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thedrifter
05-23-07, 09:10 AM
Brothers answer call to join military
By: Tiffiny Woo, twoo@eufaulatribune.com

Nick Lovell and his brother, Josh, have always been close.
But this summer, their bond will be pushed to the limit as both brothers prepare for basic training.

Pursuing different careers in separate branches of the military, they have chosen to enter a world completely foreign to the one they have known their whole lives.

Nick, who is a senior at Eufaula High School, will leave Eufaula Monday, heading for Paris Island, S.C. to begin basic training with the Marines. The training camp is a 13-week program.

Nick will have time to visit home briefly after the 13 weeks before heading out for Advanced Individual Training (AIT) where he hopes to study engineering equipment operation. In this field he will be learning to operate heavy machinery.

Josh Lovell, a junior at EHS, will be leaving to Fort Jackson, S.C. for Army basic training. The program is a nine-week program after which Josh will return to Eufaula to finish up his senior year of high school. This means that he can enter AIT by next summer. He hopes to pursue a career in construction equipment maintenance.

"It's neat," Nick said. "I'll be working with the machines, and he'll be working on them."

Nick said he first became interested in the military after a recruiter visited his school.

"I was just impressed by the way they recruit people," he said. "I liked their values, too."

By joining the Marines, Nick feels that he will be able to jumpstart his career, but says that education is not the only reason he decided to join.

"It's something I knew I wanted to do since my junior year," he said.

Having lived in Eufaula his entire life, Nick knows it will be hard to leave his friends and family.

"It will be hard but I am ready for a change. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the world."

About the war in Iraq, Nick said, "I agree with it. But I would rather not go. If I am called to go, I'll be there."

Though his older brother is joining the military, Josh Lovell said that his decision to join was his own decision.

He says he knew he wanted to join the Army since he was in ninth grade. Josh is also a member of the JROTC at Eufaula High School.

"Neither of us is joining because the other is," Nick said. "We've always been close but we both made our decision individually."

In fact, Josh was the first of the two brothers to decide that he wanted to join the military.

"I just want to do my part," Josh said. "I just want the chance to serve my country and stand out."

Ellie