00:00:00KATE DAHLSTRAND: Today is Tuesday, July 25th, 2017. This is Kate Dahlstrand getting ready to interview Stephen-- If you could just give me your full name and what branch of service you served in, the dates of your service--
00:00:17STEPHEN THOMPSON: My name is Stephen James Thompson. I served from 2010 and still current. I have one year left on my contract. So it's--
00:00:27DAHLSTRAND: Okay. So what branch are you in?
00:00:30THOMPSON: Army National Guard.
00:00:32DAHLSTRAND: Okay, okay.
00:00:33THOMPSON: Alabama National Guard actually-- So I actually travel. Really?
00:00:37DAHLSTRAND: Really?
00:00:37THOMPSON: Really? Yes.
00:00:39DAHLSTRAND: Okay. So, big question right off the bat-- What was happening in 2010 that made you join the military?
00:00:46THOMPSON: Well, my-- Every male on my dad's side of the family has been in the service. So I just kind of felt obligated to do it-- But I originally signed up to pay for college actually. That was my intent of signing up.
00:00:59DAHLSTRAND: And what kind of-- What's your MOS? What do you do?
00:01:04THOMPSON: 56 MICA, Religious Affairs Specialist.
00:01:07DAHLSTRAND: Okay. So talk a little bit about why you chose that.
00:01:14THOMPSON: Well-- actually at the time of signing up-- I was actually really religious. I was kind of doing a guest speaker at churches and stuff like that. So at the time I was very vocal and preaching at places. You know, ever since I've joined the military, that's kind of changed.
00:01:31DAHLSTRAND: Okay. Is that-- Is this the same-- Did your father do this as well? Or were you the first to--
00:01:36THOMPSON: No, my dad was a tank mechanic. And my grandfather-- this as far as I know-- I think was just a grunt. So that was-- That's as far as I know.
00:01:47DAHLSTRAND: Okay. So you mentioned that things changed over the course of your military career?
00:01:52THOMPSON: Yeah, I just realized you can't-- You can't talk to people the same way in the military as you do in the civilian world. And so you can't kind of-- One of the regulations-- You can't push religion like you can here in the civilian world. So that kind of ultimately changed the way I thought about it.
00:02:03DAHLSTRAND: Okay, so give me some examples of the differences between spreading the word--
00:02:09THOMPSON: Right. Well, for one, being in the military-- You get a sense of more of an open mind. So I get a preview of all different types of religions, not just the one I believe in. So that kind of helped, for one, open my mind to saying, "Oh, okay, this is-- this is different. I can't push a certain religion because not everyone believes the same religion as I do." So that was kind of the big, big change for me.
00:02:39DAHLSTRAND: Okay. So you think that the change that you experienced in the military is a positive?
00:02:44THOMPSON: Right, right. Very positive.
00:02:45DAHLSTRAND: How well did your-- And I guess you've kind of already answered this a little bit-- But how well did your expectations of your job meet your actual occupation?
00:03:01THOMPSON: Well, it was different because my job has two different worlds to it. The over here side-- you know, stateside job-- and then the overseas job. Two different worlds. Over here, there's not a whole lot for me to do, to be honest. I mean, I still help out the chaplain, church services, and all that-- religious services, actually. And kind of help with admin stuff over here.
00:03:26THOMPSON: But overseas, it was a totally different monster. I was working with Air Force to help bring back bodies that have passed. And so I actually got to coordinate a lot with Air Force of travel. I was with a signal unit in Alabama when I deployed in 2011 to '12.
00:03:46DAHLSTRAND: 2011 and '12-- Where did you go?
00:03:48THOMPSON: Afghanistan. The Kandahar Providence was where I was mainly stationed. But being with a signal unit, they were spread out through all four corners of Afghanistan. And so my job was to, like say, coordinate with Air Force to get us traveled to go see all of our people.
