Fort Knox – As he climbed, crawled, and vaulted through the Confidence Course during Cadet Summer Training, Cadet Max Pully, assigned to 6th Regiment, Advanced Camp, felt ever-thankful for the support of his squad in lieu of his relatives. To Pulley, his squad has become more than just fellow Cadets, they’ve become family.

For Pulley, enlisting began as a way to prove his character.

“I feel like I’ve spent a lot of my life sacrificing potential for comfort, and I was tired of doing that,” he explained.

Since arriving at CST, Pulley has taken on exercise after exercise. These drills have caused him to dig deep.

“They push you in ways you don’t think you can do,” Pulley said. “They push you past limits you have for yourself that aren’t actually real.”

This self-improvement isn’t the only reason for his decision to join however. For Pulley, family has always been important.

“I wanted to better myself and create a better life for my family in the future,” he explained. “I felt that coming here would be the best way to do both of those things.”

This passion for family is nothing new however, as Pulley had always found himself surrounded by his loved ones.

“I had a really close family growing up, every uncle or cousin’s birthday was always celebrated all together, Thanksgivings and Easters and everything in between,” said Pulley. “I have a lot of really good examples of what a good family and what a good village actually looks like.”

Pulley had to move away from home when he chose to attend college out of state. He didn’t let this get him down. Instead, he joined his school’s ROTC program, where the sentiment of a ‘good village’ was further enforced. Since his stay here at CST began, that feeling has only been deepened.

“Coming here, it’s the exact same thing. Everybody coming from their own unique backgrounds. We put that together, and there’s the village, we all get along really well,” he explained. “I see that all over the Army, in every place that I’ve been.”

Pulley hopes to one day have his own family, his goal is to enroll in the Army National Guard and have a civilian career in antitrust law. This path will allow him to pursue his self-improvement within the military, while giving him the opportunity to follow his career passions and forge a family.

“I can maintain a really stable family life,” said Pulley, “and I can have a civilian career in law.”

Hundreds of miles from home, Pulley is an example of the kind of family Cadets can find while at CST.