By Tricia Pursell
BEAVERTOWN — Lifelong Snyder County resident Nick Herbster will be leaving for a year-long stint in Korea on Friday.
He will head to Camp Casey near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a buffer zone between North and South Korea, where he will begin his duties as a military policeman for the Army.
“It’s going to be a whole new experience, a whole new culture,” Herbster said. “It’s going to be very interesting.”
It will be hard to leave, he admits, especially when he has never left his family, friends or girlfriend for such a long period of time before. And especially when it is only a few days before Christmas.
He finds comfort, however, in knowing he will be able to webcam with them on a regular basis.
Herbster, 19, signed up for the Army during his junior year at Midd-West High School. He joined the military right after graduation.
His goal? To enjoy the experience, serve his country and get a good job in law enforcement after his five-year term is up.
He hopes to become a state police trooper.
As part of his required 14 days of hometown recruiting, Herbster has been speaking to high school students about his experiences, and he spends several hours each day helping at the recruiting station in the Susquehanna Valley Mall, Hummels Wharf.
Is he making a difference?
He humbly answers, “I would like to think so.”
As a military policeman, Herbster, trained and ready to carry a gun if the need arises, will help with convoy security, work with detainees and do “anything the Army needs us to do,” he said. “We are very versatile.”
He also hopes to begin some college courses while he is overseas.
Anxious and excited to begin the journey, Herbster said he isn’t nervous.
“I’ve always loved doing adventurous stuff,” he said.
In his spare time, he enjoys playing sports, hunting and fishing. He is a big outdoorsman, he said.
He has received excellent training, he said, and feels prepared for whatever he will face at Camp Casey.
Basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., had its challenging parts, he said, but “as long as you do what you’re told, and keep working hard, it goes by really fast.”
“My drill sergeants were very good,” he added. “They knew what they were talking about. They taught us very well.”
