Serving in the armed forces is a noble career path, pursued by people from all walks of life.
In short, preparation, training, and more prep.
Tell us a little about yourself and your experience.
My name is Chris Morrow; I am a Captain in the U.S. Army.
Im 29, from Austin, Texas and Ive been in the Army for seven years.
What drove you to choose your career path?
I became an Officer for two reasons; to test myself and because I enjoy the challenge of leadership.
I wanted to see if I could handle tough experiences, lead soldiers, and prevail despite adversity.
How did you go about getting your job?
What kind of education and experience did you need?
To become an officer, you have three choices: ROTC, West Point, or Officer Candidate School.
In return, ROTC paid for the entirety of my tuition.
What kinds of things do you do beyond what most people see?
What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing?
The day to day activities are surprisingly mundane.
The Army is a people business, and keeping those people prepared takes a significant amount of time.
Maintaining our equipment also takes a significant amount of time.
In my job, we spend at least two days a week keeping our Hum-Vees ready for action.
What misconceptions do people often have about your job?
Army Soldiers are some of the most inspiring people you will ever work with.
I have the privilege to lead 88 of them.
Many days in the Army [are] spent conducting office work.
I spend a good portion of my week in meetings, and another significant portion preparing for training.
It takes almost twice as long to prepare for training as it does to execute the actual training.
What are your average work hours?
Most weeks I work 60 hours, some weeks closer to 80.
Every eight weeks or so we go to the field (camping?
), where you work generally 18-20 hour days the entire length of the time you are training.
What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?
Always placing people first, and taking time to build relationships.
Relationships are the secret to success.
I quickly learned that no individual can be successful all the time.
What do you do differently from your coworkers or peers in the same profession?
What do they do instead?
I take notes, I follow my instincts, and I take risks.
Being disciplined about both the note taking and the follow-up is what has helped me succeed.
Its surprising how quickly you forget about something, when you dont write it down.
Secondly, I follow my instincts.
I know instinctively how to build a team and I just do it.
I know instinctively what my organization needs.
I let those instincts guide me.
Sometimes I dont have any data to back those instincts, which is when I take risks.
My instincts arent always right, but I take risks to follow them.
Sometimes I get it wrong and those circumstances turn into a learning point.
Being willing to dare and take calculated risk has helped me several times in my career.
Whats the worst part of the job and how do you deal with it?
This can make attempts at personal life-work balance tricky at best.
Its cliche, but love of the job is what gets you through those tough times.
It also takes a certain learned level of resiliency to hunt the good stuff during particularly challenging assignments.
Whats the most enjoyable part of the job?
I lead 88 of the finest soldiers in the United States Army.
Each is unique, many have inspiring stories.
Leading this team is by far the most enjoyable part of my career.
I also really enjoy working with our allies overseas.
Ive had the chance to train with the Iraqi Army, the Canadian Army, and the Philippine Army.
Each of those opportunities offered life changing shifts in perspective.
What kind of money can one expect to make at your job?
The compensation package is actually readily available online.
How do you move up in your field?
A combination of time in the service and your ability and proficiency.
Each rank becomes more competitive, with fewer people getting promoted to the most competitive jobs.
What advice would you give to those aspiring to join your profession?
Learn as much about the Army as it’s possible for you to before you join.
The best thing about the Army is that there are many different avenues to each goal.
West Point and ROTC are looking to award scholarships to individuals who are balanced and motivated.
If youd like to share your career, email us at[email protected].
U.S. Army photo byStaff Sgt.
Pablo N. Piedra(Flickr).
