John Wheeler III

When John Wheeler III got married six years ago, he knew he needed to make changes to his life to support a family.

Joining the Army helped him make those changes.

"All the jobs I'd had before were dead-end jobs," said Wheeler, who separated from the Army in early August after five years of service. "We had just gotten married, and we needed some good benefits, like the health care."

During his enlistment, the Grovetown resident he was able to put those benefits to good use, including medical care for his wife, Sarabeth, and their two children, Karsen, 3, and Sadie, 10 months.

But Army life also came with challenges, including two nine-month deployments to Iraq - one of which gave only three weeks' notice. There also were several moves, lengthy separations for training and missing the birth of his daughter.

"Sarabeth and I have had to work together," he said. "We've had some hard times and some crazy times in the Army."

Wheeler said his service helped him become more socially versitle."I had to adapt and make new friends," he said,.

Being in the military and having kids automatically opened up lines of communication with other young families. The Army helped facilitate fast friendships, he said. Prior to joining the Army, Wheeler hadn't left his home state of Colorado much.

"I went to Texas as a kid, but I really didn't experience any other cultures," he said. "Joining the Army opened me up. It definitely opened my eyes."

Wheeler was in military intelligence during his enlistment. "I used computers to diminish the impact on U.S. forces," he said.

He's been able to translate his Army service into a civilian contractor job at Fort Gordon. He's using his education benefits now and is studying to augment his Army experience. He said he would eventually like a career with the Department of Defense.