> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.timdoleschall.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # before hong kong, there was the military - URL: https://www.timdoleschall.com/before-hong-kong-there-was-the-military/ - Published: 2026-08-06T06:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-06T06:45:05.000Z - Author: Tim Doleschall - Tags: Journal, News saying it was something i'd always wanted to do would be a lie. but i knew it would be valuable. one and a half years after my last day of service, i can say: it is. but let me start where it actually begins. my grandfather has been one of my role models for as long as i can remember. when i was small, he'd share stories about his time in the army. i didn't fully understand them then. but something about the way he told them stayed with me. in latin class at school, i came across the *cursus honorum* \- the idea that you had to prove yourself, step by step, before you could take on real responsibility. it's a roman concept, but it felt surprisingly modern. there are parts of past societies worth questioning. but that particular idea always made sense to me. so when one of my friends told me about his plan to join the german military, i was curious. i grew up in hamburg - not exactly the kind of city where people talk about joining the army. at least not in my social circle. but i'd seen some military content online, and whenever people spoke about their time in service they seemed proud of what it had given them. i rarely heard anyone speak about it negatively. i started looking into it. i found a specific programme: two years of officer training in a service branch you were qualified for. i signed up for a first meeting, went through the assessment centre for officer candidates and, within a few weeks, i got exactly what i'd hoped for. two years of officer training in the airborne forces. what drew me in most was the chance to have experiences i couldn't have had anywhere else. i didn't want to go straight to university anyway. i felt something else should be first: practical life experience. no one pushed me to go. it was entirely my decision (my mom actually tried to talk me out of it). i simply believed it would give me something valuable. it wasn't always enjoyable. but looking back on that time still makes me smile, even now, living in hong kong. --- what has stayed with me most is an appreciation for the freedom i have here. the military did not give me freedom. it taught me not to take it for granted.