Lt. Dennis Wischmeier: All the way through high school, my senior of high school, didn't think about joining the military at all, not even a thought. [00:00:05] I was accepted to college, was on my way. A recruiter happened to [00:00:10] call me and I thought, why not? I'm keeping my options open. And [00:00:15] while talking to my recruiter, Marine Corp recruiter, I [00:00:20] realized that I needed and I wanted a break. I didn't want to go straight from [00:00:25] high school to college. So, yeah, I [00:00:30] decided to join the United States Marine Corp straight out of high school, knowing [00:00:35] full well that I would go to college, but I didn't know how or when, but my immediate concern was just [00:00:40] to take a break. So I did just that. I joined the Marine Corp. In [00:00:45] 1995 I enlisted in the Marine Corp, went to boot camp in San Diego, [00:00:50] did all the follow-on jobs to become a communications center operator. [00:00:55] Was then sent off to Okinawa for a year and absolutely loved Okinawa Japan. [00:01:00] It was a wonderful tour. But while I was there I [00:01:05] found out and signed up for the scholarship program, commissioning [00:01:10] program, and got accepted into both the United States Naval Academy and ROTC [00:01:15] programs. I chose the ROTC program and went to college at George Washington [00:01:20] University, right here in Washington D.C. and went there for four [00:01:25] years. In the middle of college I decided to change services to the [00:01:30] Navy, and I did that just because of some of the opportunities that were afforded me. And [00:01:35] I was looking at becoming married towards the end of college [00:01:40] career and I thought that the Navy offered a little bit better lifestyle for spouses [00:01:45] and families than the Marine Corp did. So I switched services and [00:01:50] after graduating college in 2001 I went off to flight school in Pensacola [00:01:55] Florida, and from there did all the normal wicketsg> for flight training [00:02:00] and proceeded to my first squadron in Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington State. Was there [00:02:05] for three and a-half years and did tours all around the world from there. [00:02:10] And then I came here in the Pentagon.
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