Congratulations Captain Stratton

Captain Stratton is retiring from twenty years in the military. During that time, he held a position as Combat Engineer for four years, Army Ranger for three years, CBRN Officer for three years, and a Signal Officer for the last ten. His favorite, of course, was being a Ranger due to the nature of the position; this was where he learned how to jump out of an airplane. This is definitely an upgrade from his first job that he got at seventeen, being paid five bucks an hour and working for McDonalds. September 8, 1994, Stratton’s brother took him to work, but he had to stop by the recruiter’s office. He asked Stratton to come in, and he ended up calling McDonalds, telling them he was coming in late and joining the military at seventeen. The hardest part of his job was the span of September 2001-2002 because of the feeling of responsibility for his country and attending many funerals. However, if these series of events never occurred, he probably would have never met his wife, Sally Stratton.

Photo Credits: Steve Stratton

His favorite workplace, ironically, was the combat zones in Afghanistan where he felt he was most useful. His greatest challenge, again ironically, was overcoming his severe fear of heights. But his greatest achievement was completing the Knoxville Run, Boston Shadow Run, and The Marathon. The thing he says he will miss most of all is the camaraderie; the friendships have a bond beyond liking the same sports team, and connections that are easily made through a no-strings-attached friendship (they were all too busy saving lives for drama.) His plans for retirement are continuing to teach, traveling to national parks, gardening/farming, and spending time with his family. And if there is anything he learned in his lifetime, it is simply that, “Life is full of choices.”