EP 23: How Sonny Sets Foot in the US Military's Tip of the Spear by Choosing the Army (Part 1)

Afterthought on The Military Family

How do you choose one dream job over the other? Should you really give up one? Or should you do both?

Sonny Busa, my guest for this week, pursued both by using one goal as a stepping stone. He may have hated what he had to do to get in and stay at West Point, but he was able to achieve both. How? By having the discipline to finish what he started, by being clear on what he really wants, and by doing what's necessary to get there.

Listen to this episode to learn how his optimism even at a young age paved his success in the military.

About the Guest:

In 1976, Sonny Busa graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was an Army officer before entering the State Department as a Diplomatic Officer, serving in Honduras, Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Kuwait.

He returned to the United States to work as a Professor of International Relations at West Point, and then he taught at the Philippine Military Academy in the Philippines.

He is married to Ceres Kawagas from Samar, and they have three daughters and four grandchildren.

Why you’ve got to check out today’s episode:

• Learn the 3 areas you need to excel in to get into West Point
• Learn about the different branches of the United States Army
• Discover the steps Sonny took to move from the US Army to the US State Department

Check out these episode highlights:

• (03:01) - The irony of marching back to West Point with cadets decades after Sonny did it himself
• (06:13) - How his fun experience as a Navy brat inspired him to get into the military
• (09:52) - How having an eye condition led him to do fun stuff in the army
• (11:06) - The 3 areas you need to excel in to get into West Point: Academics, Athletics, and Leadership
• (12:43) - Getting in at 18 and the most challenging part of his 47-month stay at West Point (And it's not what you think)
• (15:21) - A year of training before his first overseas assignment
• (16:18) - The different branches of the Army and the role of a foot soldier (Hint: Saving Private Ryan)
• (17:58) - Why everything about his Panama assignment was memorable and how it differed from his next assignment at Fort Ord
• (20:19) - Getting selected to attend graduate school to continue his international relations studies
• (20:46) - Why he refers to himself as the ‘world’s worst engineer’
• (22:23) - Assignment versus Deployment
• (23:03) - The many languages he knows
• (24:10) - Giving up the army after 10 years to pursue his other dream job
• (25:48) - Assignment in Honduras as an FSO
• (27:45) - How he met his wife and the pros and cons of being married to a nurse
• (29:37) - His two-year assignment in Korea as a Vice Consul

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DISCLAIMER:

The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views, positions, and opinions of the U.S. Military, its Foreign Counterparts, and/or other entities they represent.