Why I Joined: Army Recruiter of the Year inspired by stepfather's service
Editor's note: "Why I Joined" is an ongoing feature of The Fayetteville Observer. If you'd like to share your story on why you joined the military, contact military writer Rachael Riley at rriley@fayobserver.com.
From a young age, Sgt. 1st Class Shane Burroughs was around the Army.
Burroughs was born in the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago but visited the U.S. when he was 5 years old and moved to Spring Lake in the early '90s with his mother and stepfather when he was 9.
His stepfather, Lennox Jobe, was a sergeant major in the 18th Airborne Corps; a deputy with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office after his military retirement; worked as a civilian contractor for 12 years in Iraq; and is now a Department of Veterans Affairs volunteer in Fayetteville.
After graduating from Pine Forest High School in 2005, Burroughs said, he was still “trying to figure out life.”
“Throughout high school, my stepfather had asked about my plans, and I was unsure and worked for two years making good money, but I wasn’t achieving the goals I wanted,” he said by phone Tuesday from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he is now stationed.
Burroughs said he looked at his stepfather’s lifestyle and military achievements, compared it to civilian jobs and determined the military was the best fit for him.
“I humbled myself, went to the recruiting office, took the practice test and scored well,” he said.
He enlisted in the Army as a unit supply specialist in 2007, and his first duty station was in Germany.
Becoming an American
During the mid-2000s, Burroughs became a naturalized American citizen while deployed to Iraq.
Officials asked different units if anyone wanted to become a citizen, and Burroughs, volunteered, he said.
Representatives from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services visited their deployment location, and Burroughs said he was able to get his American citizenship within three days.
“It was cool because I had my naturalization and citizenship ceremony in Saddam Hussein’s palace, and my oath was administered by Gen. (Ray) Odierno," he said.
Recruiter of the Year
Last year, Burroughs was named the Army’s FY2023 Recruiter of the Year.
Though he recruited 26 enlistees in 2023, Burroughs said being named Recruiter of the Year required that 50% of those soldiers be in the regular Army, and he had to go through board interviews at the battalion, brigade and U.S. Army Recruiting Command levels.
Burroughs said he was asked to become a recruiter about four years ago and was originally to be assigned in California, but once leaders learned he was from an island nation they interviewed him for a “special assignment.”
More: Why I Joined: Fayetteville native enlisted for opportunity. Now, he's leading troops.
“They didn’t tell me what it was, but said I’d fit in well,” he said.
He later learned he was one of three Army recruiters responsible for the U.S. Virgin Islands, with a focus on the St. Thomas and St. John area. That was in 2019, and he is still there today.
Burroughs said its a challenge to recruit someone from “a beautiful place,” where everyone is not as familiar with military service as in the continental U.S.
However, he said, some areas and people on the island seek financial opportunities or want to go elsewhere.
“It’s on us to push the Army’s message,” he said. “The main things I convey are the opportunities. You can achieve goals in life, whether it's to attend college, be debt-free or explore the world. And you get 30 days vacation and can select your job during the enlistment process. There are also bonuses based off test scores. It gives people the opportunity to create the lifestyle they want.”
If someone doesn’t score well on their Armed Services entrance exam known as the ASVB or doesn’t meet physical fitness requirements, Burroughs said he won’t “quit on them,” and dedicates his time to helping them improve.
Once he’s recruited someone, he said, he also keeps up with their Army career, which he frequently highlights on his recruiting social media page.
“My advice to them is to make the most out of their military careers and find a mentor and truly achieve all they can be,” he said. “Our current motto is, ‘Be all you can be.’”
More: Why I joined: Fort Liberty staff sergeant goes from GED to multiple degrees
Family
Burroughs said that as a recruiter, he also communicates with families the importance of the military because they are the ones who support soldiers.
He credits his own mother, Margaret Jobe, with supporting his and his stepfather’s careers, while having her own career as clinical director of Excel Tutoring & Personal Development's Sanford and Fayetteville branches.
“My mother is one of the most resilient, hardworking and humble people I know,” he said. “She’s definitely held the family together while my stepdad or I were deployed."
Reach military reporter Rachael Riley at rriley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How Army Recruiter of Year has ties to Fayetteville
