US Army-SFC Marisol Dexter

US Army-SFC Marisol Dexter

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is Talk of the Town onnews Radio with thirteen hundred and one oh
six nine FM. Steve Kelly,Brett Piketer from West Michigan's Morning News.
Sergeant first Class Marisaul Dexter is instudio with us today. Something special coming
up during Coastcard Fast when it comesto recruiting, Sergeant, thank you so
much for joining us today. Thankyou for having me so a recruiter.
We got to take a step back, though, and talk a little bit

(00:21):
about your career. You were prettyyoung when you got into the Army.
Talk to us about that decision.Correct, So, I was seventeen years
old. I was a junior inhigh school. I know everybody towards the
end of high school thinks about collegeand post secondary careers, and I knew
college was important. I had atwin sister, and I know that for
my parents that was going to bea financial burden to send two individuals to

(00:45):
college. So I talked to arecruiter. They had visited our school previously,
and I knew that they could payfor school. So I decided to
join the army to further my careeras a education major at Grand Valley State
University. Talk about your experience whenyou went through basic training and that process
started. It's always interesting to hearthe story and the connection, and I
think that's really where it kind ofmouled you into a career maybe in the

(01:10):
Army. For me, basic trainingwas tough in the sense physically, yes,
the only sport I played prior tobasic training was cheerleading. You know,
we did a lot of warm upsat that point. I was part
of the stunt group, so Iwasn't doing any heavy lifting, So physically
it was it was hard. Itwas something to get used to. But
I think also family orientation wise,I was super close to my family.

(01:33):
We had five siblings altogether, soleaving them behind was a challenge. But
when I got to Basic, Igot to know a lot of people,
made a lot of friends, andkind of created in my own family there.
So they were challenges, but Ithink there's a benefit to kind of
stepping out of your comfort zone andbeing able to make the best of the
situation that you find yourself in.Yeah, and we'll get to that financial

(01:53):
decision, as the Army then paidfor your education right at Grand Valish University.
Correct, I was actually able totake advantage of the post and I
love and GI bill tuition assistance atthat point as well, and because I
was a student not living with myparents, I was also able to take
advantage of the financial aid so pellgrants. I had a lot of things

(02:15):
paying for my school. I didnot have to take out any loans.
It wasn't until my last year incollege that I took out a student loan
to travel abroad, and the Armyactually paid back ten thousand dollars of that.
So wow, that's in cross.So many kids just jump into college
and they don't know why they're there, And just like that, Sergeant Dexter,
I want to go back to thisand again. So after basic,

(02:38):
it's advanced individual training as a combatmedic. Then you graduated from flight medic
course at Fort Rucker, then deployedin Iraq, and wow, so thank
you for your service and a bravedecision to do that. How does that
pretty specialized training then prepare you?Because now you're thinking about education and mathematics,

(02:59):
and the two don't necessarily walk handin hand in my head, but
they do in yours. Correct,So I mean I loved mathematics when I
was in high school. I believeyou know, that's something that I could
continue doing, and I thought itwas beneficial to kind of show young individuals
to learn and love mathematics just likeI did. Being deployed kind of helped
me maintain a levelhead, look atadversary and any obstacles in a calm manner.

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And I would like to say thatthat actually compares to a secondary classroom.
You know, dealing with eighth gradershigh schoolers, you have to keep
a love ahead sometimes because you knowthey are wild and have hormones, but
they do love to learn. SoI do think that there was some similarity
in that sense, and it justallowed me to teach mathematics, which is

(03:46):
something that I love to do.Great answer, Sergeant, I give you
credit. As the high school dayswere winding down, you mentioned earlier in
the interview that you talked to anArmy recruiter and kind of looked at the
vision and looked at could this besomething as an option for you? Now
you serve at the Moskegan Recruiting Centerin that same capacity, So what is
different from when you went through ittoo? Now as far as recruiting young

(04:08):
individuals into the Army, I thinkthat as an experience of speaking with a
recruiter and the information is shared withme, and now that I'm a recruiter,
I like to make sure that Igive all the information that I can
for individuals to make the right decision. I do think that I didn't ask
some questions that might have been importantwhen I was younger, just because I
knew that's something that I wanted todo, so I went straight. I

(04:30):
hadn't did that and made that decisionto join. But when individuals come to
our office, it is overwhelming,and I like to make sure that they
receive all the information they can,even if they don't have questions. I
try to make sure that I insertinformation that they may feel as important and
would like to know in the future. I also make myself available once they
graduate basic training and Advanced individual training, whether they go active duty and they're

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stationed in Hawaii or they are inthe Army Reserve and come back to Moskegan.
I make myself available to them toensure that I am still in the
process of helping them further their career. That's great, let's go back to
incentives now. You can find outmore at go Army dot com. They'll
be at the Coastguard Fest as well, representing we'll get to that, but
talk to us a little bit moreabout incentives for those that are interested in

(05:13):
finding out more information about whether acareer or time in the Army is right
for them. So as far asincentives, we have the just the normal
health insurance education BENECE like tuition assistantsthat come with serving and while you are
serving. However, by serving threeyears, you do get four years of
college paid for in the form ofthe post Montgovernment GI bill right now.
We do have special incentives where somejobs you get to pick your duty station

(05:36):
before you even leave for basic training, so you could know whether you know
Hawaii, Germany or Italy is partof your contract. We also have bonuses
depending on the job that you select, up to fifty thousand at this point,
which is a lot larger than Ireceived. I received a three thousand
dollar bonus. So there are incentivesthat can help move your decision forward.

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We also have special opportunities it's calledthe Army Preparatory Course for individuals that may
not necessarily score well on the entranceexam or have physical fitness where they need
to be. You also have thoseoptions so that you can enlist while also
working on improving your entrance exam scoreand your physical fitness. Steve Menschi,
you can start your journey and findout more Go Army dot com. That's

(06:20):
Go Army dot com. And alsothat you're going to be at the Coastguard
Festival. We love the Coastguard Festivaland Grand Heaven. Tell us about your
involvement and where you're going to be. So we are going to be in
the Coastguard Festival by the Engineer CoreBuilding. We're going to have a boxing
machine, so come test your strengthwith us. We also have a lot
of opportunity to win prizes. Weare giving away a register to win for

(06:45):
an Apple Watch as well. Wehave a competition if you would like to
compete with us. We also havea deadlift, set up pull up bar.
Come show off your strength and maybeyou can figure out if you're ready
for the Army. That's awesome answeringquestions while they're there too. Go Army
dot com. Go to the Coastguardfest. Serving out of the Moskegan Recruiting Station,
Sergeant first Class Marisol Dexter, ithas been an honor. Thank you

(07:09):
very much, thank you for havingme. I appreciate it. This is
Talk of the Town on NewsRadio withthirteen hundred and one oh six nine FM.