 So for those of you who don't know, my name is McKenna Gott. My husband Kyle Gott was in the Air Force for six years and he decided to get out of the Air Force and now I am currently in the process of enlisting into the Air Force. I have gone to Mets, past Mets, swore in currently in the delayed entry program waiting for my job and ship date. But I figured I would finally sit down and kind of talk with you guys through my story and why I am finally joining at the age of 27. So to start from the beginning, we need to rewind to when I was about 18 years old, junior, senior in high school, living in small town, Southern Ohio. And at the time, you know, didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. I feel like a lot of people can relate to that. I knew I wanted to leave the area but I didn't know how and I just didn't know for sure. Like what I wanted to do in life. Now I had two grandfathers who were in the military and my dad was in the Army National Guard. My dad was in when I was still a kid but he got out when I was very, very young. So I didn't have anybody in the military that was around me as I was growing up. I don't know what the initial trigger was that made me decide on the military. I don't know like who it was or what it was. I had told some friends and family and I never really got a lot of support from anybody, unfortunately, which kind of sucks. I got a lot of just like, well, why would you want to do that? And I think more so in the way that I'm a petite female and they're like, you need to be this big, strong, tough guy to join the military. And I am probably the biggest people pleaser in the world. So when I have a lot of people around me not encouraging me to do something, it unfortunately like steers me away from it cause I'm like, well, I need to do what they want me to do instead of sticking with what I want to do for myself. So I still always had the desire but I would kind of like change my mind based on people around me like wanting me to do it or not. So I would still kind of mention it here and there. And finally I got to the point where I was like, okay, I'm just gonna go talk to your recruiter. So I went to Huntington, West Virginia which was the nearest recruiting station to me and my mom went up there with me and I talked to the recruiter. I did the practice as Vab and I think I did terrible on it. I feel like I got like a 34 if I remember correctly. It was really bad. And he also had to weigh me and I didn't weigh enough at the time for my height. So he told me that I needed to go home and eat some brownies. And then the next step is to get scheduled to take the ASVAB. So I got scheduled to take the ASVAB and when the day came, I had to drive two hours away to the nearest MEP station to take the ASVAB. So I drove two hours away and I go up to a door and somebody in uniform like opens the door and was like, can I help you? I'm like, yeah, I'm here to take the ASVAB. Our computer systems are down today. Do your recruiter not tell you that? And I'm like, no. And he's like, I'm sorry, you have a really terrible recruiter. After that, I had ended up finding out that I had a few medical things that I needed to get taken care of before I could be medically cleared to join the military. So I kind of stopped talking to my recruiter at the time just because I knew I had some other things that needed to get taken care of. But throughout all of this, Kyle and I were actually already talking at the time. And whenever I got medically cleared to join the military, I was kind of in this spot where it's like, do I go on with talking to the recruiter and trying to join? But then I was also debating on getting ready to start a program in school. I was wanting to take a ultrasound course that would get me an associate's degree. So it was a two year course, but the course that I wanted was actually full. There ended up being one opening in cardiac ultrasound. So I ended up just being like, you know what, I'm just gonna do that just so I could go to school for something, which is probably kind of dumb when it's not actually what I wanna go to school for, but I just felt like that's what you do. You just gotta go to school and get a degree in something. So at the time it came down to doing the two year program or Kyle and I were gonna get married and I was gonna move to Japan. We ourselves had juggled a few different options. It was like, do I get married and move with him? Or do we wait till his tour in Japan is over and then get married? But then we were like, well, what if he gets stationed overseas again and then it was pointless to wait if we already know that we're gonna get married anyway. So at the time we chose to get married and I moved to Japan with him. I probably should have mentioned timeframes as well. So all of that whole beginning part was from about 2011, 2012, when like I said I was a junior senior in high school just having the desire to join until Kyle and I were talking in 2013 and we got married in 2014. But I flew to Japan with him after we had our wedding ceremony. He was stationed in Japan for three years but I was with him for the last year and a half that he was there. Once we moved to Okinawa, Japan I still had the desire to join and I was trying to get in contact with the recruiter there and the recruiter was really difficult to get in contact with. So it was by appointment only. The recruiter's office was actually like right the side of the apartments that we were in but the recruiter was never in their office and I would try to call and I would email and finally they emailed me back and told me to like fill out a whole bunch of papers so I filled out all the papers. But also during this time Kyle and I are talking about it and he was kind of starting to be annoyed with the military already. So he would kind of question me on my decision on if I should join or not. Kyle and I are two completely different people. So in his eyes he is just trying to question me to make sure like this is the thing that I want to do but for me like when someone questions me I'm like I probably shouldn't do it then you know so he's just trying to like make sure it's the right thing and then I'm over here second guessing myself. So then I had kind of pulled away from the decision to join at the time again. So then we moved to about 2016 when we were getting ready to leave Japan to be stationed in Las Vegas. And I was like you know what? I still want to join the military. You have active duty guard and reserves and I have bounced around with joining but also like which division of the branch that I'm going to join as well. So before in West Virginia I tried talking to active duty and then in Japan was going to be active