Why I Serve: Soldier Re-Enlists for Country, Honor

By Linda A. Jeleniewski
Special to American Forces Press Service

AYER, Mass., Aug. 23, 2004 – "I once saw this special on television that stated for every one soldier serving, that soldier protects 80,000 civilians. I am the defender and protector of 80,000 civilians," stated Army Staff Sgt. Jamie A. Delmolino, personnel specialist with the 94th Regional Readiness Command.

"There's no better honor than to serve the public defending our country," says Army Staff Sgt. Jamie A. Delmolino, personnel specialist in the 94th Regional Readiness Command in Ayer, Mass. Photo by Linda Jeleniewski (Click photo for screen-resolution image); high- resolution image available.

Delmolino, 34, with a total of 10 years in the military, called his recent re- enlistment "a big honor." The former mechanized infantryman served active duty in Korea and at Fort Hood, Texas, between 1993 and 1997. Then, he was an intelligence analyst in an Army Reserve unit in Byron, Texas.

Today, Delmolino is a member of the Active Guard/Reserve – that is, he's on full-time active duty or full-time National Guard duty to provide support to the reserve component. He's been with the 94th command since September.

"The country needs us, and there's no better honor than to serve the public defending our country," said Delmolino. "I love the Army … I love it to death.

"There is no better place to be part of a team, no better place to grow morally and ethically," continued Delmolino. "There is no better place to be in this country, at this time, especially when the military needs you."

After college and before his military service, Delmolino said, his friends in the Boston area considered a military career, but did not follow him down that path. "Right now," he explained, I make more money than them, have full health benefits and an excellent retirement to look forward to."

If asked to mobilize, Delmolino emphatically stated, "Yes, of course I'd go. I'm from the old school, the old philosophy of giving all that you can, without being asked all the time."

(Linda A. Jeleniewski works in the 94th Regional Readiness Command Public Affairs Office.)

	Army Staff Sgt. Jamie A. Delmolino, personnel specialist, takes the re-enlistment oath from Maj. Kurt O'Rourke in the 94th Regional Readiness Command's retention office. Photo by Linda Jeleniewski Delmolino
	High resolution photo

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