00:04:04THOMPSON: Because not everyone had the opportunity to get religious help-- I guess-- Or just have someone just to sit there and talk to them-- Especially these little FOBs out in the middle of nowhere. There's only like 20 people at most. And so it was nice to go out and see folks. And then-- Like I said, the big part was bringing back the people that have passed over. We had--
00:04:28DAHLSTRAND: So would you fly with the remains into Dover?
00:04:31THOMPSON: No. I would not. We would set up-- One, I would get it all coordinated. But then we would set up at the base for them to go. And they would fly with however we could. We had 24 hours to notify a family back home. And luckily, I didn't have that job of knocking on doors. But then we had--
00:04:50DAHLSTRAND: Was that-- So the people who knock on doors, is that your MOS?
00:04:54THOMPSON: No. That is-- Usually like a command will do that. But then I had 72 hours to have that body back home stateside. And so that was a tricky part because as soon as we got notified, it was a rush to get them home. And so a lot of times, of course, that has priority.
00:05:11THOMPSON: So it wasn't too bad. But a lot of times, you know-- You really just didn't have nobody around to send somebody back home. So a lot of times at like two, three, four in the morning-- We're-- We're sending folks off. So it was-- It was a great job, but a lot of sleepless nights.
00:05:28DAHLSTRAND: Right. So everyone's military experience is a little bit different. Give me a typical day in the life in the theater of operations.
00:05:38THOMPSON: Well, like I said-- That was a typical day for overseas. Um, stateside, like I said-- There's not really a whole lot. I'm with a command unit now out of Alabama. And they've-- They're huge. And I mean, usually a unit only has one chaplain and one chaplain assistant-- or religious affairs specialist now. But this one has four chaplains and five assistants.
00:06:00THOMPSON: And so, it's kind of much more broad picture. The unit I'm at now works with the whole North of America. And so, if anything happens here in North America-- They're kind of the first to respond for logistics and getting the who, what, where, when, and how out the door within so many hours.
00:06:19DAHLSTRAND: Okay. Are you planning on staying in the Alabama National Guard?
00:06:25THOMPSON: I am not. I recently made that decision to want to get out. So this is my last year. I was going to stay if some of the new benefits-- A new Alabama law kind of passed that was going to help out for education wise. But it just didn't fulfill the needs that I needed to meet. And so that was the only thing that was gonna keep me in-- was gonna be an education benefit. But it's not. So, I mean--
00:06:54DAHLSTRAND: Okay. As you reflect upon your military service, what experiences best capture or exemplify your time in the military?
00:07:04THOMPSON: The camaraderie. Definitely just-- It helped me-- like I said-- have a more open mind-- not to be so narrow minded towards things, not to be bothered by such things. But definitely being in the military has helped me keep an open mind. And definitely put a better head on my shoulder.
00:07:21DAHLSTRAND: There are a lot of public misperceptions about the military. Is there a misperception that you wish specifically to help future generations understand?
00:07:35THOMPSON: Not really-- cause everyone's gonna have their point of view no matter what. That's one thing I've also learned in the military: You can't change someone's point of view. I mean, you can show them yours and give them facts or information or whatever. But people aren't gonna change their mind. And that's what I've come to notice. So people are gonna think bad or good about the military-- just depends on who it is.
00:07:55DAHLSTRAND: Okay, okay. And so, because you're a National Guard-- Let's talk about when you got home from Afghanistan. What was your transition back into civilian life like?
00:08:10THOMPSON: Oh God, it was horrible. Okay. Why?
00:08:12DAHLSTRAND: Okay. Why?
00:08:12THOMPSON: Okay. Why? I mean, it's just-- I don't wanna-- You know-- Being around military folks for a whole year and then coming back to civilian world-- I kinda got-- I was very angry when I got back just because people just weren't the same as military people. So, I had to take a little bit of time to kinda adapt back into the civilian world.
00:08:32DAHLSTRAND: What do you mean by that?
00:08:34THOMPSON: It was just-- Ignorance. A lot more ignorance on the civilian side. And so a lot of things was just kinda like, "Oh, why are people doing this?"
00:08:44DAHLSTRAND: Ignorant about what?
