Senior and varsity football player Rocky Caruso has joined the U.S. Army on active duty as a combat medic.

According to Caruso, he chose to join the Army to avoid a desk job and further traditional schooling.

“Oak Park kind of burned me out on going to normal school,” Caruso said.

Caruso says he specifically chose to become a combat medic for the benefits provided by the job after retiring from the military.

“[Being a combat medic has the] biggest bonus mixed with the best after army skill set,” Caruso said. “They give you an EMT certification, [so] that right after you become a combat medic you automatically become the guy who works an ambulance.” 

Before Caruso decided to become a combat medic, he initially looked into becoming explosive ordinance disposal.

“[Explosive ordinance disposal] is the Lamborghini of Army jobs,” Caruso said.

Caruso also considered joining the U.S Coast Guard or U.S Marines, but decided that he did not want to pursue either field.

“Being police of the seas doesn’t sound too great,” Caruso said. “And the [Marines] are honestly kind of crazy.”

Caruso eventually settled on the U.S. Army because of the blend of discipline and difficulty in training.

“[The Army] are a lot more hardcore than the Coast Guard [but] they’re not as almost brutal than the Marines. I have tons of respect for those who join the Marines,” Caruso said.

Despite the strenuous training required to join any military branch, Caruso remarked that the training is not too different from the football drills he is used to.

Regardless, however, Caruso encouraged those who are looking into the military to weigh their options carefully.

“Weigh your options — weigh what you want to do, and weigh which branch can get you what,” Caruso said.

Caruso said that the reaction from his friends were initially negative, before they became more open towards the idea.

“The football guys called me stupid. For the first week, they were like, ‘Rocky, you are stupid, you are going to die and that’s terrible,’” Caruso said. “After that first week, they were like, ‘Hey Rocky, that’s pretty cool that you’re going to be doing that.’”

According to Caruso, while telling family can often be difficult for those enlisting, his experience was mostly positive.

“My parents took it pretty well as well as parents could take it hearing that their child wants to enlist in one of the scariest professions ever, but they were supportive nonetheless,” Caruso said.