When Adam Dew was a kid, he had the same ideas of what he would do when he grew up that other kids had: pilot, astronaut.
But Adam’s father was a Marine, and Adam had heard about the Corps his entire life.
“The Marine recruiter was different. I got the feeling that they expected more from me than the other services did,” said Dew.
Adam Dew enlisted in the Marine Corps before his senior year of high school, and was on a waiting list until graduation. He graduated on June 1, and flew out of Jacksonville to basic training five days later.
Now 21, he served a year on active duty as a communications specialist, and returned to St. Johns County to go the University of North Florida to study computer science. He wants to be a programmer. He’s a part-time employee at one of the large supermarket chains.
His military service gives him a perspective on college that’s a little different from most other students his age.
“It gives me a more respectful attitude,” he explained. “I might not have been able to go to college without the military support. I think I appreciate it more than the average student does.
Adam is engaged to get married, although his fiancée and he will wait until he graduates in two years. Where they’ll live after that is undecided.
“I think we’ll leave the are. There are more opportunities in other places,” he said.
But a lot of Adam Dew’s plans are tentative, because he’s one phone call away from rejoining the Marines. He joined the reserves after his year of active duty.
“If things blow up in some other country, I could get a call to report in as soon as 24 hours," he said. "They tell us to keep our gear packed and waterproofed. We practice that readiness during reserve weekends and the week each year.”
