Struggling teen finds 'silver bullet' in football, military

Courtesy Photo | Spc. Timothy Markle stands by an Army truck at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. He cites the military as his primary inspiration for turning his life around by giving him the structure, discipline and motivation he truly needed.  

TALLIL, IRAQ

10.15.2009

Courtesy Story

28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq — In a world full of choices, sometimes people will make the wrong decisions. Spc. Timothy Markle, a Soldier with 628th Aviation Support Battalion, 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, is a young man who took a few wrong turns down life's path, but through dedicated football training and the structure of the military, he soon found his way again.

Markle didn't have the most stable home life and he was raised by his grandmother, who tried to assist his father with the children. She would remain a large influence for him until her death. His love of football led him to play high school football, and though his family moved frequently in his childhood, Markle played defensive end in Pennsylvania at York Suburban High School in 2001 and York High School in 2002.

It was during his high school years that Markle fell into some bad associations and he began to lose his focus. He spent more time on the streets and less time in school and he eventually dropped out. He felt he did not need an education and saw no real future for himself. He believed his new friends were getting along fine and so could he. Markle became lost.

The turning point for Markle was when he came back to high school and was enrolled in the Crispus Attucks Youth Build, a charter school for troubled teens in York named for the runaway slave who was a casualty of the Boston Massacre when British soldiers fired on colonial citizens of Boston.

The school involves its students in charitable works and teaches personal responsibility and a strong work ethic. Markle worked with his classmates on construction projects for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Working on these homes for the poor taught Markle a valuable and marketable trade. He remained in school and was awarded his high school diploma in 2004.

The next stop for Markle was the U.S. Navy. He shipped to basic training two weeks after high school graduation as an aviation ordinance specialist, working with F-18 fighter jets. The military gave him the structure, discipline and motivation he needed to succeed. The passing of his grandmother brought him home again to York in 2006.

In 2007 Markle tried out for a position on the York Silver Bullets, a semi-professional football team. He made the team and played one season. He dedicated his energy into football and this structure, along with his Navy training, was what he needed to keep himself focused. Markle remained on track and off the streets.

While he enjoyed playing football and had a real love for the game, Markle missed the military lifestyle and decided to join the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2007. Enlisting in the Army meant he would have to leave football, but Markle liked the sense of community and structure that comes with a military life.

He chose to enlist as a water treatment specialist and is now part of Company A, 628th Aviation Support Battalion. He is currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Contingency Operating Base Adder with the 628th ASB as a part of the mobilization of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, where he works with fellow Soldiers providing fuel for aircraft.

Markle said he has enjoyed his time in Iraq and feels he is part of something bigger and he is doing important work for his country. He plans to remain in the military and believes the military life fits him perfectly. He said he would like to further his education and he hopes to be a pilot one day.

His days of working on houses for his school have paid off as well. He now works in his father's construction business doing general contracting, and Markle has been getting his own business off the ground by attracting clients of his own. His plans include growing his own business and he would like to play football again.

Markle has seen life from two perspectives and now that his life is on track he wants to assist young people facing the same challenges he faced growing up. At home, Markle visits Crispus Attucks Youth Build to talk with students and offers them encouragement and hope for a better life. He has found the stability of home and renewed relationships with his father and mother, and the discipline and structure of the military which he loves so much. When he returned home on leave from this deployment, Markle participated in the crime prevention program National Night Out, where he protected the streets he once saw as a hangout.

He feels the military made him who he is today, and even now as he finds himself in the desert of Iraq, he wouldn't have it any other way.

• Date Taken: 10.15.2009
• Date Posted: 10.15.2009 03:34
• Story ID: 40144
• Location: TALLIL, IQ