I have been in the Army for the past 13 years. I began as an infantryman stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. After my second year, I became a class 1-A-0 conscientious objector and opted to remain in the service. I went to the North Carolina National Guard in 2000 and became a medic. I was deployed to the Eastern Diyala province of Iraq, near Balad Ruz throughout the year of 2004. I remain in the Guard at the present and plan to ETS in 2009. I am currently in school to gain a Masters of Social Work degree, with a potential graduation date of summer of 2008.