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FORWARD OPERATING BASE FENTY, Afghanistan (12/26/2012) – When it
comes to joining the military, the decision can be easier for some
than it is for others. For U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Dollar, a native to Yakima,
Wash., the decision wasn't too hard at all.
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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Dollar, from Yakima, Wash.,
smiles after having completed outgoing fire training with 120mm
mortars Dec. 2, 2012, at FOB Joyce, Afghanistan. Dollar is a gunnery
sergeant with Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery
Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and is
currently a mortar crew member with 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry
Regiment, 1st BCT at Joyce. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jon Heinrich,
Task Force 1-101 PAO)
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“I joined the
Army because I wanted to get out of the town that I was in, and, you
know, I was trying to look at something for a career to kind of help
me advance my education,” Dollar said.
A single soldier,
Dollar stated that most of his family is back home in Yakima, with
his dad and sister living in Modesto, Calif.
Dollar joined
the Army July 2003, and is a gunnery sergeant with Battery A, 2nd
Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team,
101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. He is currently
working with 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment (No Slack), 1st
BCT at FOB Joyce, Afghanistan, as a mortarman.
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“I just love what I do, the camaraderie, and taking care
of soldiers. I got in, and got myself into a role and a
position that I like and I've just been sticking with it
ever since.”
Dollar attended basic training at Fort
Sill, Okla., and since then has been stationed at 2nd Bn.,
82nd FAR, 3rd BCT, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas,
and as a recruiter for Seattle Battalion, 6th Brigade U.S.
Army Recruiting Command, before arriving to his current
battalion in December 2011.
Dollar also
mentioned that although he was selected to be a recruiter,
he still enjoyed his job and bringing soldiers into the
Army.
“A lot of them, I definitely targeted probably
the younger kids, but I wanted to show them there's a way to
get a better education and just not do the same things in
the same town that you were doing, and show them that it was
a good way,” he said. “I made a good decision and I just
wanted to pass it on.”
Even though he is no longer a
recruiter, Dollar says he still uses the tools he learned as
a recruiter to convince Soldiers to stay in the Army.
“Well it's just, you know, everything I do on a daily
basis: trying to take care of your soldiers, trying to teach
them and show them how to advance their career, maybe help
them with their careers and just show them a good time, show
them that this is good; these help take care of your
families and if this is what you like to do, then do it,” he
said.
“I like this battalion, it's a nice battalion,
I have fun with it,” he said. “I would have no problem
staying with the battalion, but at the same time I don't
mind moving either. I don't mind traveling and getting some
more knowledge and just, you know, meeting new faces and
going out there and seeing new places.”
“I'm gonna do
at least 20 years, but someday when I'm a sergeant major
maybe I'll do more,” said Dollar. “I'm staying Army, I'm a
lifer.”
By Army Sgt. Jon Heinrich
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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