After a 21-year break in service, 45-year-old Wylie McGraw is answering the call and reenlisting in the US Army.
“I am Wylie McGraw. We are in beautiful Sedona, Arizona. I am a prior service Army recruit and I served in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq as a combat infantryman and a doorgunner. I have been out of the Army for over 20 years, and I’ve been spending my time going to school, living life as a civilian, and running my own business for the last 16 years.
After all these years of being out, I got this calling. I felt that God put it on my heart; it was time for me to go back into the military to serve again. And I’m excited to do that. After spending time discerning this calling, I reached out to the Northern Phoenix Recruiting Center. I started to ask questions about my possibility of contributing again, and everything happened really quickly. The whole process, from start to reenlistment, took approximately 16 months.
This August, I will be shipping out to, of course, basic training again and AIT, Advanced Individual Training, and then I’ll be off on my way to Jump School at Fort Benning, Georgia. After my airborne training, I will be off to the intelligence field and a specialized military occupational specialty. I come from a legacy military family of patriots who love America, and I feel excited to follow this calling that’s been put on my heart. I’ve been spending the better part of a year and a half getting myself physically fit and mentally ready to take on the challenges that I will be facing as a soldier in my older years.
You know, we all have callings that are placed on our heart. The question is, are we actually answering that calling, especially when it comes to selfless service to something greater than ourselves? Despite taking 16 months, I think I’m grateful for that time because it has allowed me to really discern whether or not this was the calling to follow, and it is. And I’m excited about the opportunity to serve my country again, but also, I would say, even more excited to see what the military life is like as a 45-year-old man. I think it’s going to be a completely different challenge, and I’m looking forward to taking that on.
In celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday, I challenge you to face the calling that you might feel is on your heart and make a decision to be all you can be.”