Thank You for My Service
By Daniel Dibbern, Veteran and Military Services Specialist
I can’t take full credit for the title, as former US Army Ranger and co-founder of Black Rifle Coffee Company, Mat Best produced a New York Times best-selling book by the same name, but this has become a stance of mine. Make no mistake, I have given a lot of my time, effort, and energy to the US Military, and in a way, I still do with my current role here at Doane. With that said, I feel compelled to finally thank anyone reading this who has supported our nation’s heroes by living their own respective lives while we are away. Keeping “the home fires burning,” as they say.
These folks (the Americans with no prior military service) do not get enough praise for their often-blind loyalty to our Armed Forces. I have always tried to be uniquely aware of this as I navigate life and realize that not everyone has the same background, benefits, or experiences that I have. Joining the military has been a voluntary undertaking for American citizens since June of 1973. Believe it or not, we never stopped conscripting between the commencement of WW2 and the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Since then, the brunt of our nation’s conflicts has been borne by a 100% volunteer force. All of us wanted to be there for various reasons. While patriotism is often the crux of any enlistment, the residuals from such selflessness should not be discounted and are only made possible by having a supportive and trusting American public.
God blessed me with the physical and mental qualifications for federal service. This is noteworthy as only 23% of Americans qualify for eligibility at any time. I was a terrible high school student; I had to seek a waiver from the guidance office to attend a senior year that consisted of weight training, study hall, work release, metal shop, woods, and regular PE. (I’m not sure if this has ever been done before). I knew I was going to enlist during my junior year, so no guidance counselor or college rep was going to convince me that taking advanced bio, trig, English composition, etc. was necessary. I left for basic training two months after graduating high school.
I was stationed in both Germany and New Mexico, and those two assignments led to extensive world travel (good and bad), all while learning about myself and maturing in an environment that was financially padded by the US government. I earned my GI Bill and separated after my 4-year enlistment. Earning an undergraduate degree while incurring zero debt helped me catch up to my peer group, and by 2016, I had my degree, a full-time job, and property. I was only able to purchase my first home in Malcolm, Nebraska, with zero money down and a low interest rate courtesy of the VA Home Loan that I earned during my enlistment.
Now, in 2024, I find myself in a role for our university that I was uniquely qualified for due to my military background and by navigating the Veteran service space for myself and others for the last several years. Plus, the Department of Veteran Affairs recently approved an extension of my GI Bill so that I can complete my graduate degree with Doane. To add onto this, I have used the VA as my primary care provider for several years now, and while this opinion is far from unanimous, I have had zero issues with them and feel grateful for the lifelong healthcare that they have promised me.
These are some of the financial and logistical perks of completing an honorable enlistment with the United States military. What cannot be quantified so easily is the lifelong friends that I have made, the corners of the world that I was able to see, the intense value that I place on freedom, liberty, and justice, and the person that several formative years in the military have shaped me to be.
While I always appreciate the sentiment of gratitude that I get from so many people each Veterans Day, I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge that the honor has been mine and that the feeling of respect is mutual. Without proud, capable, intelligent, and supportive Americans at home conducting commerce, building businesses, producing materials, etc., there is no America to fight for, and our ability to finance this volunteer force becomes impossible. In the words of Tim Walz, “I willingly say I got far more out of the military than they got out of me.”
This realization comes with a mandate. If you have any questions regarding our military science course offerings, our ROTC programs, benefits you may be able to use through your service or the service of a family member, or if you need someone to talk to as you contemplate the possibility of military service yourself; please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly. I have a wide-open door policy, and I am truly blessed to be the subject matter expert on this topic for Nebraska’s premier university.
In short, following this Veterans Day and having a small platform to reach this exceptional Doane Community, I do want to “Thank You for My Service” officially. And I pledge to pay this country back for the investment it has made in me.
Always yours,
Daniel James Dibbern
daniel.dibbern@doane.edu
The blog posts in Forward. Together. are intended to foster an inclusive community of empathy and curiosity at Doane University by providing a glimpse into various individual identities and worldviews. These are community members’ unique stories and should not be presumed to be the experience of all who share the same identity.
