For Jeff Wester
As I lay back in my leather office chair, having finished all my finals for good and every other work assignment needed to get out of the way before my vacation could officially start, my mind wanders over the a promise that was made not too long ago regarding my ole acquaintance Jeff Wester. I met Jeff in my film class over a year ago. We wound up teaming up for the final project, which was a short film we called “From a Twisted Mind.” I found out then that he was in the Marines and that he was continuing his education as well. So when I opened last month’s edition of the school newspaper, I knew I had to get around to blogging about it sometime soon.
The following is a reprinted copy of an article from my school newspaper:
The Call Of Duty
By Stephanie Rinker
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to Iraq,” says Jeff Wester, a 22 year old College of Marin student who appears to not have an aggressive bone in his body. “Any day I could get a call. If it happens, it happens-but in the meantime, I’ve got to live my life.”
Wester is a full-time student at COM and plays on the water polo team. He joined the Marines in 2002 and although eh doesn’t dwell on it, life as he knows it could change if called to duty.
Wester had the support of his family in deciding to enlist in the Marines, but they were concerned about him joining active duty. “My mom is worried the most,” he said. “Every time I talk to her, she asks if I know if I’m going to be activate, where I will be and how long I will be gone. Typical mom.”
“I feel terrible and I don’t want him to go. I wish we weren’t over there fighting,” says Wester’s mother, Laura Wester.
Wester plays hole-man for COM’s water polo team. “I love swimming – it’s my passion,” says Wester. “The season just finished and although we were short on players, we made the best of it.”
Wester is a communications major with a passion for film. He has no limits on his dreams. “I want to write a screenplay, produce a major motion picture and would love to direct,” he said. “I’m most happy when I’m writing. I want to persuade people’s emotions – make people laugh and cry.”
Wester is in the artillery unit, which supports the infantry. “But with everything going on, things are changing,” said Wester. “We’re training to be an infantry rifle company within the year.”
Wester’s rank is lance corporal. March will mark his third year in the Marines; he has three more to go. “Typically, we train one weekend a month and do drills, but lately it’s been about four days a month because we’re expecting to be activated,” he said.
“People higher up are confident we will be activated,” said Wester. “If we’re activated in January we will be security for an air field in Iraq. If its September we will be provisional military police, basically keeping the peace in Iraq and transferring power over to Iraqi forces so we can get out.”
Wester said that when on active duty – like he was for the first six months of training – the Marines are his life. “Your whole life changes and you become too percent a marine,” he said. “It affects your daily life, your training, where you sleep, and who you’re in contact with. Of course you miss your family and you write letters but you have to be immersed in your job because you have a mission to accomplish and you need to focus on that mission to do your best.”
Wester describes himself before he joined the Marines as “unorganized and without direction…I was just flapping my wings, not sure what I wanted to do/” Wester only thought about the Marines for a few months before he joined. “I wanted a change of pace,” he said “I needed a challenge and thought of joining the military. I thought ‘why not the Marines – it’s the best of the best’.” He said being in the reserves is a way to help out his country and still do what he wants to do – school.
“Through the Marines I’ve learned organization, teamwork and most importantly to not take advantage of things. Just a walk outside or to hang out with friends is something to appreciated,” he said. “I’ve traveled across the country and met different ethnicities. You build a tolerance for all different kinds of people.”
Wester hopes to transfer to a four-year school after COM and has his eye on UCLA. But he understands the influence being a Marine could have on his dreams. “I could put almost a two year gap in my education,” said Wester. “”But I’d definitely go back.”
“I’m prepared as much as I can be,” he said. “But I’m not fearful. I have mixed feelings about the conflict in Iraq but I still have my heart into it. This is what I signed up for; this is my mission. I have to put all I have into it.”
Wester said that he doesn’t think about the possibility of being activated every day. Instead, he is focused on his classes and his passion for water polo. “I told myself I couldn’t go every day being held down by ‘what-ifs’,” said Wester.
END ARTICLE
When I first laid my eyes on the article, I could have sworn that they were trying to tell me that he was in fact going. The title “Call of Duty” in big letters, photos of Jeff in his Marines outfit, the quote from his mom saying she didn’t want him to go enlarged for emphasis. It wasn’t until I picked up this article and started typing it out that I actually read the article and found out that he wasn’t going YET.
