Trent Miles, who serves with the U.S. Navy in Guam, is shown in the photo with his wife, Alexis, who he says ‘is my rock and she keeps me in the right state of mind, but I can’t take her on missions, and that’s the hardest part.’ The NISH graduate has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, great-grandfather and uncle, who all served in the military. After his time in the military, he plans to attend medical school  on the G.I. Bill. 

February in the Midwest is a bitterly cold time of year. 

When Trent Miles reported to Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois, on Feb. 24, 2016, it was freezing. He’d decided to enlist some time around June 2015 — not long after graduating from New Iberia Senior High School. But, feeling the chill in the Illinois air that winter day, he said, “I remember thinking when I got there, ‘What the heck was I thinking?’” 

Miles recalled that first day recently from the considerably more comfortable confines of Micronesia, where, as of March 2, the 21-year-old NISH graduate has been serving in the U.S. Navy on the island of Guam.

“Like my father, and my father’s father, I wanted to work for what I have,” he said of his decision to enlist. “Navy has been a part of my family. My grandfather as well as his father, and my uncle, served. I knew I couldn’t handle the pressure of the real world, so I sought discipline in the military.” 

His father, Michael Miles, was unable to enlist due to a medical condition. 

The adjustment to military life hasn’t been too bad, he said. 

“Honestly, they make it out to be a lot worse than it actually is. Obviously bootcamp, but I am a submariner. The lines of rank are more blurred than anywhere else in the service.” 

But, he said, “I still hate haircuts.”

If that transition from civilian to military life was a breeze, his acclimation to Guam was even easier.  

“The weather is a lot like Louisiana when it’s really hot outside,” he said. “No real struggles in adjusting, except for the rough schedule.”

Guam’s time zone is 15 hours ahead of New Iberia, making conversational exchanges with family and friends difficult, he noted. 

“I’d say that was the hardest part,” he said.

That, and his wife, Alexis Miles. 

“The hardest part of service is leaving my wife, Alexis. She is my rock, and she keeps me in the right state of mind, but I can’t take her with me on missions, and that’s the hardest part,” he said.

Typical days now come in one of two forms for Miles: days at port, and days at sea. Days at port, he said, have a schedule similar to most standard day jobs, but days at sea are different. 

“I wake up and immediately go on watch for eight hours,” he said. “Then I have an ‘off going’ time, where I take care of maintenance, administrative work, or other miscellaneous things. Then, I sleep for eight hours or less, depending on the day.”

His favorite thing about the Navy is the people, he said. 

“They are awesome!” he said. 

But he misses the food, the family and the friends he has in Louisiana and in New Iberia. 

“I don’t really miss the mainland all that much, but there are some luxuries that aren’t available here that I’ll miss,” he said, “such as cheap car parts!” 

Miles, the son of Rachel Rogers and Michael Miles and the stepson of Roy Rogers, hopes to pursue college through the Navy, then use his G.I. Bill to pay for medical school. 

He hopes to become a doctor someday. 

As for when that plan will commence, the young mariner expresses a youthful insouciance. 

“I’ll return when the seas take me back,” he said. 

If you know someone in the Teche Area who would be an interesting weekend profile, please submit the name by calling 321-6766 or send an email to news@daily-iberian.com.