thedrifter
11-20-08, 07:24 AM
Mmmboppin' with Scott Hansen: Not the few, but the proud
By: Scott Hansen
Posted: 11/20/08
It is a rarity and tragedy that good stories regarding the U.S. military are hardly ever heard of. Most of this can be attributed to the media's unwritten rule and obligation that the only good news regarding the troops is bad news.
Yet even as Veteran's Day came and passed Nov. 11, and the 26th anniversary of the Vietnam Veteran's initial dedication came and passed a week ago, the heart-warming tale of a Maine man's determination to join the Marines went unnoticed and received little, if any, coverage.
Lewiston, Maine, resident Ulysses Milana weighed 330 pounds when he approached Navy and Army recruitment officers in December 2007, according to a recent Associate Press article. The two branches' recruitment officers responded by telling him that he was too heavy to join and should come back if he ever lowered his weight to their standards. A Marine recruitment officer met him with a similar response, but unlike the other branches, offered to work with him in order to help him lose weight and meet the branch's weight requirements.
It took 11 months, but with the help of Milana's wife, Latoya, and Staff Sgt. George Monteith, Milana was able to lose 140 pounds. He decreased his calorie intake, exercised rigorously under a Marine training regiment and gave up impulse eating as much as possible.
As a result, Milana not only gained the health benefits of losing weight, but was able to achieve his dream of following in his family's footsteps. On Monday, he will be reporting to boot camp in Parris Island, S.C., and will continue a family tradition of being in the military.
Along with the common misconception that everything involving the military is bad, there is also the misconception that a large number of people who join the military do so because they have no other option. This stereotype is obviously perpetuated when the media portrays the U.S. military as a group of low-life individuals who care not about serving their country, but how quickly they can get out. It is just a stop for them apparently; a job they turn to because they obviously couldn't work anywhere else. Or at least that's what many believe those enlisted are like.
But the determination this 23-year-old man showed to lose weight, and the way in which the Marine recruitment officers reached out to him to help exemplified what the American spirit really is all about and what the spirit of those enlisted is all about.
Those looking at us from abroad tend to see Americans in the way in which our own media portrays us. So why is it that when a good story, such as this one, comes out we are so quick to put it on the back-burner? Why are we so quick to show our military in a negative light and never showcase the good that can come from it?
Milana didn't enter the military as a last resort, like a lot of those who enter the military. He wanted to enter because it was his dream. He wanted to follow his role models, his family members, and do what he felt was right. He wanted to serve a country that had given back to him throughout his life. But I unfortunately feel that now he needs his country's support the most, but they will likely turn around and abandon him in order to portray him like they do the other millions serving in the U.S. military.
Milana isn't the only person enlisted who actually wants to serve the United States and give back to it. The Marine recruitment officers are not the only ones involved in the military that are willing to help those in need. But the way in which the media portrays the military and the way consumers buy into that portrayal would have you think a story like this is
made up.
But it is not made up, I assure you. There are numerous good soldiers out there who want to do their country a service, and not just in the quickest way. They are not looking for the quickest route home, but are looking for the best way to help us back home. They outweigh the number of bad soldiers you hear about on the evening news or read about in the pages of the morning paper.
Unfortunately, however, you have to look for them. But if you look hard enough, I guarantee they are there. And pretty soon they will be back in America after they have given their time for our freedom. Hopefully we can give them the right attention they deserve, because right now, they are left lacking.
Hansen is a junior print journalism major and editorial editor of The Spectator. "Mmmboppin' with Scott Hansen" appears every Thursday.
Ellie
By: Scott Hansen
Posted: 11/20/08
It is a rarity and tragedy that good stories regarding the U.S. military are hardly ever heard of. Most of this can be attributed to the media's unwritten rule and obligation that the only good news regarding the troops is bad news.
Yet even as Veteran's Day came and passed Nov. 11, and the 26th anniversary of the Vietnam Veteran's initial dedication came and passed a week ago, the heart-warming tale of a Maine man's determination to join the Marines went unnoticed and received little, if any, coverage.
Lewiston, Maine, resident Ulysses Milana weighed 330 pounds when he approached Navy and Army recruitment officers in December 2007, according to a recent Associate Press article. The two branches' recruitment officers responded by telling him that he was too heavy to join and should come back if he ever lowered his weight to their standards. A Marine recruitment officer met him with a similar response, but unlike the other branches, offered to work with him in order to help him lose weight and meet the branch's weight requirements.
It took 11 months, but with the help of Milana's wife, Latoya, and Staff Sgt. George Monteith, Milana was able to lose 140 pounds. He decreased his calorie intake, exercised rigorously under a Marine training regiment and gave up impulse eating as much as possible.
As a result, Milana not only gained the health benefits of losing weight, but was able to achieve his dream of following in his family's footsteps. On Monday, he will be reporting to boot camp in Parris Island, S.C., and will continue a family tradition of being in the military.
Along with the common misconception that everything involving the military is bad, there is also the misconception that a large number of people who join the military do so because they have no other option. This stereotype is obviously perpetuated when the media portrays the U.S. military as a group of low-life individuals who care not about serving their country, but how quickly they can get out. It is just a stop for them apparently; a job they turn to because they obviously couldn't work anywhere else. Or at least that's what many believe those enlisted are like.
But the determination this 23-year-old man showed to lose weight, and the way in which the Marine recruitment officers reached out to him to help exemplified what the American spirit really is all about and what the spirit of those enlisted is all about.
Those looking at us from abroad tend to see Americans in the way in which our own media portrays us. So why is it that when a good story, such as this one, comes out we are so quick to put it on the back-burner? Why are we so quick to show our military in a negative light and never showcase the good that can come from it?
Milana didn't enter the military as a last resort, like a lot of those who enter the military. He wanted to enter because it was his dream. He wanted to follow his role models, his family members, and do what he felt was right. He wanted to serve a country that had given back to him throughout his life. But I unfortunately feel that now he needs his country's support the most, but they will likely turn around and abandon him in order to portray him like they do the other millions serving in the U.S. military.
Milana isn't the only person enlisted who actually wants to serve the United States and give back to it. The Marine recruitment officers are not the only ones involved in the military that are willing to help those in need. But the way in which the media portrays the military and the way consumers buy into that portrayal would have you think a story like this is
made up.
But it is not made up, I assure you. There are numerous good soldiers out there who want to do their country a service, and not just in the quickest way. They are not looking for the quickest route home, but are looking for the best way to help us back home. They outweigh the number of bad soldiers you hear about on the evening news or read about in the pages of the morning paper.
Unfortunately, however, you have to look for them. But if you look hard enough, I guarantee they are there. And pretty soon they will be back in America after they have given their time for our freedom. Hopefully we can give them the right attention they deserve, because right now, they are left lacking.
Hansen is a junior print journalism major and editorial editor of The Spectator. "Mmmboppin' with Scott Hansen" appears every Thursday.
Ellie