How did you decide the career path you took?

I was raised by a German Immigrant father to the US that survived World War Two as a child on his own in Germany (he like all children was part of the Hitler youth) and was only seven years old when the Russians invaded his town towards the end of the War. He was beaten and not shown love and raised like that post war too. When he came to the US in 1957 at age 20, he brought all that anger and hate with him. So, when disciplining his children, we were beaten until we bled (I broke that chain with my own children) and we lived inner city in the late 1960's to mid 1970's with street gang fights and race fights. My parents moved us to a country rural school where I excelled in violent sports like American football and wrestling. Now during all this we had countless uncles and grandparents that served both sides in WW2 (Axis/Allies) and it was a very easy transition into the Army post high school where violence was rewarded the next 27 years of my life.

Since retiring I have reflected and changed tremendously though, but you asked why or what shaped our paths.