duty and then by the time we're leaving Japan getting ready to go back state side to Las Vegas I was like well if we're going back state side to Vegas I think I want to join the guard and the closest guard base to Vegas was in Phoenix, Arizona and we have family in Phoenix as well. So it just seemed like something that might work out for us and I didn't have to go active duty and we could be stationed there and then I could just do my one weekend a month. So both Kyle and I were on board with this and I had called to talk to the guard recruiter in Phoenix, Arizona while I was still in Japan cause I was like let me go ahead and call and get everything set up so when I get there like we are good to go. And then he's like, oh, like you're not here? I'm like, no, not yet. I just wanted to get everything set up so it was easier for when I got there. And he's like, yeah, we can't start this process until you're here in person. Okay, no problem. I'll just wait till we get there. So then we had moved to Las Vegas in 2016 and actually that settled for a little bit. I was still considering joining the guard in Phoenix, Arizona, but Kyle and I started talking about different things that we wanted in life and we both loved travel. If I joined the guard right now, you have to do a six year commitment with the guard and the reserves. Active duty, you have the choice of four years or six years. So we're like, okay, Kyle has already been in for four years and has two years left but then he's gonna get out and we both wanna travel but then I'm gonna have to have the commitment of coming back and doing my one weekend a month. So we got to talking about it and we're like, well, that kind of interferes with our plans because what if we're over in Europe and then I have to leave to come home and do my guard duty. And I'm just like, you know what? That's just not what I want. Both of us had our hearts set on traveling and I'm like, okay, yeah, that's the route I wanna take. I'm not gonna join. That's it, like travel is the decision that I'm making. So we were stationed in Vegas and Kyle got out of the Air Force in 2018 and we actually have fallen in love with Vegas. We bought a house there. We still own a house there that we are renting out and we were gonna travel for a bit but we were gonna travel around, do a US road trip and make our way back to Vegas which is exactly what we did. Also, if you guys have noticed the airman vision shirt I have on, if you guys wanna get any airman vision merch the link is in the description of this video if you wanna grab something for yourself. So we make our way back to Vegas after traveling around the United States. One of the main reasons of our US road trip was also to see if there was anywhere else that we wanted to live because we hadn't really experienced like a ton of other states but when we got back we're like, no, Vegas is still home to us. We absolutely love it and we decided to settle down there for a while. So I started working at Ashley Furniture and we furnished our entire home because why not if you're gonna get a discount on furniture like that's what you do. So then with us being like, this is where we're gonna live for a long time. I was like, well, why don't I go talk to a reserve recruiter because here it is like that desire inside of me I still wanted to join and now I'm like switching divisions again. I've tried active, I've tried guard but now it's time for reserves because there's a reserves base in Las Vegas. I've got to talk to a reserves recruiter. Do you have any questions for me? And I was like, yeah, I just got my Invisalign on yesterday and they were like, oh yeah, you can't join with Invisalign. So with this being said, like technically you can but you also have to wait. Basically if you have Invisalign you can start the process of joining but you have to get a letter from your orthodontist stating the date that you're going to have them removed because you have to have them removed before you ship out to basic training. So for me, that wasn't really in the cards because I had just gotten them on the day before. And I was so frustrated because I'm like, why couldn't I have come to talk to the recruiter like the day before I got my Invisalign on because if everything would have went well with them like maybe I would have held off on my Invisalign because I already had like a year commitment to my Invisalign and I'm like, man, this just sucks. So I didn't continue with talking to the reserve recruiter at the time. Kyle and I are at the house and we got to talking again about how we were not done traveling and we both would be willing to travel some more. So we're like, okay, do we want to like take some vacations or would we be willing to kind of like uproot our life and move again? And we're both like, yeah, yeah, we would move again. That's fine. So Kyle is like, I can put my resume out on some of these contracting sites because he was out of the Air Force but there are job opportunities all over for the job that he had in the Air Force to do as a civilian contractor. So he put his resume out and we had gotten offers like that same week from places all over but we ended up choosing Huntsville, Alabama because the pay was good and the cost of living was low and the area is really nice. So a few months after furnishing our house, we had to sell all of our brand new furniture and we moved to Huntsville, Alabama and we were still paying off the furniture that we had just gotten for our house. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. We're crazy. Our life is always changing. Then we're in Huntsville, Alabama. The year is 2020. And I still haven't joined the military but of course, I'm still thinking about it. So we initially were planning on being in Huntsville for about a year but then Kyle's like, well, I might go to school and if I go to school, I don't wanna wait till we go somewhere else. I might just go to school here. So then we're like, okay, well, if you go to school we're probably gonna be here for like three years. And then I'm like, well, if that's the case if we're gonna be here longer and I still wanna join the military then why don't I talk to the guard recruiter here in Huntsville, Alabama. And by this point, Kyle and I had talked about me joining again and we were both on the same page with it and he was so supportive and it was really encouraging to me because like before when we were back in Japan and he would question me like, like I'm thinking that he wasn't supporting it when he's like, no, I was I just wanted to make sure that you were doing it. But like this time, like this go around, I like felt it. I'm like, he is on board with this and I was on board with this, which