jake Burr Fondly Remembers Military Service

By Azamaya A

The military can change a lot of things about a person. Everyone leaves the military with a story to tell , a different experience and a different realization that makes them appreciate  the little things and maybe change their outlooks on a lot of things. Such was the case for Chemistry and Physics teacher Jacob Burr.

Burr  served in The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 8 years, 6 years active duty and 2 years inactive serving as an electrician. He learned very valuable life lessons and made great memories along the way: “The military taught me a lot, probably more than I can list here. Some of my key take-aways would never be a ‘Blue Falcon’, which is someone who puts themselves first and throws their buddies under the bus.” 

He goes on to emphasize respect and responsibility, especially when it comes to how military leaders act: “People in charge should never get special treatment. If you are responsible for your soldier, you do not eat first, you eat last. You make sure everyone else is taken care of before you take care of yourself. Anyone who doesn’t put their team first is a terrible leader as well as always pays attention to detail.”

Burr originally wanted to be in the Air Force but the recruiters did not give him enough information about what the job would be like once he started, so he went next door to the Army recruiters and they answered all the questions he had to ask. They told him about how there were many different things he could do as a part of that branch. He originally wanted to join the military because he wanted to get help with paying for college. 

Burr joined at the Army Recruitment center in Thornton, Colorado and went to basic training in Fort Leonardwood, Missouri where he was “constantly being yelled at by drill sergeants like how the movies make it out to be.”  His head got shaved, there were 3 days of getting shots and medical evaluations and making sure he was healthy. “They give you your uniforms and from there on they would train you and get you prepared for battle by doing workouts like push ups, sit ups, runs, etc. and  for any reason and no reason they would punish you and make you workout extra.”

“I could tell a million stories from my time in the service” Burr claims, but the things that he looks back to most are the “Embrace the suck” moments: “That is a common phrase used in the military. A lot of what we did sucked. It was always cold, and wet, and miserable, but everyone was cold and wet and miserable together. When you embrace the suck, it sucks less. A bad attitude can ruin the whole thing, but when you get into the mindset of ‘I like the way this sucks,’ and start laughing about how horrible it is instead of dreading how terrible it is, it makes it much better.” 

After high school if you don't know what you want to do or you want to explore the military, recruiters are always visiting MRHS during lunch periods:

• The US Navy is on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. 10:20 am to 1:20 pm

• The US Coast Guard comes on the 1st Wednesday of every month.

• The US Army comes on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.

• US Marine Corps are here on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.