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May 7th 1994 Abraham Sabedra enlisted U.S. Army. He enlisted in the army because he had grown up in an environment where his dad and pretty much every man in his family had joined. It was his destination. He had an ROTC Scholarship which was for reserve or active duty and he chose active duty. His dad influenced him a lot into joining the army because that’s what he grew up on and he pretty much didn’t have a choice.
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His first days in the service were very exciting. He was very nervous but at the same time he was very anxious. His boot camp experience was very tough. He got yelled at a lot, ran everywhere he went, there were a lot of detailed instructions, and it was very physical. He got through it really easily because he got to go home everyday and see his family.
He did not participate in any war. He joined the U.S. army right after the first gulf war during the peace time, and had left the army right before 9/11. He did not see any combat time. He had gone to many places but mostly just places in the United States. He had gone to such places as: Fort Benning, GA, Fort Stewart, GA, Fort Campbell, KY, Fort Erwin, CA, and he had also traveled to Egypt. He started out as an Infantry Officer and eventually made it up to Platoon Leader and then to Company Commander. He had some memorable experiences while in the service. His first one was when he was in Egypt he got to train with the Egyptian soldiers and he said that was very interesting and fun. His second on was when he was training in Fort Erwin, CA, his son was born.
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He received many awards while in the service. Air Assault badge, Airborne wings, expert infantry men badge, army commendation, 2 army achievement metals, 1 national defense service metal, 1 Army service ribbon, and 1 Meritorious metal. He got the army achievement metals for his duty in Egypt, he got his army accommodation for service at fort Stewart, his meritorious service metal for becoming a company commander, his expert infantry badge for having best individual skills. This took him 2 times to get because the infantry men that work for him vote and really no one every gets it on their first time.
It was pretty easy for him to stay in touch with his family when he was in the states but when he went to Egypt it was hard because phone calls were expensive and when he would send letters they would take a while to get back. He didn’t like the food very much. He got 1 hot meal a day which came from a can and the rest of his meals were package food. He ate the same thing over and over. He ate a lot of dinner food for breakfast. But when he was in Egypt he got a totally different food. What they would do is they would pour diesel gasoline just right on the sand and light it and sometimes they would throw a goat right on the fire and when you would eat it, it would be covered in sand and he said it didn’t taste very good. And his highlight food was a loaf of bread because it was the only normal thing he could eat.
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He was under a great amount of pressure and stress and had a great deal of sleep depravation. He didn’t like it at all. One time when he was in Louisiana he didn’t get any sleep for four strait days and after all of that he only got 4 hours of sleep and had to get back up and work again. There wasn’t much to do to entertain themselves. He mostly listened to his portable CD player and wrestled with other people in his infantry, but when he was in Egypt they would play football.
He had a very unusual event happen to him. One of the rules was to never leave a vehicle running without a driver. One day his brigade commander 3rd level boss called him to his office and told him he was fired and to pack his stuff and go home. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on and then it hit him. He started crying and his boss had told him that he had found a vehicle without a driver that was running, which he had previously done not to long ago so it was his second strike. It wasn’t him this time so he didn’t get fired but he got really scared. Pranks weren’t pulled very often but one prank that he remembered was one guy in his infantry ran into his tent naked with only goggles on. He said it was hilarious.
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He left the service march 31st 2001. He regrets leaving the service and wished he had stayed. After he got out he moved to Columbus and got a job with Ameritech. He stayed in touch with some of his friends that he met in the service. Nothing real big but they would send Christmas cards, the occasional email, and 1 person that he met he frequently talks to and sometimes even visits.
He was always very supportive of soldiers and anyone serving our country. Serving in the military has always been important to his family and even in his wife’s family. He wants his son to think about joining because it made him very discipline and built his work ethic. He believes that you gain a better appreciation for what you have after serving for this country and that it gives you a better sense of patriotism.
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