is just exciting because of course, when you're in a marriage you need to consider like the best options for your family as well. So we're both finally on the same page and he was thinking about going to school and I'm like, okay, let me talk to the guard recruiter. So I talked to the guard recruiter here in Huntsville, Alabama for a little bit, things were going okay but throughout that time, Kyle and I were also talking about the options of guard and active duty and we're like, you know what? We both would be willing to kind of up and move again. I know like we're all over the place and things there is always changing and it's crazy. So I'm like, okay. So I stopped talking to the guard recruiter and I'm like, let me talk to the active recruiter and he was kind of going back and forth on like going to school or not but then he decided to get his license to be a mortgage broker and then we know somebody who's in that field who actually had offered him a job and he's like, I could do that job remotely. So if you go active duty, like I could still do that if I chose to. So we're like, all right, here we go. We've been married for seven years. I'm 27 years old and we wanna start a family in the future as well. And that's another reason why I'm like finally doing this because I want to, if I'm gonna join, I wanna join before I have kids. Not that people can't, like people have kids and join the military all the time but personally for me, I'm like if I have kids, like I don't want to leave to go to basic training and tech school and all of that. And I think it would just like prolong me joining even more and then like I might not end up doing it and I knew I would have that regret deep in my soul if I didn't do it. So I'm like, all right, I am going to give it my all this time and follow through because if by some chance something happens and the answer is no and I can't join then okay, I know my answer is no and I can move forward from there because like I finally got my answer. I called the recruiter and he set up an appointment with me two days later. I walk in and I was like, here's all my papers. And he's like, all right, let's get you set up to take the ASVAB and MEPs. So I had my appointment with the recruiter. I got my Invisalign off the week after that and I went to MEPs the week after that and took my ASVAB and passed MEPs and swore in on January 15th, 2021. So I finally have my answer of yes, McKenna, you can join the military and your spouse is supporting you to do so or both on the same page. We just, I mean, it's just fun like being able to have the flexibility to kind of up and go. And we just want to take advantage of that while we can. And I decided to sign a four year contract because Kyle was in for six years and about his like three or four mark, he had already decided like he wanted to get out. And like this whole time people were like, if he joined and he didn't like it and he got out like, why are you joining? But it's like, his experience is not my experience. So like how is that fair to even give me that compare? And I'm like, I will join and have a completely different experience. Like I may join and hate it, but then guess what? I can do my four years and get out and I can be like, you know what, I finally did it. Or I may do my four years and be like, you know what? This really works out for our family dynamic and I love my job and I'll sign another contract and we're gonna keep going with this life. But if I never try, then I'm never gonna have the opportunity to make that decision. I'm always gonna have the regret of not doing it and not fully trying to go all the way through with it. So I would rather join and do four years and not like it and get out and have the satisfaction of saying like, okay, I did it. Like proving it to myself and everybody else who didn't believe in me and didn't support me. Also just making everybody who does support me really proud. I'm excited for that. I'm excited to make myself proud with the decision because a lot of times in my life I've not joined because other people didn't want me to. And then like, I'm the one who is left like feeling sad and feeling regret. Like everybody else who didn't support me isn't feeling that like they're just telling me not to and then I listened to them and then I'm the one who's sad about it instead of like being confident enough to be like, you know what, I'm gonna do this for me. But I'm finally at that point Kyle is on board and we're both just really excited for me to finally have this opportunity and we're just excited to find out what my job's gonna be and where we're gonna be stationed and just whatever happens with the future. You know, I might do four years and get out and I might do four years and sign another contract. Who knows? Only Kyle will tell and we will be documenting all of that on this YouTube channel. Kyle documented his experience while he was in and then now I get to have the opportunity to document my experience and share with everybody else and hopefully encourage those of you out there who have not been supported or just even thinking about doing it, like do this for you. Don't let anybody else tell you not to if it's what you wanna do, do it. As long as, like especially if you're married, as long as your spouse is on board with it and it works out for your family, you know. But if it is something you wanna do and your spouse isn't on board at the time, like keep talking about it, keep having the conversation with them about it because when you first bring it up, it might be unexpected for them and it's kind of like, oh no, like let's not do that. That doesn't sound like a good idea. But the more you talk about it, they might realize like, okay, they really wanna do this, like let's see how we can make it work. And I mean, there's benefits for your whole family with you joining the military. So that is my story of why I am finally joining at 27. Hopefully this encouraged those of you who are wanting to join. And I do wanna mention those of you who are still watching, if you want to become a channel member, it really helps us out as low as 199. It helps support us. And it's just like the tiniest amount. We have different tiers that you can join and you get a special rank by your name. And the longer you're a channel member, your emoji changes and ranks up over time, which is really cool. And you also have access to special emojis that you can use in the comment section and also on the live streams. They're unique only to channel members. And those of you who just want to support our channel, it would help us out so much and we would really appreciate it. But hopefully you guys enjoyed this video and I'll see you in another one.