For Andrew Song, joining the military was a byproduct of his upbringing plus a drawing of inspiration from a select group of individuals.
Song, 26, a junior commissioned officer (O-2) in the U.S. Navy, spoke to Military.com while stationed at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor with USS Nevada (SSBN-733). He graduated from Yale University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in global affairs, where he served as the battalion commander his senior year in charge of roughly 40 midshipmen.
They were awarded the Department of Defense Partnership Excellence Award in 2022 under his leadership as the best ROTC unit in the nation. He was commissioned in May 2022 from Yale Naval ROTC and recently exceeded 4 years of service.
He said he “always knew I wanted to serve” due to his grandfather fighting in battle alongside American general infantry soldiers during the Korean War, and growing up under that influence.
Later, Song attended an all-boys Jesuit school, Bellarmine College Prep, one of the oldest secondary schools in the country—where the mission of being “Men for Others” really resonated with him as part of a future military profession.
Of course, there were other influences as well.
“I joined the Navy because of individuals like John F. Kennedy and George H.W. Bush [who] all said that one of their proudest, transformative accomplishments was serving in the Navy,” Song told Military.com. “So, I wanted to experience that myself.”
The Youthful Perspective
He’s old enough to remember the contributions of others before him, but also has his own trials and tribulations as a Gen Z youth both serving his country and trying to find his way in an increasingly complicated world.
That’s part of what led him to the national “Wish Walls” initiative launched by the organization Made by Us, in which Gen Z individuals across all 50 states have posted more than 90,000 handwritten messages at museums, historic sites, libraries, campuses and public gathering spaces—sharing their hopes, dreams and frustrations as part of more than 250 walls symbolizing the nation’s 250-year history.
Song said he loves touring museums, from large-endowment institutions like the National Archives, to volunteer-run, small-town exhibits like the Bainbridge History Museum in the state of Washington.
“I thought it was a pity that it seems that less and less Gen Z’ers care about viewing exhibits in-person in the world dominated by social media attention, so I believed in the Made by Us mission to use Gen Z consultants to strategize with institutions to reel in more young Americans,” Song said.
So, along with other 100 Gen-Z Fellows, he became part of the Made by Us Youth250 cohort. He’s personally been affiliated with Made by Us since 2024, when he first joined as a civic design fellow as he said it was one of the few organizations targeting the gap in attention between young Americans and celebrating our 250th Anniversary.
“It shared a very nonpartisan focus as an organization, which I admired because I think our country’s semicentiquennial moment should be considered momentous and special regardless of one’s politics,” he said.
‘A Generation Constantly Searching’
I would define Generation Z as a generation constantly searching for a better status quo. For this reason, the generation has earned a reputation of ‘never settling’ when it comes to job opportunities, perhaps relationships, and work-life balance.
Yet, Song said that some within his generation “resort to a competition of self-image” based on how social media has dramatically impacted so many of a certain age and, in effect, cultivated a contemporary lifestyle.
“I am a critic of my own generation because I think our understanding of ‘success’ should not be defined by influencers and vloggers,” he said. “Certain industries and their essential history as a trade craft are being overlooked by our generation for career success: agriculture, manufacturing, local public service, etc.”
All that is to say that Song doesn’t view his generation, nor the United States, in a binary or black-and-white fashion. It demands a “nuanced” outlook, he stated, adding that it can be difficult due to the increased bifurcation of politics.
He remains “optimistic about the American project,” saying that there have been countless wars and moments of trepidation. The country’s citizens have even at one point fought one another.
“I will say, as someone who studied a significant amount of history during my undergraduate years, that a hallmark feature to civilization collapse like Rome or the Mayans appeared to be due to ‘existential risks,'” Song said. “As long as Americans are united in values, which can be strengthened by frequent reminders of history and celebrating our 250th, we can overcome any challenge.”
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