By Andrew Herbert

I used to look for what I called “the America in all of us” with my Marines. It was the type of conversation I would seek in a foxhole in the middle of a starry desert night on a training exercise in Twenty-Nine Palms, California, or during an extended chat with a young Marine while standing duty at the barracks. I was always seeking to hear others’ stories, hoping to identify the answer to the question, “So, why did you join the Marine Corps?”. I was looking for what it was about their American experience that was worth serving for them.…

By Nathan Pfaff

“Nearly 15 years ago, I joined the Army reluctantly, believed the negative stereotypes surrounding it and planned to get out as soon as I could. Instead I stayed, because, thankfully, I was wrong.”

My route to the Army and, ultimately, to Stern was a circuitous one.  Although my father graduated from the Air Force Academy (or maybe because of it), 18-year-old-me had no desire for that kind of life.  Instead, I attended Baylor University and did not even consider the ROTC program there. During my junior year, the events of September 11^th, 2001—yes, I am that old—set me on the path that would ultimately lead to the Army. …

By Gage Andis

Business school is a microcosm, an advanced-degree diaspora where we’re expected to network immediately and make lifetime connections and friends. At least it starts that way, then you quickly realize how deep those links can go, how optimistic, anxious, excited and overwhelmed everyone around you is, and how optimistic we all look at the future. In this way, the military is not unlike Stern. 

I enlisted in the Air Force after a less-than-desirable semester at the local community college in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I tested and passed what’s called the “DLAB,” an exam that measures linguistic aptitude using a fictional language, so my job designation was as a Chinese linguist.…