The importance of poetry, hip-hop, and philosophy for an enlisted aviator in the USAF (2000–2004) flying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom

Abstract

This special issue of Journal of Poetry Therapy focuses on the use of poetry and other forms of expressive writing to explore the transformative experiences of military veterans, and so in this article I discuss how the use of poetry, hip-hop, and philosophy positively influenced my life while I was serving in the United States Air Force (USAF) from 2000 through 2004. This article briefly reviews my reasons for enlisting and discusses the importance that poetry, hip-hop, and philosophy had for me during four different phases of my military history: (i) Basic Military Training, (ii) Aircraft Qualification, Combat Survival, and Water Survival Training, (iii) serving in the post 9/11 operations Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and (iv) the period after fulfilling my time of service for the USAF. In discussing each phase, I explain the unique challenges that I encountered, how I used poetry, hip-hop, and philosophy to successfully overcome these challenges, point out relevant examples of poetry, hip-hop, and philosophy that were particularly influential, and include pictures of my experiences throughout.

Keywords:

• Poetry
• hip-hop
• philosophy
• therapy
• military
• USAF

Acknowledgments

I would first and foremost like to thank my mother Young Croom and father Frank Croom for bringing me into this world and teaching me how to work and love hard. I also thank the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans for generously offering me a 4-year scholarship to pursue my undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania. Thanks also to Nick Mazza, David Albright, and the reviewers of Journal of Poetry Therapy for their work on this special issue for military veterans. Finally, and importantly, I would like to dedicate this article to the memory of my loyal companion and first dog Blessing Croom. He passed away while I was deployed during the war and I was unable to return home to bury him myself. So here I offer my words in lieu of flowers: thank you for being good to me, and may you rest in peace.