King, Jason

Interview date: March 21, 2013
Interviewee: Jason King
Interviewer/Transcriber: Melissa Ziobro/CastingWords.com
Summarized by: Peri Trembly

After completing one year at Barton College in North Carolina, Jason King decided that it was not the path he wanted to take at that point in his life. After an encounter with a recruiter at a bowling alley in February of his second semester, King decided that he was going to join the military, and enlisted on May 23^rd, 2005. King’s grandfather had served in the Air Force, and was an Army Air Corps Pilot in World War II, and his grandmother was a Navy nurse in World War II. His grandmother supported his decision, while his mother and father did not like it.  

King served a total of 5 years in the military, and was a part of 3 tours. Prior to heading overseas, King spent the majority of his time in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina training, and originally was a field artillery cannon crewman. Overseas he was convoy security for local police, local army, and supply runs. His first tour was spent out of Camp Fallujah Iraq, the second was out of Camp Al Asad, Iraq, and the third was out of Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. When first enlisting and getting used to his new environment, King thought that he would have spent more time in the military, however after 5 years of duty he decided to leave. Originally, he wanted to leave after his first tour, but made a last-minute decision to sign up for a tour in Afghanistan. King’s living conditions overseas were very fortunate, where he spent his free time watching movies, or sitting by a burn pit. They also had Morale, Recreation, and Welfare tents where he could go to use the computer or call his family.  

After returning home, King had a lot of free time, and eventually decided to go back to school with his knowledge of the GI Bill, which pays veterans to go to school, and completely covers their fees. King decided to attend Monmouth University because he had always wanted to live at the beach. He is majoring in Marketing management because he has always wanted to own his own business. It was much easier for him to adjust to a college campus than most because he had been to college before the military, however PTSD influences his academic experience at Monmouth. At Monmouth, King is a part of the Veterans Association, where he goes to talk to fellow Veterans for counseling. King is content with his academic life at Monmouth and plans to graduate in the fall.