Photo By Sgt. Anshu Pandeya | Spc. Curtis Anderson, supply specialist representing the 80th Training Command and an...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. - Five miles is easy for him: he runs it three times a week. It wasn't always easy, but he wouldn't let anything weigh him down.
Spc. Curtis Anderson, the Albuquerque, New Mexico native, weighs 160 pounds, a weight for which he worked hard to achieve. Three years ago, it would be hard to recognize him for the man he is now.
“When I was in high school, I was over 250 pounds,” said Anderson, who is representing the 80th Training Command (The Army School System) in the 2014 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition. “I had to lose all that weight to join the military.”
And he did. Within two months, Anderson had lost nearly 100 pounds. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average person can safely lose one to two pounds per week.
Anderson found the drive to overcome that hurdle when tragedy struck his family. His father died and his grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“He was pretty much like a father to me,” he said of his grandfather. “My father had a drug and alcohol battle his entire life, and that was what killed him. Seeing him whither away, when you're placed with something like that in your life, you can take one of two paths: you can follow it, or you can lead it away and be a better example. I didn't want to follow his path.
“After my grandfather got diagnosed with terminal cancer, I knew I had to do something that would make him proud, so I said, 'Enough's enough. I'm going to join the Army, but I know I have a physical barrier that I have to pass to get in there.' So I just ran as far as I could. I just ran everyday, every week as far as I could until I lost all that weight.”
It was the most difficult challenge Anderson, a supply specialist with the 3rd Battalion, 95th Regiment (Signal), 2nd Brigade (SC) 100th Division (Institutional Training), had faced in his life, and he had his doubts, yet now he marches among the best Soldiers in the Army Reserve. Forty-two junior enlisted Reserve Soldiers and noncommissioned officers started the competition against each other in various challenges throughout the week in the BWC to test their physical, mental, and tactical abilities to win Reserve Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. The winners will have the opportunity to represent the Army Reserve at the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition.
He remembered, “There were times I would say, 'What is the point? Why do you want to do this?' And I would say, 'Everything else you've quit in your life. Why would you quit this? You've got to keep going. If you quit this, it'll be like everything else in your life.'”
Anderson kept running farther each day, and by the time he entered basic training, he shed the weight bringing him down to 152 pounds. During the competition, Anderson put that weight back on. This time that weight was a rucksack, rifle, helmet and gear while navigating for miles across Fort Dix, New Jersey, for one of the evaluated events.
“There's just something inside that drove me to do it,” he said, referring back to the weight loss. “I'm so glad I stuck with it because I never imagined in a thousand years that I'd be where I am today.”
Anderson had always wanted to be a Soldier.
“Ever since I was a kid I just thought seeing a Soldier in uniform was something of pride and honor, so I always wanted to enlist and serve my country,” he said.
Now that the 21-year-old has accomplished his goal of enlisting, he has his eyes set on a combat arms job as a Ranger or in special forces in the Army Reserve. He also plans to attend airborne and air assault schools.
He said, “I'm competing in this competition trying my best to show everybody within my unit and the Army that I'm willing to set the standard high and do whatever it takes to be deserving of those schools and show them I'm willing to go the extra mile.”
On the civilian side, Anderson wants to serve in a law enforcement capacity be it as a police officer, detective or FBI agent.
“Pretty much anything in law enforcement is my end goal,” he explained. “Wherever I end up, I've no doubt I'll be happy.”
His goal to serve in law enforcement stems from his desire to help people, he said.
“I just love helping people. Anything I can do to help anybody in any way, I enjoy. There's no more rewarding feeling than that feeling you get from helping somebody out.”
The warrior-citizen tries to help someone every day and has taken every opportunity he's had to help competitors with tasks they may be unfamiliar with.
In his free time, he enjoys target shooting, hiking, being outdoors and reading. And, yes, he loves running.
Anderson looks forward to seeing his mother and grandfather after the competition. He said his grandfather, whose cancer is in remission, is very proud of him.
“Don't let anybody tell you you can't do anything,” he encourages others that feel they have impossible goals. “You can do anything you put your mind to. I've overcome and accomplished so many goals that I thought I'd never accomplish in my lifetime. Just go out and do it. Have the will, the determination and the motivation to go out and do whatever you want to do with your life.”
Anderson's may have lost weight, but he has certainly grown in strength of character. His outlook on life, ambition and desire to help others have motivated him. Whatever challenges may come his way, he's more than willing to run down the path and carry that weight.
| Date Taken: | 06.25.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.25.2014 22:19 |
| Story ID: | 134452 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, US |
| Hometown: | ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US |
| Web Views: | 2,044 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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