Originally from Candor, North Carolina, Southard graduated from East Montgomery High School, where he was active in Basketball, Cross Country, and Baseball  He has been in service to our country for almost 11 years.

Tony explains he "is the youngest of 4 kids. I have 2 older sisters and one older brother. They all dropped out of school to work in the Furniture and Hosiery Mills that were then in my hometown at the time, but now in China and Central/South America. I always felt like I was meant for something more or better. I decided in the 9th grade I was either going to be a professional athlete or serve in the military."

"At a time I was a very skinny 6'4" and 170lbs; being a pro-athlete was pretty much out of the question. So two daysafter my 17th Birthday some how I convinced my mother and father to sign for me to join the Army. Why two days before my 17th Birthday you may ask? The answer is my B-day fell on a Saturday that year. I still had to wait my whole senior year before I could leave."

"I completed 2 years and four months in the Infantry at Fort Irwin, CA. I also met my wife while stationed there. I then decided to get out of the Army and use some of my well earned college money. I attended Victor Valley College in CA and moved in with my girlfriend at the time who happens to now be my wife."

"After a year and a half of college, I was doing well but something was missing. I was thinking about proposing and I wanted to go back to the Army as well. So that is exactly what I did. I got married to Monica and came back in the Army to be an Infantryman. Since then I have been stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado; Camp Hovey, Korea; Fort Bragg, NC; and Findlay, OH. "

"When I was stationed at Fort Bragg I was a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. I deployed twice with the 82nd. Once to Afghanistan in 2003 and then again in 2004 to Iraq. As soon as I gotback from Iraq the Army decided I could do something really tough, so they sent me to Findlay, OH to be a recruiter. I have been in Findlay since Oct. 2004. I was supposed to leave Dec. 2007, but the Army has decided it would be better for me to stick around until June, 2008. "

His future plans?

"I really want to join the Army Special Forces. I am currently trying to convince the Army to let me take three weeks off from recruiting so I can go to NC and attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection. After the Army is still wide open. I have ideas of what I would be good at and have not pigeon holed myself into any one thing yet. My wife would probably love for me to become an accountant, which is something I know I would be really good at, but not to sure how I would like it after 20 years of Army life. I guess I could always go skydiving on the weekends or something."

Southard earned a Bronze Star in Iraq for helping out "some of his buddies" that got injured.  To read more about his heroic efforts, visit http://www.thefreelibrary.com/News+from+the+front.-a0123707644 (ed. note: The article has his name misspelled as Troy) CBS Today Show also interviewed him on Thanksgiving Day 2004.

Southard is married to Monica and is the proud father of daughter Bella Pearl Southard, 2 1/2 years old.

In his spare time, Southard likes to work out at the YMCA, spend time with my family, and travel back and forth to NC and CA to visit with family

He has these words of advice for people considering enlisting: "Get your information from people who are currently serving. Talk to as many service members as you can, everyone's experience is different."

And everyday words of advice: "Save before you spend. I think a Personal Finance class should be a high school graduation requirement."