00:08:46THOMPSON: Just the way they work, think, and all that. And so-- The military, you know, we have the ranking structure. And that's-- You go by what you need to-- have to do. No matter what, you get it done. It's not that way in the civilian world, you know. At first it just took me time. I had to keep reminding myself, "This isn't the military. This is civilian world here." And so--
00:09:08DAHLSTRAND: Do you think that-- Did you notice that sort of-- Do you think you would have noticed that if you hadn't deployed? Do you think that--
00:09:17THOMPSON: No, no. I wouldn't have noticed. Just because, like I said-- I was over there for a year. So I kind of got adapted to a routine. And that was my way of life for a while.
00:09:26DAHLSTRAND: Do you appreciate the structure that the military provides you?
00:09:30THOMPSON: Yes. Yes. A lot less complaining. [Laughing]
00:09:35DAHLSTRAND: Well-- So-- When you came to UGA, was this always the plan? How did you end up here?
00:09:41THOMPSON: It wasn't-- I mean, it was always a dream. But it wasn't the plan. When I first got back from overseas, I went to a little small technical school-- just to kind of knock out some core classes, or whatever. It wasn't my original intent to go to college. I thought I was going to be in the military for a career.
00:09:59THOMPSON: But then, I kind of got back. I was like, "Okay, I need to get some college time under my belt-- use these benefits I have." So I went to a technical school for my freshman year, which ended up taking two years unfortunately-- just because I was working full time and only taking two to three classes at most. So I went from there, transferred to a slightly bigger school out at Carrollton, Georgia-- West Georgia University.
00:10:23THOMPSON: And from there, I was like, "Okay, this is where I'm going to stay at." Now, I always had the dream of coming here. And so I gave it a shot just to see what would happen. And I applied and got accepted. But it wasn't my intent because at the time, the GI Bill benefits wasn't paying me as much as in Carrollton. Their BH rate was a lot higher than here. And so I was like, "Okay, I just can't-- I can't make ends meet being here."
00:10:50THOMPSON: Well, just past-- I guess-- a year or two, that increased. And so, it just happened to work out that-- You know, I could have all my bills paid for and everything taken care of while I was here. And then, they had a focus in my degree-- which I'm a computer science major-- So they had an emphasis in cyber security, which is what I wanted to do. And so that kind of also opened up that door-- and, you know-- just kind of reminded me-- Go follow your dream. Now that everything's taken care of, go follow your dream. And get it done here. And so, that's what led me here to UGA.
00:11:25DAHLSTRAND: So-- National security, computers-- What's the long-term goal here? What's your end game?
00:11:35THOMPSON: A defensive hacker for the government would be the ultimate goal. That's of course a high goal. It's possible, yes. But I would take any kind of security, head a private contractor, anything like that.
00:11:50DAHLSTRAND: Is that something that you had thought about, you know, in 2009?
00:11:54THOMPSON: No. My first-- When I first started going to college, I was actually an accounting major. I got, I think, two or three classes into it and realized this isn't what I wanted to do. This is going to take too long because I realized I only had three years worth of benefits and-- You know, accounting's kind of-- You need to get your CPA to really become anything.
00:12:14THOMPSON: So I was like, "Okay, I need to find something shorter that works out for me." Well, when I deployed, I deployed with a signal unit. And so I got to see a lot of the intel side and all this security stuff. And that's what really kind of grabbed my attention towards--
00:12:30DAHLSTRAND: So your deployment helped inform what you want to do.
00:12:34THOMPSON: Yeah. When I got back, I changed my major. And here I am now.
00:12:41DAHLSTRAND: Okay. Describe what it was like sitting in a classroom for the first time as a veteran.
00:12:48THOMPSON: Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be because I went to a technical school first. And it was very small-- And so I had also a lot of older students as well in my class. Now, if I would have came here first coming off, I probably would have been like, "Oh wow, I'm the old guy sitting in the classroom." But the technical school I started out-- There was folks my age, even older, just starting out. So I didn't feel as bad. So it wasn't really an issue.
