Whanja Brown joined to pay her bills
Debt is worse than the war
“My ex-husband had ruined my credit, so the military was the last-resort option that would allow me to fix my credit without having to depend on other people. If it meant putting my life in harm’s way, I was willing to do that, because you are not free, if you have debt,” she says.
Whanja could not dig herself out of debt working at her low-paid media job in Atlanta.“The cost of living was high. The money I was making was barely enough to cover my current bills. I didn’t have a family to help me get my life back together,” she explains.
In the military there are no accommodation or other everyday expenses. Whanja was also looking forward to further education after the military. The Post-9/11 GI Bill would enable her to study for a master’s degree, sponsored by the military.
The only obstacle was her fear of war and of the change of lifestyle. But Whanja pushed such concerns aside bravely. “I can’t stand weapons or violence. I don’t like fighting. Lot of people ask me, why I joined the army then. Well, to fight for my future,” she says.
Whanja had moved out from Atlanta back to her hometown Chicago and was living with her grandmother. She marched to the recruitment centre. “They took me to Illinois to take a test and a physical examination. I eventually signed in and went to Army Initial Training boot camp in Jacksonville, Carolina for nine weeks” she says. Whanja was posted to the aviation unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. She knew she would be deployed within a year.
Whanja had signed in as a chaplain’s assistant because of her religious beliefs. Even so, she had to complete vigorous combat exercises, a very different universe for a young woman who preferred looking after her appearance to running in mud. But it is hard to stay immaculate while negotiating the obstacle course.
“Some people would pay money to have that thrill and excitement. Normally you couldn’t pay me to do it. I won’t even go on a rollercoaster at the amusement park,” she smiles.
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