Name: Joshua Rivera
Major: Adolescence/Special Education English
Year: Junior
Hometown: East Meadow
Relationship status: In a relationship
What branch are you? (Army, Navy, Airforce, ect.) “Army.”
Are you a Veteran or are you an Active Duty Solider? “I am a Veteran.”
Do you or have you lived on base? “When I was stationed state side, I always lived on base. I sometimes stayed at my friends house off base, but that was when I wanted to get away.”
Have you ever been deployed? “Yes, I was deployed to Southeast Iraq and the Amarah Province for a little over 12 months.”
What was it like to be deployed? “People always ask me how the weather was over there. The temperatures varied from as high as 125 degrees to as low as 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say I lived in both extremely hot weather and cold weather. Where I was stationed, for the first few months we were limited on our supply of food, running water, bathrooms and sleeping arrangements. I was not until a few months into my tour that we recieved some of these amenities.”
Do you still keep in touch with friends from the Army? “I don’t keep in touch with my friends from the Army, I keep in touch with my brothers from when I was in the Army.”
What made you want to join the Army? “I joined the military because I wanted to travel the world and do something different with my life. I needed a change in the scenery because it felt as if I were doing the same things over and over every day.”
If you never joined the Army what would you see yourself doing? “Well I will start by saying that I was not a bad kid growing up. I had a rough upbringing. I was in the foster care system until I was 13 years old. Before I got adopted, I bounced around from foster home to foster home all across Long Island. When I was in high school, I played football full time and worked. If I was not at work or working out then you’d find me studying. If I didn’t join the Army, I’d probably be playing football at Maritime College because they had offered me a full scholarship to play there.”
What made you decide to not re-enlist? “It was not my choice to not re-enlist, I sustained some injures when I was deployed. Otherwise, I would have stayed in the Army until it was time for me to retire.”
Do you have and funny stories about things that has happened on base? “Hmm… well, one day when I got off a 24 hour shift, my friend Brenden knocks on my apartment door to use my shower but I was ignoring the door because I was so tired. He continued to bang on my door so I finally opened the door and he and my other friend Watson were standing there. Watson then screamed “First, we’re sour!” then they blew a horn in my face and then he said “Then we’re sweet!” and then they handed me a balloon that said ‘I love you’.”
Is it true that when you join the Army, you gain a family? “Absolutely, when we are training everyday day in and day out doing field training expierences together, we get to know one another real well. We train with the same group of people for months and months and we just become close. You fight not for yourselves, but for your brothers and sisters along side you. It’s a brotherhood.”
Did you ever recieve one of those care packages or letters from elementary school children? If so how did that make you feel? “I did recieve free care packages when I was overseas. I forgot the name of the school but it was located in Levittown. It made me feel very appreciative. When I returned home from Iraq, I went to the school to surprise the kids, and it was a great surprise.”