00:13:15DAHLSTRAND: Okay. Are you free with your veteran status in a classroom?
00:13:24THOMPSON: Yes. Anyone I ask, I let 'em know. I'm like, "Hey, I'm a veteran." And they ask questions. And I answer them. It's that simple.
00:13:32DAHLSTRAND: Okay. Do you ever get-- What's the most bizarre question that someone has asked you?
00:13:37THOMPSON: Did I kill anyone?
00:13:38DAHLSTRAND: Gotcha.
00:13:39THOMPSON: That's usually, that's usually--
00:13:41DAHLSTRAND: And how do you respond to questions like that?
00:13:44THOMPSON: I'm like-- No-- But even even if I did, it's not something I'm gonna go brag about and tell them. And be like-- That's not really their business.
00:13:55DAHLSTRAND: How important were the education benefits to you coming to UGA? You went into that a little bit, but--
00:14:02THOMPSON: It was very important because like I said, at the time West Georgia-- I think-- was the second highest paying for like the BAH and all that. And so I was pocketing a lot of money while I was sitting there without having to work.
00:14:15THOMPSON: No, that's great. And so, there's nothing like having extra spending money in your pocket for not having to do anything but go to school. So coming here, I was kind of like, "Ah, man, I'm going to start dipping into savings and all that just to pay for it." But they increased the rate. And so I was able to come. And so definitely, my benefits are very important coming here.
00:14:37DAHLSTRAND: How did you find out about the Student Veteran Resource Center?
00:14:41THOMPSON: As soon as I applied, I got an email. After I applied, you know, saying I was a veteran-- And that got accepted. I mean, just information was pouring in about student veterans. And then Ted was reaching out about the student veteran orientation I'd go to. So, at first day here-- I mean, I already knew about it.
00:14:59DAHLSTRAND: How often do you swing by this office?
00:15:01THOMPSON: Well, I work here. So-- But before then, I was coming here, I think, twice a week-- before I was working here. And that's just because a routine of class. I would come sit here before my class started. Kind of got some schoolwork knocked out. I'd have like an hour or two before my next class. So, I came here.
00:15:20DAHLSTRAND: Is there a reason why you would pick this place over, like, the library, or--?
00:15:24THOMPSON: Well-- other veterans here. And then also, I mean-- We have our own space over there, the lounge. So it's nice and quiet. And, you know-- If another veteran does come in, I would get to sit there and talk with them. You know, it's a vet-to-vet talk. Not-- you know-- me and a student that I have no idea how to talk. So that was-- It was comforting.
00:15:44DAHLSTRAND: Okay. Tell me about what you think about Ted Barco.
00:15:49THOMPSON: Man, he's great! He's definitely-- from a boss perspective-- I mean, he's great. He knows that I'm a student first. And so if I let him know beforehand, "Hey, I gotta get this done," he'd be like, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Sit down and do it. You know, you're a student first. Get that taken care of."
00:16:08THOMPSON: Even after that, he has kind of opened so many doors that I didn't know existed. You know, he does so much behind the scene that nobody knows about-- that really, I mean-- It makes the Veterans Center stand out versus a previous college's Veterans Center. They do nothing like what Ted's done here.
00:16:28DAHLSTRAND: Right. So, you've got this career goal that is looking at a-- essentially, continuing a lifetime of service to your country. Is this something that was reinforced by your military service or created by your military service?
00:16:51THOMPSON: Well, being-- wanting to go to the national security and stuff like that-- I mean, I kind of had the idea of just-- I wanted to stick with the federal government. I don't want to do it on the army side and all that. I just want to kind of do as a federal contractor or something like that. And so, I really didn't have that idea because of the military service. I kind of thought of that here on my own-- that that's what I wanted to do. And so I wouldn't say it was enforced by military service.
00:17:23DAHLSTRAND: What lessons learned do you think you could offer to service members currently on active duty and considering going to college?
