Isaiah Dagnan and Lucas Smith are two of Alliance High School’s bravest seniors. Isaiah is going into the United States Marine Corps while Lucas is going into the United States Army National Guard. These two have been training for months and it shows. It takes a lot of guts to go into the military and these two sure do have some!

Isaiah has been going on and on about going into the military since I met him. He said, “I figured out I wanted to go into the military because almost my whole family has gone through and I felt like I needed to support this country and the people.” Isaiah has been training for basic training by going to PT (physical training) in Scottsbluff along with a pool function every second Saturday of every month. He has also been lifting, running, and training by himself. Isaiah said, “I am excited to go to boot camp and to just get out of this town and go to different places. I will have to go to San Diego first for Boot Camp, then I’ll go back for MCT (Marine Combat Training) after my boot leave, then I’ll head to North Carolina for my MOS training (Military Occupational Specialties).” It has always been a dream of his and now his dream is finally coming true! Isaiah said he was a little sad that he was leaving behind his family and fiancé but he also signed up for this and he needs to do it. Isaiah leaves for boot camp on June 5, 2023. 

Lucas has been thinking about going into the military for a while but he wasn’t sure about it until the end of last year. He said, “I figured out I wanted to go into the military because I kept failing school and I wanted to stay out of trouble.” Lucas has been preparing himself mentally by just saying over and over to “suck it up and get over it.” He physically prepares himself by hitting the gym almost every day, running, and training by himself. Lucas said, “Every first weekend of the month I go train with my recruiter and we work on different drills.” Lucas has already gone through basic training but he is very excited to go back to infantry school and GEMS ( Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science). Lucas said,  I am excited to leave the town but he is going to miss all of his friends and family but he thinks it is for the best. Lucas is leaving to go back to the military on July 6, 2023.

I hope both of these boys have a fun time in the military and make new friends and learn a lot of new things. I am thankful that they are supporting our country and I hope they come back safe!