U.S. Soldier Says Goodbye to Sister to Join Military
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Jenna Leon
Photo Editor |
October 13, 2015
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SPC Yusuf Leon
It was never easy for me to know that my brother, Yusuf Leon, was going into the military. I had just finished my eighth grade year when I found out he had signed up for the U.S. Army. At first, I figured he would change his mind and go after his dream career of cross country, but as my freshmen year came around I realized I was wrong. Yusuf was the oldest brother I had and my only full blooded brother, which made it that much harder to let him go. Yusuf gave up two running scholarships in order to join the military. Our cousin David, who is an ex-veteran for the United States Army had accompanied my brother to the recruit center where he was told it was better to join rather than end up dead, a troubled kid with no respect towards others, or in jail. That was the day my brother decided to sign up for the military.
I always wondered what the reason behind my brother deciding to join was and when I asked him this question over the phone he replied, “I wanted to support my family. I wanted to make sure that I had a future set for myself Jen; where I know I won’t be dead on the streets or in jail. But, most importantly I joined so that you guys (meaning my other older siblings and I) wouldn’t have to make the choice of joining.” As I thought back to when we were younger I always remember how my other older brother, Juan Ayala, wanted to go into the military. Though, as he got older his desires changed and that’s when Yusuf made the decision to join.
For me the hardest part of having Yusuf in the military is the fact that I barely get to see him. He’s so far away from my family and I. The first time he left it took me over a year to get used to the fact that I wasn’t going to be seeing him as much as I would like. I despised the fact that we could go months without any communication with him. We wouldn’t know if he was okay, how he was doing, where he was and that’s what hurt the most. For the most part my brother hated the same things as me. He hated that he was away from his family and that he was missing us grow up. Yusuf shared that what he hated most was, “It was hard to be a big brother when I’m so far away. I have a difficult time showing you guys what was right and wrong. But I knew that after I finished my duty in the Army I would be able to show you right from wrong, I would be able to show you guys how to survive and how to be better people.”
On the long run I had regret not being close to Yusuf. While we grew up, most of the time we would just fight and call each other names but once he left for the Army everything changed. I realized how much I missed him and I just wished he would come back home. I regret letting him go without showing him that putting aside our differences he was the greatest big brother I could ever ask for. I asked him if he ever did regret going into the Army and Yusuf replied with, “No, because I know I won’t end up dead or in jail. I know that my family will be taken care of and that I won’t grow up to be a punk kid with little respect towards others. I’ll grow up to be a man, I’ll bring honor to our family's’ name and I have learned how to respect everyone better.”
My brother only came down a couple weeks each year. It was hard knowing he wouldn’t be there for our birthdays or holidays, but I knew he was okay. I always wondered why he couldn’t be away longer than just a couple of weeks at a time so I asked. Apparently leave is earned for time and service. Every two months a soldier gets two and a half days of leave. Per each year a soldier is allowed to take up at least thirty days but that is only if they have those days saved up. He also said that leave has to be put in two weeks in advance before you can take it unless it is emergency leave. Emergency leave can only be taken when something happens to his immediate family meaning his siblings or our parents.
Yusuf has been in the Army for a good three years now. He re-enlisted for another three and even though I know it was his decision I couldn’t help but feel the dread resurfacing into my mind. I never liked having my oldest brother so far away from me. I’ve always been a family loving girl and knowing that it was going to be months on end before I got to see my brother devastated me. But, at the same time I felt this kind of excitement to know what it was like to be in the Army. I asked Yusuf what was his favorite and least favorite part of being in the military was and he replied, “I love knowing that I’m making something of myself and I’m learning things that not most people would know, but I hate that I’m being treated like a kid instead of an adult. Another thing I despise is that the higher ranks force us to give them respect but they won’t always return it to us.” Of course this caused me to wish my brother was back home, knowing that he wasn’t getting treated right all the time. But I kept my feelings to myself and just took it one step at a time, waiting for the day when he would come back home but for good.
After realizing that soldiers are demanded to give respect but don’t always get it in return, I wanted to know what the hardest part of basic training was. I knew basic training was not something easy and not everyone would be able to get through it which brought my curiosity to a higher level. “The hardest part of basic would have to be wanting to learn a whole new life experience.” Yusuf says over the phone, “It was hard to catch onto things you never tried before in your life, it was hard to be away from your family for months at a time, not knowing when you would be able to see them or hear their voices again but most of all it was hard to push my body to limits that I never tried to reach before.”
We’ve come from a family of military members, which got to me wondering what Yusuf’s inspiration for joining the Army was. I knew he wanted to make sure his family was taken care of, and he wanted to make sure he could make something of himself but his inspiration was different. “I did it for my grandfather,” Yusuf responded. Before leaving for the Army, Yusuf lived with our grandparents, Rosemary and Ruben Flores. He would have talks with our papa (grandpa) and it would always end in tears. He hated seeing how much our papa suffered. “He would cry all the time and say how he missed our cousins Jen. I hated knowing how much he was suffering. I wanted him to be proud of me. I wanted to give the family name honor and make something of the family name. Papa was my inspiration to join the Army.” Even if he’s so far away Yusuf and I have come to grow closer to each other. He joined the Army to make something of himself and to make sure that his family was taken care of, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.
