When Bob Martin entered the military, he was 17 years old. 

“I was a kid with a chip on his shoulder,” he said. “I was a hard case.” 

Martin recalls a scene in the movie, “Officer and a Gentleman” when the main character is about to get kicked out of the military but pleads his case to stay.  

“I got nowhere else to go!” he screams. 

“That would have been me,” Martin said. 

The demands of the Army, the discipline, changed him. It created within a drive to do well, to pay attention to details, to give his very best. He became organized and he became committed to his career, rising up in the ranks. 

The commander of VFW Post 889 in Coeur d’Alene, served in the military from 1963 to 1983. He served four tours in Vietnam and received three Purple Hearts. 

His military service gave him the tools to succeed in the private sector. 

“You do the job until the job is done,” he said. 

After leaving the military, Martin owned and operated a security and investigation business in Chicago for 12 years. It did well, he said, because the mental toughness he developed in the Army helped him plan and stay the course as a business owner. 

“The foundation was from the military,” he said. “It made me successful.” 

The focus wasn’t on making money, but on serving others and being sure customers came first.

“Military discipline was good,” he said. “It taught me another way of thinking.”

For example, Martin said it is common for military members to put in long hours with little fanfare, while civilians clocking over 40 hours a week receive overtime pay and likely do a little complaining about it.

“A 100-hour week in the military was not uncommon,” he said, chuckling. “You worked until the job was done and you didn’t get overtime.” 

Martin has no doubts his military career paved a path for his success in life. To this day, he appreciates his time in the service and said it gave him the desire to work hard, work smart and have the discipline to plan well.

“A guy with a military background can just about take on anything and get it done,” Martin said.