MSG Michael N. Caldwell, U.S. Army (1994-2015)

As a Soldier parent I never wanted to pressure any of my children to join the Armed Forces. I stressed education or just a trade. My oldest son needed no persuasion. He was Army or nothing from probably around the 5th grade. When the time came for him to start the exciting process of enlisting, he was hit with an almost impassible obstacle.

When he was about seven years old he had an allergic reaction to some fish sticks that he ate. Just slight itching i the throat, but we chose to take him to the emergency room just in case. There was no treatment necessary, but the doctor prescribed an EpiPen. This EpiPen was never used and honestly forgotten about until the Army Recruiter reminded us. Instead of being a lifesaving device, this thing nearly killed my son. When the Recruiter told him that he was medically disqualified my son went into a state of depression that was extremely scary for his mother and I. We didn’t know how to help him. He didn’t have a plan B. We didn’t see this coming from anywhere. He was an athlete and in very good condition. He got good grades. He scored well on the ASVAB. There had to be a way!

The Recruiter he was dealing with showed no sign of wanting to dig deeper into this situation. So that was it. I had retired about a year prior to this all taking place and felt very useless. I missed the Army at that point because I felt like I could have done something had I still been in.

About a month later I got an alert on Facebook that it was one of my old Soldiers’ birthday. This particular Soldier had served with me in Afghanistan and we had some history. I had his phone number so I texted him Happy Birthday. We chatted about life a bit and old times. I asked him what he was doing because he was still active. His answer was the beginning of my son’s future! He was a Station Commander in Arkansas at a Recruiting Station! I told him my son’s situation and his words were “I will personally get your son in the Army, Top!” Because I knew this Sergeant First Class when he was a Hard Charging Staff Sergeant. I knew he wouldn’t say something if he wasn’t going to do it. He asked for everything that my son had received from the Recruiter and went to work. He worked directly with Recruiting Command and constantly kept my son and I abreast of what was going on. My son had to go back to the doctor and take several allergy tests and pass. He had to bring fish and eat it in front of the doctor to ensure the allergy no longer existed. He passed every test and eventually was sworn in by my old Soldier. What a gift from God!

My son ended up selecting 31B (Military Police)as his MOS and attended One Station Unit Training at Fort Leanordwood, Missouri. He has had an exceptional career to this point. He has awards that did not exist while I was in. He has deployed once and has excelled in every position he has held. He is currently a Drill Sergeant at Fort Leonardwood and about to be promoted to Sergeant First Class! I am extremely proud of him and so is my old Soldier. My son did not let the hard work and effort that was put forth for him go to waste.

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