I wonder how many of us can look back over our careers and say, “It was the best job of my life.”
Would such an admission come at the beginning, middle or end of a working life? How about being able to say this in your early twenties? Probably not, not unless you’ve served in the military.
I’ve often heard veterans remark about the camaraderie and training in the service. In the last five years, I’ve met many veterans at Naperville GI Yoga (free for vets and their families). One of them, Bob Tallon, told me that one of his military jobs was the “best job of his life.”
Bob joined the Air Force in the early 1960s, before the Vietnam draft and specialized in Electronic Intelligence. In Turkey during the height of the Cold War, Bob worked with officers and chiefs, but he was the one in charge of more than 60 men. That’s the military for you. If you have the aptitude, knowledge, and maturity, you get leadership responsibilities, even if you’re just a high school graduate.
When asked what he did, he responded, “If I tell you, I have to kill you.”
I laughed, yet I knew he was serious – in a way.
After active duty, Bob used the GI Bill to further his education. And he got a job that brought him to Naperville 33 years ago.
At 19, Bob wanted more and the military gave him that and a passion for learning. Years later, he encouraged his son to learn Turkish. James Tallon is now a distinguished expert on the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans and a professor at Lewis University.
I’m sure that teenage Bob had no idea that his military career would lead to his best job and a future son who would be inspired by his dad’s military experience.
