Page 7 - voices November
P. 7
John Michael
Super Heros
Don’t Quit!
Lisa Hutton, ACS, ALB
John was prompted to join the military after
entertaining an interest since he was a young boy. He’s
not entirely sure where it came from other than family
members had served. The push that got him over the
fear of surviving combat was that “the military was
We listen to speeches from a great way to pay for college”. There was an audible
chuckle in his voice as he said this. John studied lots of
our fellow Toastmasters and
various subjects at both Mt. Hood Community College
often learn about their inner and Portland State University. He ended up with a
character as a result of the minor in Business, BA Political Science and then went
on to earn an MBA from Eastern Oregon University.
stories and insights they share.
John served in the Army National Guard as a Combat
John Michael is one of those Engineer. Like most people, he had a natural fear of
memorable members. John failing basic training. Ultimately, it turned out to be
not as bad as imagined. He enlisted and was deployed
is a Military Veteran that,
for nine months and spent six of those months in
unlike some, readily speaks Egypt supporting the Global War on Terrorism. After
about serving our country and being home for three months, he switched his Military
Occupations Specialty (MOS) to be an infantryman to
the affect it has had on him.
go to Iraq in 2004. “I wanted to be active in the game
that I was trained to play”, says John.
This turned out to be his longest deployment - 15
months. Upon returning to the United States in 2005,
VOICES! |NOVEMBER 2018 7
