Teen Finds Focus In Military
(October 21, 2009) |
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Army Spc. Timothy Markle stands by an Army truck
at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, Aug.
15, 2009. He cites the military as his primary
inspiration for turning his life around by
giving him the structure, discipline and
motivation he needed. |
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CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Oct. 16, 2009 – In a
world full of choices, Army Spc. Timothy Markle, with the
628th Aviation Support Battalion, 28th Combat Aviation
Brigade, took a few wrong turns before finding his focus,
first in football, then in the military.
Markle's upbringing was unstable and he mostly was raised by
his grandmother, who remained a large influence for him
until her death.
Despite his family's frequent relocations, Markle played
defensive end at York Suburban High School in 2001 and York
High School in 2002, both in Pennsylvania. But Markle also
associated with a rough group in high school and began to
lose focus. He spent more time on the streets and less time
in school, and eventually dropped out. He felt he did not
need an education and saw no real future for himself. He
became lost, he said. |
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The turning point for Markle was when he returned to high
school at Crispus Attucks Youth Build, a charter school for
troubled teens in York, Pa. The school involves its students
in charitable work and teaches personal responsibility and a
strong work ethic. Markle worked with his classmates on home
construction projects for the poor, which taught him a
valuable and marketable trade. He remained in school and was
awarded his high school diploma in 2004.
After a two-year stint in the Navy as an aviation ordnance
specialist, working with F-18 fighter jets, Markle returned
to York in 2006 when his grandmother died.
Missing football, he tried out for a position on the York
Silver Bullets, a semi-professional football team, in 2007,
and played one season. That structure and his military
training, he said, kept him focused, on track and off the
streets.
While still playing football, Markle decided to join the
Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2007. Enlisting in the
Army meant he would have to leave football, but Markle liked
the sense of community and structure that comes with a
military life.
Markle chose to enlist as a water treatment specialist and
now is part of Company A, 628th Aviation Support Battalion,
deployed here where he works with fellow soldiers providing
fuel for aircraft.
Markle said he has enjoyed his time in Iraq and feels he is
part of something bigger by doing important work for his
country. He plans to remain in the military, believing he's
finally found the perfect fit. He said he would like to
further his education and he hopes to be a pilot one day.
Markle's days of working on houses for his school have paid
off, as well. He now works in his father's construction
business, and has been getting his own business off the
ground by attracting his own customers.
Now that his life is on track, Markle said he wants to
assist young people facing the same challenges he did. At
home, he visits Crispus Attucks Youth Build to talk with
students and encourage them toward a better life. He has
found the stability of home and renewed relationships with
his parents, and the discipline and structure of the
military he loves so much, he said. When he returned home on
leave, Markle participated in the crime prevention program
National Night Out, where he protected the streets he once
saw as a hangout.
Markle said the military made him who he is today, and even
now as he finds himself in the desert of Iraq, he says he
wouldn't have it any other way. | |
Article and photo by Army Sgt. Andy Mehler
28th Combat Aviation Brigade public affairs
Special to American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
Reprinted
from American
Forces Press Service / DoD
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