00:17:32THOMPSON: Consider going to college? Be patient. That's definitely been one of my big time things here. Just kind of being patient with the system and, you know-- Yeah, you're not gonna get an answer right away most of the time for the things that you need. But, I mean-- For a vet going to college, I would say use the benefits. You have them. Use it-- Unless you want to save them for kids or something like that.
00:18:00THOMPSON: But-- For me, I know it's my job in the military. There's no real career for that. There's no civilian career for that unless you go work at some mega church somewhere. And that's-- that's not what I want to do. And so-- Definitely, you know-- if the job doesn't transfer, use those benefits. And there-- I mean, it's paved a whole new career path for me and opened my eyes to a lot of things. And so--
00:18:28DAHLSTRAND: Right. Describe your life as a student veteran at UGA.
00:18:34THOMPSON: No different, really, from anyone else. I mean, I may cuss a little more than most folks. I may have a better head on my shoulder. But, I mean-- So, I kind of already had the life experience-- being deployed and all that.
00:18:47THOMPSON: So, unlike some people here that have no idea what life is like outside of school-- because someone came straight from high school and college and all that. So kind of having an understanding of life, a little bit-- I guess I can say I've already had kind of that experience. But other than that, I mean I'm a student just like anyone else. No one sees me and be like, "Oh, that guy's a veteran." I dress like everyone else. I walk around like everyone else.
00:19:15DAHLSTRAND: Do you think you face any challenges as a student veteran on campus?
00:19:21THOMPSON: No, not really-- I mean, other than being in the military still and having to work with college-- because I've had that issue for the longest time. So it seemed like every finals-- It comes every semester finals week-- I've had something going with the military. And so it's been kind of hard to study.
00:19:43DAHLSTRAND: Do the professors work with you?
00:19:45THOMPSON: All but my previous college-- I had one professor that just gave me hell. But other than that, I mean, being here-- I had all my professors work with me. And being at my previous college, all of them but one professor worked with me. And so, it was great.
00:20:01THOMPSON: Usually, it results in either taking finals early or a week later-- or something like that. But it just seems like being in the military still-- that something's always came up right there at finals week. And so, that's been kind of-- That's probably been the only struggle of being a veteran and being still in the military as a student.
00:20:22DAHLSTRAND: Right. Is there anything that I did not ask that you wish to talk about?
00:20:28THOMPSON: No, I mean anything you do ask, I can-- I'm glad to answer.
00:20:32DAHLSTRAND: So, let's walk out the next steps for you. When are you graduating? Is there a graduate program that you're looking into to make this happen? What's your plan?
00:20:49THOMPSON: Well, I graduate-- hopefully-- Spring of '19 is what I'm on track for. As long as I don't have to retake any classes, I should be still on track for that. Maybe earlier if I'm lucky, but we'll see.
00:21:03THOMPSON: Graduate program--? Maybe one day in the future. Right now, since I'm going into computer science and that's such a heavily needed field-- A graduate's or master's isn't really needed to get a good paying job for that. And so I kind of want to work a little bit, get some money in my pocket, and then-- Later return to for a master's program-- That's if needed. But right now, it's such a heavily needed field that there's really no need for a master's program right away.
00:21:38DAHLSTRAND: Right. Okay. And so, for someone like me-- For the historian reviewing this a hundred years from now, do you have any final thoughts that would inform us on the lessons learned from your military experience?
00:21:57THOMPSON: Well, I know it's a lot different from-- I guess you could say our version of history of military folks-- versus now. Definitely, the military has changed from being so strict-- how it used to be way, way back-- to now. Things are more lenient. And the military is kind of going with kind of, unfortunately, adapting with a civilian world. And those two worlds shouldn't mix.
00:22:21THOMPSON: But-- But for-- I guess if I had to say for future, I can only imagine what military and civilian world is going to be like then-- or what the world's going to be like in general. But as for now, it's-- I don't know, everything's kind of going at a nice set to cruise-- And-- So there's no real, hard struggle right now. Just college. That's about it.
00:22:46DAHLSTRAND: Alright. Well, thank you for your time.
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