“I can’t see myself doing anything else,” said Cadet Sabiel Anderson. He always knew that he was supposed to be a part of the military.
He was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and watched his parents serve in the Jamaica Defence Force.
Following his graduation from high school, he received a full-ride scholarship in the United States for track and field. Anderson ran track professionally for two years.
However, he still held on to his dream of joining the armed forces and pursued this path instead. “I have always been drawn to the military,” Anderson elaborated.
Following in his parent’s footsteps, he enlisted into the Marine Corps in October 2013 and remained there until he completed his undergraduate education.
Becoming a Marine was a significant turning point in Anderson’s life, but he wanted a job that maximized his ability to help people.
In March 2013, he decided to fulfill his enlistment contract and change his branch of service to the United States Army, where he served as a paralegal specialist, 27D, for almost three years.
Anderson continued, “My master sergeant at the time suggested, since I already had a [bachelor’s] degree, I should go to graduate school and commission into the Army.”
This moment transformed the course of his military career.
Going Green to Gold left Anderson with two options: Attend Officer Candidate School (OCS) or join Army ROTC. “I chose ROTC because I thought it better develops you as a leader,” he said. “You get to learn alongside younger people and help them.”
In the spring of 2020, he joined the ROTC program at the University of Kansas with hopes of eventually becoming a Human Resources Officer.
“I like taking care of soldiers and making sure they are set up [for success],” he elaborated.
However, before Anderson can progress into his career as an Army officer, he must complete Advanced Camp; this requires successful participation in training events like the Confidence Course and Rappel Tower.
Rappelling down a 64-foot tower, however, was a challenge for Anderson.
“I am actually scared of heights,” he said. “But once I went down the first one [closed-wall rappel], I saw that there was nothing to worry about, and I got over it– I had fun on the second one!”
Anderson plans to utilize his past, current and future military experiences to support others and to push himself to overcome any obstacle — whatever kind it may be.
