Young
Not everyone has a plan after graduation or knows what they want to do as a career once they walk across the stage.
Whatever the circumstance may be that leaves someone undecided on their future, Staff Sgt. Marcus Young is here to help.
Young is a new U.S. Air Force recruiter covering the southern region of the state and is ready to make connections throughout many communities.
Based in Clarksville, Young has around 18 schools, including Seymour and Brownstown Central high schools, that he will serve in providing information and opportunities for those interested in joining the Air Force.
“I’m here to make connections and get familiar with the area as well as share the amazing opportunities we have,” he said.
Since arriving in Indiana in March after spending 11 years on the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as a heavy equipment operator, Young has spent the last two months in training as a recruiter and visiting students before the school year ended.
With summertime in full effect, he is looking forward to getting involved in local events throughout the county and meeting others in the community.
“I just want to get involved in the community as well as spread my information and be available to those who may need me,” he said.
Young was considered an “army brat” as he was born in Landstuhl, Germany, in 1985 while his mother, Geri Young-Duran, served her time in the U.S. Army.
“I remember waking up early in the morning and her taking me and my brother, David, to day care so she could work,” he said. “I got to experience Army life with her.”
Immediately after he was born, the family moved to Delaware for a short period of time, then North Carolina, then back to Germany, only this time to Stuttgart when he was in first grade.
Not long after Germany, the family shipped off to Texas, and then finally Columbia, Maryland.
“I usually tell people I am from Maryland because it was the last place I was at before I entered the Air Force,” he said.
Besides Young’s mother serving in the military, his brother is still serving in the Army and has been for around five years.
The strong presentation of military service, however, doesn’t stop there within his family.
His uncle that he has always called “Uncle Terrel” served in the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years, and his aunt, Crystal Terrel, served in the Navy for 13 years.
With all of his family representing almost every branch of the military, he decided the Air Force would be a good option.
Although most would think Young would enlist into the Air Force right out of high school, he didn’t. He decided to try the workforce before making the commitment to the military.
After a few years at a Cinnabon store, five years as a barista in a bookstore and two years as a UPS driver, he knew he wasn’t happy and wanted something different.
At the time he went to the recruiter, he was 26, and the age cutoff to enlist in the Air Force was 28.
After removing a part of a tattoo on his chest as a requirement before officially enlisting and completing basic training the day before his 28th birthday, Young was officially part of the Air Force.
He said some branches are more lenient when it comes to tattoos showing through uniforms, but every branch has a different standard.
“When we wear our Air Force blues, they do not want to see any tattoos peeking out of the chest area because it makes us look a little unprofessional,” he said.
Young paid $600 to get the tattoo partially removed with the intention to touch it back up later on in life.
“I was very committed to being in the Air Force, so it didn’t really deter me from joining,” he said.
Soon, he was sent out to Vandenberg Space Force Base, a space launch and missile testing base, in California to begin work as a heavy equipment operator.
During his service in California, Young was no stranger to countless wildfires and battling flames in the area.
As one of the “dirt boys,” Young was the eyes and ears of the bulldozer operator, guiding them through the fire line cutting and remaining vigilant of all potential hazards.
“I was considered a swamper and hiked a lot,” he said. “I believe we were the only fire dozer team in all of Air Force.”
During his service in California, Young experienced many dangerous occurrences as he and his team battled constant flames.
His most recent fire call was when a rocket that was launched went up in the air and began to do figure eights before it came crashing down to the ground, erupting in fire and flames in the surrounding area.
“I probably hiked from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. that day,” he said.
Young also remembers a time in 2016 when a fire erupted on the south side of the base unexpectedly.
“I remember being told to move because the fire was heading in our direction,” he said. “The wind was strong that day that even the dozer had a hard time stopping the flames from spreading.”
Young said he will never forget seeing flames as high as 20 feet in the air before the team was able to control the almost catastrophic situation.
With the mission accomplished, Young and others involved in putting out the fire were acknowledged at the Pentagon for preventing a fire from burning the area of the launch facility that contained massive amounts of fuel.
During Young’s 11 years in California, he was deployed twice to different areas of the Middle East. He said he enjoyed his deployments as they felt like mini-vacations to him.
During one of his deployments, Young was able to revisit his birthplace as an adult and see how life was for his mother raising children and still actively serving her country.
“My mother was a single parent and inspired me throughout my military career,” he said. “She was the one that encouraged me to join the Air Force.”
Young said his purpose with this new recruiter position is to help others find opportunities within the military that best suit them.
“We are looking for people that are highly motivated, looking to grow and wanting to help others,” he said.
Young said many individuals after serving in the military become marketable in other fields.
“Let’s say a kid wants to become a firefighter or a police officer. Well, in the state of Indiana, you have to be the age of 21 to join,” he said. “If they serve in the military and when they come out, they will be marketable to those areas because they learn aspects of the trade while in the military. Once they are out, the police or fire station will hire a military person no problem because they have the necessary training.”
Young hopes to be a guiding force for high school students who are undecided about their plans after high school.
“There are plenty of people that just don’t know what they want to do outside of high school, and that is perfectly fine,” he said. “I didn’t know, either, so we just want to provide information of this opportunity.”
Young said serving in the Air Force is great for those wanting to learn new things and follow their goals of traveling, helping others and even following educational passions.
“Air Force is the only branch right now that has a community college that was established in 1972,” he said. “We don’t send people to the college, but they are automatically enrolled when they go to basic training, so that opportunity is there for them.”
The age limit to enlist in the Air Force has since changed, ranging from 17 to 39 to be eligible to join. Young said he not only plans to reach out to high school students but even individuals who have already graduated.
While joining the military can be a serious and even scary commitment, Young uses a quote by American Jazz musician Les Brown that inspires him when he feels discouraged about new opportunities.
“If you do what is easy, then your life will be hard, but if you do what is hard, your life will be easy,” he said. “A job in the military might be hard or scary, but in the long run, I think it helps people build character.”
As a messenger for the Air Force, Young looks forward to meeting those in the community interested in this opportunity and looks forward to meeting students in the fall.
Anyone interested or with questions regarding joining the Air Force may contact Young at 812-989-2749.