When most high school seniors graduate, the typical plan after is to attend college and get a degree. But the college path isn’t always for everybody. For some like Woodland senior Owen Burke, joining the military is the path that calls to them. After high school, Burke is enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. His inspiration to serve comes from an extensive military family.
“I have a lot of family that served in the military, I grew up around my grandfather in a kind of military style household. He was in the Coast Guard. His brother was a Marine and his other brother was in The Army. So I had a lot of influence from people who served and I grew up around the stories and watching movies with them. It was just super interesting to me,” Burke said.
Burke started the recruiting process around December 2024, starting with a conversation with a recruiter over the phone. He then met with the recruiter at the recruiting office in Waterbury and discussed what military life is like.
“We started with a couple of PTs, which are physical training exercises every Saturday, about three hours long. They are pretty demanding. It’s to see what you’d be doing. We filled out the paper about a month later,” Burke stated. “I had to go to the medical examination and processing station where they gave me all sorts of tests your doctor would do for around seven hours. And then I swore the oath and swore in,”
Every individual joining the military must choose a Military Occupational Specialty, or MOS, which essentially is your occupation in the military. Burke chose the MOS of Aviation Mechanic which works with helicopters and airplanes. He states that he especially likes Aviation Mechanic because it translates extremely well into a job in civilian life after the Marine Corps.
“I could get a job at Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney, or Boeing, any of those major mechanical aviation hotspots in the area right now and they’ll hire you on the spot,” Burke mentioned.
Out of the many things military life offers, Burke is most excited for the traveling he will get to experience and all the places he will see.
“I already know off the bat that when I get out of boot camp, I’ll be in Pensacola, Florida for the schoolhouse for aviation, which is a beautiful spot in Florida. And then I can get stationed on the east coast, west coast, overseas. I can go on deployment anywhere. I’m thrilled,”
And lastly, Burke has some advice for anyone who is considering joining the military.
“Don’t rush the process. Read every single thing they give you. Don’t sign anything until you read it. And just make sure you’re one-hundred percent certain with your decision because once you sign those papers, you’re going,” Burke stated.
It’s extremely important for applicants to know and understand every detail of their contract before they sign their name to it. If you’re struggling with making the decision, don’t sign anything until you are entirely certain that this is what you want to do. Burke also has some pointers for applicants picking what job or MOS they want to do.
“They’re going to give you a list of all the jobs you’re qualified for. Do at at least twenty minutes research on each job just so you know exactly what that job entitles, where you can go, what you’d be doing day to day, just so you get the best opportunity for yourself. And then lastly, try and pick something that corresponds to the real world. You wanna do something that’s gonna help you out when you get out of the military,”
