Samuel Acerro

War is hungry. And it feeds on weapons and bodies.

Forced into service by draft, but off to the Navy by choice, Samuel took his first steps far, far away from home. While in the service, the young man experienced the typical experiences that people talk about... boot camp, basic training, specialized training based on rate (job) and met all sorts of people.

In general, it was quite the eye-opener of an experience for the young man. And while he had indeed matured quickly due to his particular upbringing, he was able to grow much more as a person with these new enriching experiences. As well as the traumatic ones.

Samuel joined the Navy and became a Hospital Corpsman, a medical professional of lower rank. He was not an officer, he could not be accepted as one as he lacked higher education or a degree of any sort, so he became enlisted personnel instead of being signed on as an officer. As such, he became another 'cog' in the machine that was the military. And the treatment showed.

From housing to treatment to general, it became abundantly clear to the young sailor that the 'higher ups' of the military didn't give a rat's ass about the 'junior enlisted'. The enlisted personell of low rank, that is. They were treated as expendable, and pretty much not taken care of in terms of housing, medical care, or mental care.

But he didn't really have a say, now did he! So as a Corpsman, he served out his six-year long tenure.

Perhaps most depressingly about this though, is that on the battlefield... the only doctors to be found anywhere are those medics, and every platoon of marines only had one. One man or woman was responsible for the lives of a dozen or sometimes several dozen Marines. As such, they were always respected and sometimes even revered by the Marines they worked with, every platoon becoming a band of brothers (and sometimes sisters) ready to fight and potentially die for one another. But among the Marines, there was always a silent agreement to always protect the Corpsman... because they were the only lifeline those soldiers had.

Corpsmen were always made aware of this quickly, either through instruction or simply by exposure. So interestingly enough, the Corpsmen usually wound up being the most well-trained individuals in any platoon, simply to enhance his chances of survival, and by extension, his or her platoon's chances of survival.

So the young Samuel, though always just called 'Acerro' or 'Doc' by his fellow marines, took it upon himself to prepare as much as he could during his time in the service, before and between deployments. Martial arts training, further education in medicine (both field medicine and professional medicine), firearms training, as well as more basic skills such as logistics management. This wide array of skills made Samuel Acerro quite the asset to any platoon he was deployed with.

But more importantly, all the Marines he served with had always said that the young man had a big heart. He was loud, a bit wild, and fiery-spirited, but he always cared for his brothers in arms, and it showed. One couldn't say that the man was filled with unconditional love or anything, but every Marine he had ever served with would always say they were proud to have him there... that he was always and always would be their brother.

Samuel didn't go unrecognized of course, and during his service he was awarded with a handful of medals and countless 'ribbons' which were other meritorious marks under his name. All of them could be found in his profile, and the fact he had even that much after only a few years of service would be a testament to his character and his skills.

And now he's back out of the military, a little bit lost. But with a newfound interest in medicinal sciences. Perhaps he could become a researcher?

Who knew what was in store in his future?