Drill Sergeant Matthew Bulla, born in 1986, entered the Marine Corps and served on a response team in Iraq. He speaks a lot about the civilians he met in Iraq and how they seemed to be "two or three thousand years behind us." He explains that the war is not like how it was reported, and that the US military did a lot of good there winning the hearts of civilians and rebuilding cities.

Michelle Holmquist, inspired by her brother, enlisted in the Marine Corps in the 1990s. She said basic training was a jolt because of the huge difference from civilian life, but she loved the experience. She served in the Persian Gulf War and was stationed in Kuwait and Southeast Asia as a gunnery sergeant.

Michael Nelson served in the Marine Corps as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He describes his experience in Iraq as quite boring, and his basic training as much more lively. His greatest challenges have been adjusting back to civilian life.

James A. Love describes his service in northern Vietnam (Nang) as a part of the Marine Corps.

Nick Bailey enlisted in the Marine Corps directly after high school and went to basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He worked as a logician for 8 years and was able to travel to every continent save Antarctica. The closest thing he saw to combat was in Haiti, where they had to walk around armed because many Haitians did not want them there. He came back to the States and enrolled at ASU after his service and says the military was a very good choice for him because it gave him direction in his life.

Jeff Gordon, born September 18, 1960, served 17 and a half years in the U.S. Army (enlisting in 1979), retiring as a Veteran Sergeant First Class. He served as a cannon crewman and interrogator (Human Intelligence Collector). In the interview he talks about his career (including service in seven states, Germany, and Poland) plus the benefits for U.S. youth to see the world through military service.