BY MELISSA BUCKLEY
Sgt. 1st Class John Taffe stands with fellow Soldiers before entering Baker Theater for BCT graduation May 29.
Photo credit: Mrs. Melissa K Buckley (Leonard Wood)
Most people probably picture a person in their late teens or early 20s when one hears of a Soldier completing Basic Combat Training.
A 55-year-old has shattered that image on Fort Leonard Wood.
Sgt. 1st Class John Taffe, a former Sailor, walked across the Baker Theater stage, officially beginning his Army career, May 29.
“I’m ready to get started being a Soldier,” Taffe said. “I feel like I’m a jack-of-all-trades now. I’m ready to put that to work for the Army.”
His Family made the trip from Alameda, Calif., to support him in the start of a new chapter in his life.
Even though it was their 16th wedding anniversary, his wife Courtney Shepler, said she was proud to spend it watching her husband graduate from BCT.
“Life with John has always been an adventure. When I married him, I was cautiously prepared for whatever that was,” Shepler said.
TRADOC News 