A little bit about me

Hello one and all...Well its a cold February night in Albany, NY. I am a little tired but I wanted to start my blog tonight to reflect on what I have been up to the last few months. For those who know me, you will know some of this already. For those who dont know me, here is a little about me. My name is Glenn Read. I was born in August 1964 (which makes me 41 years old.) I was born in Texas and moved with my family (my father was in the military) to upstate NY in about 1966. There I grew up and graduated High School in 1982. Noone in my family ever went to college before me, so I was convinced that the only thing I should do out of school was to join the Army. After all, this is what my father did and two of my brothers. So in the summer of 1983 I joined the Army and did my Basic and Advance Individual Training in Ft. Jackson SC. After that I went to Ft Hood Texas to begin my 2 year stint. Duty was good there but I was young and missed home. So I applied for a State Side Swap (with a soldier who was stationed at Ft. Drum, NY near my home town (Watertown). I finished my active duty in August 1985. Right after I left active duty, I was assigned to the 479th Engineer Battalion (Army Reserves). For the next 10 years, I served in the Reserves and was promoted to E-6. My various jobs included Administrative Specialist, Legal Specialist, and finally, Retention/Reenlistment NCO. But for reasons I can't fully explain, I decided not to reenlist in the Reserves in 1995 after serving for over 12 years. I have always regretted this decision. Well as it turns out, I ended up going to college after all, with Army money and student loans. The Army money dried up quickly, but the student loans are still with me. I have a BA in Political Science and almost a MA as well. I am working on getting that taken care of as well. I have had many jobs (mostly non-profit) over the last 20 years. The last 7 I have been the Director of Community Centers for people with HIV/AIDS. I will be leaving that position in a few days. So anyway, back in October I get a call from SFC Bernardo a Recruiter for the NY Army National Guard. I had visited a web site to inquire about rejoining the Army and to finish what I had started 23 years ago. I told him that I was busy at the moment and ask him to call me back. He did (a month later). My first statement to him was "What will the Army want with a 41 year old, fat guy like me?" He laughed and told me to come see him. So I did. Well in that first meeting I told him I thought I was too fat. So he weighed me and as it turns out I was 33 pounds overweight! He was supportive though and told me that he would start working with me. This was mid-November. Because there was an over 10 year break in service I needed a full physical and to take the ASVAB again. I took that test and scored higher then I had ever done. But the problem was the weight. I had to get back to 176 (my max weight for my age and height). I was at 209. Realistically, I was looking at late spring/early summer before I could enlist. But, I was motivated and so I went to work. Each week, SFC Bernardo had me back to weigh me. Each week I lost about 4 pounds. I was dieting and exercising everyday. But its not easy losing weight when you have Thanksgiving, Holiday Parties, Christmas, New years, ect. But somehow...I did it. On January 12th, I had my physical and I weighed an even 176! One week later, I was sworn in. So after over 10 years, I am proud to say...I'm a soldier again!