I always wondered what the reason behind my brother deciding to join was and when I asked him this question over the phone he replied, “I wanted to support my family. I wanted to make sure that I had a future set for myself Jen; where I know I won’t be dead on the streets or in jail. But, most importantly I joined so that you guys (meaning my other older siblings and I) wouldn’t have to make the choice of joining.” As I thought back to when we were younger I always remember how my other older brother, Juan Ayala, wanted to go into the military. Though, as he got older his desires changed and that’s when Yusuf made the decision to join.
For me the hardest part of having Yusuf in the military is the fact that I barely get to see him. He’s so far away from my family and I. The first time he left it took me over a year to get used to the fact that I wasn’t going to be seeing him as much as I would like. I despised the fact that we could go months without any communication with him. We wouldn’t know if he was okay, how he was doing, where he was and that’s what hurt the most. For the most part my brother hated the same things as me. He hated that he was away from his family and that he was missing us grow up. Yusuf shared that what he hated most was, “It was hard to be a big brother when I’m so far away. I have a difficult time showing you guys what was right and wrong. But I knew that after I finished my duty in the Army I would be able to show you right from wrong, I would be able to show you guys how to survive and how to be better people.”
On the long run I had regret not being close to Yusuf. While we grew up, most of the time we would just fight and call each other names but once he left for the Army everything changed. I realized how much I missed him and I just wished he would come back home. I regret letting him go without showing him that putting aside our differences he was the greatest big brother I could ever ask for. I asked him if he ever did regret going into the Army and Yusuf replied with, “No, because I know I won’t end up dead or in jail. I know that my family will be taken care of and that I won’t grow up to be a punk kid with little respect towards others. I’ll grow up to be a man, I’ll bring honor to our family's’ name and I have learned how to respect everyone better.”
My brother only came down a couple weeks each year. It was hard knowing he wouldn’t be there for our birthdays or holidays, but I knew he was okay. I always wondered why he couldn’t be away longer than just a couple of weeks at a time so I asked. Apparently leave is earned for time and service. Every two months a soldier gets two and a half days of leave. Per each year a soldier is allowed to take up at least thirty days but that is only if they have those days saved up. He also said that leave has to be put in two weeks in advance before you can take it unless it is emergency leave. Emergency leave can only be taken when something happens to his immediate family meaning his siblings or our parents.
Yusuf has been in the Army for a good three years now. He re-enlisted for another three and even though I know it was his decision I couldn’t help but feel the dread resurfacing into my mind. I never liked having my oldest brother so far away from me. I’ve always been a family loving girl and knowing that it was going to be months on end before I got to see my brother devastated me. But, at the same time I felt this kind of excitement to know what it was like to be in the Army. I asked Yusuf what was his favorite and least favorite part of being in the military was and he replied, “I love knowing that I’m making something of myself and I’m learning things that not most people would know, but I hate that I’m being treated like a kid instead of an adult. Another thing I despise is that the higher ranks force us to give them respect but they won’t always return it to us.” Of course this caused me to wish my brother was back home, knowing that he wasn’t getting treated right all the time. But I kept my feelings to myself and just took it one step at a time, waiting for the day when he would come back home but for good.
After realizing that soldiers are demanded to give respect but don’t always get it in return, I wanted to know what the hardest part of basic training was. I knew basic training was not something easy and not everyone would be able to get through it which brought my curiosity to a higher level. “The hardest part of basic would have to be wanting to learn a whole new life experience.” Yusuf says over the phone, “It was hard to catch onto things you never tried before in your life, it was hard to be away from your family for months at a time, not knowing when you would be able to see them or hear their voices again but most of all it was hard to push my body to limits that I never tried to reach before.”
We’ve come from a family of military members, which got to me wondering what Yusuf’s inspiration for joining the Army was. I knew he wanted to make sure his family was taken care of, and he wanted to make sure he could make something of himself but his inspiration was different. “I did it for my grandfather,” Yusuf responded. Before leaving for the Army, Yusuf lived with our grandparents, Rosemary and Ruben Flores. He would have talks with our papa (grandpa) and it would always end in tears. He hated seeing how much our papa suffered. “He would cry all the time and say how he missed our cousins Jen. I hated knowing how much he was suffering. I wanted him to be proud of me. I wanted to give the family name honor and make something of the family name. Papa was my inspiration to join the Army.” Even if he’s so far away Yusuf and I have come to grow closer to each other. He joined the Army to make something of himself and to make sure that his family was taken care of, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.