I hope that if Jeff does go, he will have the courage to fight the enemies of our country for the sake of his family and his country. I hope that once he sees how things are over there, he can make up his mind about whether or not it’s a good war to fight. I pray for him and his family. And a Merry Christmas.
The following is a reprinted copy of an article from my school newspaper:
The Call Of Duty
By Stephanie Rinker
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to Iraq,” says Jeff Wester, a 22 year old College of Marin student who appears to not have an aggressive bone in his body. “Any day I could get a call. If it happens, it happens-but in the meantime, I’ve got to live my life.”
Wester is a full-time student at COM and plays on the water polo team. He joined the Marines in 2002 and although eh doesn’t dwell on it, life as he knows it could change if called to duty.
Wester had the support of his family in deciding to enlist in the Marines, but they were concerned about him joining active duty. “My mom is worried the most,” he said. “Every time I talk to her, she asks if I know if I’m going to be activate, where I will be and how long I will be gone. Typical mom.”
“I feel terrible and I don’t want him to go. I wish we weren’t over there fighting,” says Wester’s mother, Laura Wester.
Wester plays hole-man for COM’s water polo team. “I love swimming – it’s my passion,” says Wester. “The season just finished and although we were short on players, we made the best of it.”
Wester is a communications major with a passion for film. He has no limits on his dreams. “I want to write a screenplay, produce a major motion picture and would love to direct,” he said. “I’m most happy when I’m writing. I want to persuade people’s emotions – make people laugh and cry.”
Wester is in the artillery unit, which supports the infantry. “But with everything going on, things are changing,” said Wester. “We’re training to be an infantry rifle company within the year.”
Wester’s rank is lance corporal. March will mark his third year in the Marines; he has three more to go. “Typically, we train one weekend a month and do drills, but lately it’s been about four days a month because we’re expecting to be activated,” he said.
“People higher up are confident we will be activated,” said Wester. “If we’re activated in January we will be security for an air field in Iraq. If its September we will be provisional military police, basically keeping the peace in Iraq and transferring power over to Iraqi forces so we can get out.”
Wester said that when on active duty – like he was for the first six months of training – the Marines are his life. “Your whole life changes and you become too percent a marine,” he said. “It affects your daily life, your training, where you sleep, and who you’re in contact with. Of course you miss your family and you write letters but you have to be immersed in your job because you have a mission to accomplish and you need to focus on that mission to do your best.”
Wester describes himself before he joined the Marines as “unorganized and without direction…I was just flapping my wings, not sure what I wanted to do/” Wester only thought about the Marines for a few months before he joined. “I wanted a change of pace,” he said “I needed a challenge and thought of joining the military. I thought ‘why not the Marines – it’s the best of the best’.” He said being in the reserves is a way to help out his country and still do what he wants to do – school.
“Through the Marines I’ve learned organization, teamwork and most importantly to not take advantage of things. Just a walk outside or to hang out with friends is something to appreciated,” he said. “I’ve traveled across the country and met different ethnicities. You build a tolerance for all different kinds of people.”
Wester hopes to transfer to a four-year school after COM and has his eye on UCLA. But he understands the influence being a Marine could have on his dreams. “I could put almost a two year gap in my education,” said Wester. “”But I’d definitely go back.”
“I’m prepared as much as I can be,” he said. “But I’m not fearful. I have mixed feelings about the conflict in Iraq but I still have my heart into it. This is what I signed up for; this is my mission. I have to put all I have into it.”
Wester said that he doesn’t think about the possibility of being activated every day. Instead, he is focused on his classes and his passion for water polo. “I told myself I couldn’t go every day being held down by ‘what-ifs’,” said Wester.
END ARTICLE
When I first laid my eyes on the article, I could have sworn that they were trying to tell me that he was in fact going. The title “Call of Duty” in big letters, photos of Jeff in his Marines outfit, the quote from his mom saying she didn’t want him to go enlarged for emphasis. It wasn’t until I picked up this article and started typing it out that I actually read the article and found out that he wasn’t going YET.
I hope that if Jeff does go, he will have the courage to fight the enemies of our country for the sake of his family and his country. I hope that once he sees how things are over there, he can make up his mind about whether or not it’s a good war to fight. I pray for him and his family. And a Merry Christmas.
posted by Jaimetud at 3:50 PM
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