- Samantha Corcoran

An Alaska Army Man

       Shay McAlister is a 19-year-old soldier who is traveling from his home in Cocoa, Florida to be stationed at Fort Richardson in Alaska. Shay has been in the army for 10 months, beginning with basic training in Georgia, where he dislocated his shoulder in the airborne school. He will spend the next four years in Alaska completing his training. After he finishes his training in Alaska he will go to Iraq for 15 months.
       Shay’s father is proud of him for joining the army, but his mother is worried that he might get killed. Shay won’t get to see them much in the next few years. He only gets two and a half days off each month, but can save his days up to get two and a half weeks of leave at Christmas. If he wants to come back and see his family, he will also have to save up enough money to buy a plane ticket. Even though Shay is leaving his family behind in Florida, he will not be alone in Alaska.
       “I will have friends with me in Alaska. One of my friends’ names is Justin Bakow. He left for Alaska about a month before me. He is going to the Airborne Unit to learn how to fly parachutes into the Alaskan mountains,” Shay said.
When McAlister gets to Alaska he will most likely stay in some barracks on base. He has to take a physical fitness test and then has to check in with his unit. He will spend the first month learning how to shoot rifles, and will spend the rest of the time completing his training.
After he serves in Iraq, Shay hopes to go to college. “I will probably end up going to the University of Florida or Virginia Tech to major in business and to eventually get my master’s degree,” Shay said.
       Even though Shay has other plans for his future, he felt it was important to make his contribution first. “I wanted to join the military so I could go to war and defend my country,” Shay said.