Like countless men and women before me, I was a Soldier. I only enlisted for four years…how did it end being over two and a half decades?
From the first step I took out of a perfectly good airplane to the villages of Honduras, on top of the Haditha Dam to the mountains of Kabul, the Korean DMZ to the frigidness of Bosnia and everywhere in-between, I’ve had the pleasure to experience countless other cultures which, in turn, gave me a perspective that most are not lucky enough to possess. For this, I am eternally grateful.
I’ve held the hands of Soldiers as they breathed their last, ensured others returned to their families, and did the best I could the make my piece of the organization better; I’ve witnessed mankind at its worst and, simultaneously, at its best in the same situations. I made mistakes, a good decision now and then, but every choice I made has placed me in the here and now…I have no regrets.
Now it is time to take those first steps into an unknown future; I cannot wait to experience what life holds for me. Thank you all for your support. Here’s to the comrades we will never forget and the situations we wish we could.
![Aaron Stone Retirement Dress Blues Retirement Soldier for Life](https://18winters.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG-3610-225x300.jpg)