The Details: Ex-U.S. Army Ranger, ‘Enjoying The Vacation That Is College’
November 09, 2016 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Jon Knudtson started to laugh.
The 28-year-old, ex-U.S. Army Ranger had just been asked how he ended up on Washington's cheerleading team.
His answer was simple, and not uncommon.
"I had never really cheered before," he said. "I think I took the route of most guys – I got talked into it by a girl."
But for Knudtson, taking the route of "most guys" might be the most traditional decision he's made in a life that has had more twists that most.
When he was a child, his mother and father were heroin addicts. His father died of an overdose when he was 9.
"It was kind of a weird situation, because my mom told me I had to pretend to cry," he said, looking back. "I saw her crying and thought, 'I guess I should be crying, too.'"
There were times, when the food stamps ran out, a buttered burrito or uncooked Top Ramen made for a meal he convinced himself was worth eating.
"I can still eat that (Top Ramen) and think it tastes good," Knudtson said.
By the time he was in seventh grade, he was living with a half-brother. He was a drug dealer. Life wasn't easy, but there was money. He had food.
"For a few years, life was pretty good," he said.
But that didn't last. When Knudtson was in eighth grade the FBI arrested his brother. He didn't spend any time in prison, but the money was gone.
"It was a pretty abusive household," Knudtson said.
But, while life at home was anything but ideal, he made sure to surround himself with friends heading in a positive direction.
"There was always one rule I followed growing up: Surround yourself with people you want to become," he said. "I hung out with the smart kids. I hung out with the kids who were great athletes, but were also great students and good people. That definitely kept people around me who were positive influences."
A student at Lynnwood High School, the families of his friends were always there to provide a meal when he needed one. In fact, his best friend, Beau Anable, more of a brother to him now, welcomed him into his family.
"I was essentially able to be unofficially adopted to get me out of that situation," Knudtson said. "They're the people I call my family now. A lot that I've accomplished I owe to them."
A football player in high school, Knudtson made friends with the lunch ladies and, after the final meal of the day, they would slip him extra food.
"That's where a lot of my food came from during my high school career," he said. "Bless their hearts for them doing that for me, because I've read news stories where people were fired for doing the same thing, told not to give students food, which obviously I personally think is preposterous."
When Knudtson looks back on his life, the path the led him to this point, he isn't upset. It was simply the situation in front of him. And, somewhere along the way, he realized he had a calling to serve.
"I had always really wanted to enlist," he said.
Anable beat him to it. But Knudtson wasn't far behind.
As soon as he heard the news, he said, "Alright, time to go."
At the time, he didn't know anything about being an Army Ranger, but that's where Anable was headed, so he followed.
"I had seen 'Blackhawk Down,'" he said. "I knew about Pat Tillman. But, other than that, I didn't know anything about it."
He was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion.
"It was just a completely different world," he said
He was deployed to Afghanistan twice as an infantryman.
"I remember going on missions and then, a few days later, reading the news and seeing the things we did on CNN and the national news networks," he said.
He jumped out of planes and helicopters. He fired "all sorts of guns." It was an experience that "definitely opened my eyes to what I'm capable of, essentially," he said.
At the time, while deployed, he was simply doing his job.
"You're surrounded by people who are doing the exact same thing as you, so the things that you do don't seem too crazy until you get back and start talking about it casually and then you realize how ridiculous some of the things you did were," he said.
After two years, he was moved into an admin position, beginning the transition to civilian life. He started looking at universities. He made his way to Washington and, eventually, the cheerleading team.
"I showed up my first day and started doing it, but I was really bad at it," he said. "That kind of just made me want to come back and do it a little bit more, just to get better.
Six months later and, well, "I'm a cheerleader," he said.
"I had always lifted weight and cheerleading is essentially just lifting weights, but your throwing girls in the air," he said. "It kind of had that physicality aspect and then, once I met everyone on the team, I just got along with them really, really well."
While he appreciated the training that went into it, he stuck with it because of the friendships.
"That sense of camaraderie and team environment made me want to stick around," he said.
He picked up the basics fairly quickly. But, "I'm still not that great. Having a base of strength basically helped, being stubborn and wanting to repeat things over and over again definitely helped also.
"The acrobatics has really been the hurdle for me."
After his childhood and years in the military, his college experience has been an escape of sorts.
"It's pretty laid back for me," he said. "It definitely keeps everything a little funny. I'm enjoying the vacation that's college right now."
He may be the older guy on the team, but he doesn't really see himself that way.
"There are definitely some issues when I drop some jokes about 'The Dave Chappelle Show' that nobody gets," he said with a laugh. "I get a little angry, but I'm not really in a position of responsibility so my age isn't really a factor."
Knudtson is just a guy enjoying the journey. It hasn't always been easy, but here he is. And, when this college vacation comes to an end, he will return to serve his country, but in a slightly different role. He is currently interviewing to become a fire fighter with the ultimate goal of working as a paramedic.
His experience in the military put him on this path.
"It really kind of opened my eyes about service to one's country and the ability to have a job where you're not going to work to make money, you're going to work to enjoy what you do and what you do is important," he said.
On Saturday, when Washington's football team takes the field to play USC wearing its "Salute to Service" uniforms, Knudtson will be on field with the cheerleaders. But, while he will enjoy the festivities, he isn't interested in being a focal point.
"That's awesome to see, especially in this environment we're seeing politically, the rhetoric around everything, it's just something that everyone can come together on, around this day, and just focus on the positive, remembering those people who served," he said.
And then, before heading of to get ready for practice he said, "Go Dawgs!"
