Columbia’s own Jon Waters has become well known as the front man and namesake of the Jonny Waters and Company band, where he plays an elective mix of tunes and soul nourishing lyrics for those under the sound of his voice.

Long before his music career, Waters says that he always dreamed of joining the United States military, though like other young men, he also dreamed of taking other avenues.

Always possessed of musical talent, Waters begin singing and playing the guitar for fun and recalls playing at parties in high school for the occasional bit of cash.

However, any notions of becoming a musician were quickly pushed aside upon witnessing one of America’s most horrific days.

“9/11 happened when I was a junior. When I saw our towers get hit, that’s when I made my decision,” Waters says. “Honestly, I had already been thinking about the military. It’s something that I wanted to do since I was a kid, but watching that happen really sealed the deal for me.”

After graduating from Columbia High School in 2003, Waters acted on his desire to joining the military and fight for his nation as an Army Infantryman. Just as he had intended, Waters joined the military at the height of the global War on Terror, putting him in the midst of a conflict that would span nations and decades in its scope.

All in all, Waters would spend three years in the military describing it as a defining time, which was at times harrowing and quickly brought the realities of adulthood to the forefront.

“I was in service for three years, from 2003 until 2006,” he recalls. “I served in Iraq and Germany. It was definitely a time where I had to grow up fast. I mean, I graduated in June 2003 and after infantry school, by that December, I found myself in Iraq. I was 18 years old and suddenly I was in a foreign country in a war zone.”

As one might imagine, living through those experiences relatively unscathed made Waters look towards a future beyond the confines of the Army...