JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
On Thursday morning, future soldiers took the oath. Soon, they will be heading to places they've never been before.
Timothy Holyfield of Brandon, fresh out of high school, will leave next week.
"A lot of my family was in the Army. I just wanted to improve myself, make myself better, stronger," he says.
Others have already started college. The G.I. Bill will help them finish.
"I leave in October for basic training," says Shaneese McLin of Ludlow. "I decided to join for opportunity, to better myself and my family."
"It means a lot to me. I get to fight for my country, to do stuff people never did before," says Runneal Coakley of Jackson.
NATO plans to remove its final combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, but troops are still heading overseas. The Department of Defense recently identified four units to deploy as part of an upcoming rotation of troops in that country. And there's now a shift in focus from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region.
But the recruits we talked to aren't hesitating.
"No ma'am. With God by my side, I can do anything," says Kalvin Taylor of Jackson. In a few weeks, he will head out to Fort Jackson South Carolina.
"Then I go to Virginia, Fort Lee, then Georgia for airborne training. I'm excited," he says. "To have a nice career. And I was looking forward to helping my family in the future. That's why I joined the Army."
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