Sonny: On Being a 37 Year Old Navy Recruit

On May 26th, 2011 I took my oath and officially became an enlisted recruit to join the US Navy Reserve. People often ask me, “Why on earth did you join the Navy at 37 years old?” Although it may seem like an easy question to answer at first, for someone like me, it actually isn’t.

Ever since I was little kid, books, movies and shows about soldiers, samurais, knights and the vast array of warriors throughout the history of time have always fascinated me beyond comprehension. When I was twelve years old, I wrote the US Army a letter, pleading to allow me to enlist. Weeks later I received a package in the mail from them containing a letter saying how proud of me they were, and to enlist after high school, but if I studied hard enough I could go to West Point and become an officer. Also in the package was a giant “I WANT YOU FOR THE US ARMY” poster. I was so proud of that thing that I had it up in my room for years.

On the flip side of wanting to be a warrior, I’ve always wanted to be a healer. The thought of being someone who brings comfort in times of peril has always been a part of my soul. Growing up an only child (and a very socially awkward and lonely one at that) has allowed me to cultivate a sense of deep compassion for the sick and emotionally hurt. My father always wanted me to be a doctor, but I could never picture myself in that environment, nor even as a psychiatrist. But I’ve always wanted to help those who needed it.

After several failed attempts to get my parents’ blessing to allow their only child to join the military, I gave up and went to college. Over the next twenty years I would graduate from college, work in corporations, make a ton of money, release a jazz album, get married and have a kid.

But for some reason, my life didn’t seem right. It seemed… incomplete. Spiritually, I felt as if every day my ancestors and past lives just stood around me shaking their heads at me, and I couldn’t pinpoint why. But I knew somehow that I was swimming upstream, going against my purpose in life, whatever that may be.

But it wasn’t until I started studying Taoism that my life was dramatically starting to change. As I began a regimen of meditating, I started to unlock an innate ability of living through intuition, and listening to my heart and soul.

In 2008, I then found myself enrolled into a Masters program for Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and herbal medicine) to become a natural healer/comforter, and that’s where I began to immerse myself deeper in to Taoism, compassion and healing. I became so spiritual about healing that for a short time I was a Taoist Priest-Candidate/Monk.

One evening, exactly a year ago, I was researching for case studies on acupuncture, and came across one study where the military was conducting research on it and found it highly effective for emotional and physical rehabilitation for war veterans.

It was then that all of my previous ancestors and past lives embedded in every ounce of my DNA screamed into my soul, “THAT’S IT.”

So after a long, arduous process of paperwork and examinations, I found myself hired as an enlisted recruit by the US Navy Reserve as a Hospital Corpsman (“core-man”). A medic. A healer and warrior. I’ve always wanted to be a warrior, and I always wanted to bring comfort to the suffering. And I’ve found a way to mend the two together in Navy Medicine.

It seemed as if everything I’ve always wanted to be in life had “simply” just fallen into place, without any effort. It’s amazing what happens when you decide to go with the natural flow of life and enjoy the ride. And this is only the beginning.

So to ask me why I joined the Navy is like asking me why I want to fulfill my childhood dreams and fulfill my life’s purpose of serving my country and serving my fellow humankind. In a different light, it gives me a chance to bring Eastern Medicine and Eastern Thought into the military, as well as providing benefits and security for my wife and my little boy.

And in the end, my son will see that a “real man” isn’t necessarily someone who’s a billionaire or a machismo athlete, but someone who can bring strength, love and compassion to the world around him.

-  Lorel  ”Sonny” Zaide