Navy

Lt. Dennis Wischmeier: All the way through high school, my senior year of high school, didn’t think about joining the Military at all, not even a thought. I was accepted to college, was on my way. A recruiter happened to call me, and I thought, why not? I’m keeping my options open. And while talking to my recruiter, Marine Corps recruiter, I realized that I needed and I wanted a break. I didn’t want to go straight from high school to college. So, yeah, I decided to join the United States Marine Corps straight out of high school, knowing full well that I would go to college, but I didn’t know how or when, but my immediate concern was just to take a break. So I did just that. I joined the Marine Corps. In 1995 I enlisted in the Marine Corps, went to boot camp in San Diego, did all the follow-on jobs to become a communications center operator. Was then sent off to Okinawa for a year and absolutely loved Okinawa, Japan. It was a wonderful tour. But while I was there I found out and signed up for the scholarship program, commissioning program and got accepted into both the United States Naval Academy and ROTC programs. I chose the ROTC program and went to college at George Washington University, right here in Washington, D.C. and went there for four years. In the middle of college, I decided to change services to the Navy, and I did that just because of some of the opportunities that were afforded me. And I was looking at becoming married towards the end of college career, and I thought that the Navy offered a little bit better lifestyle for spouses and families than the Marine Corps did. So I switched Services and after graduating college in 2001, I went off to flight school in Pensacola, Fla., and from there did all the normal wickets for flight training and proceeded to my first squadron in Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington state. Was there for three-and-a-half-years and did tours all around the world from there. And then I came here in the Pentagon.

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