Camas High School English teacher Tom Sawyer is famous among students for his strict policy against cell phone usage and his Lord of the Flies and Julius Caesar lessons where students compete against each other in various academic challenges. But before the classroom was his home, Sawyer spent his time jumping out of planes in the United States Army. 

 

 

Sawyer was raised in a big family. The oldest of seven children, he felt that it would be difficult for his parents to pay for him and all of his siblings to go to college. 

 

 

The military offers money to its members to pay for their education. Many, like Sawyer, join for this reason. Sawyer chose to join the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Fort Lewis, Washington after some deliberation. 

 

 

Sawyer’s time in the military proved to be both rewarding and challenging. 

 

 

“Ranger school sucked,” Sawyer said. “It’s 58 days of one MRE a day and two hours of sleep a night. I was 120 pounds when I got out.” 

 

 

Beyond ranger school, the military offered Sawyer practical physical skills that he found useful to learn. He also made lifelong friends who he still sees regularly whenever he is in the Seattle area. Last October, he saw them at a reunion.

 

 

Sawyer’s time in the military took him across the world. Although he was never stationed overseas, he had the opportunity to visit numerous countries when he was deployed. 

 

 

“I was a readiness unit, so we would bounce all around — we went to Puerto Rico, Panama, Germany,” Sawyer said. 

 

 

The military also provided Sawyer with the money he needed to get his bachelor’s degree and eventually become a teacher. According to Sawyer, his experiences in the military shaped the person and teacher he is today. 

 

 

“I’m probably a little more strict about some things,” Sawyer said. “I’m much more disciplined [than I was].”

 

 

Sawyer maintains that, although it was challenging, he is glad he decided to join the Army. 

 

 

“[It was valuable], not only for paying for college, but the life skills I learned and developed over those years.”