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Henderson Hall News
Arlington, Va.
Aug. 23, 2002
This essay recently won the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Writing Award
for entries from Sergeant's Course students Corps-wide.
It's not about the pay, it's the pride...
Marines often ask me why I returned to the Marine Corps. The easy answer is I
missed it. Any other answer would require an in-depth explanation of the
intangibles that being a Marine is all about. I have recently begun to
understand what those intangibles are. For me they are the following: being a
part of something greater than myself; working with people who take pride in
themselves personally and professionally, and taking pride in knowing that I was
part of our country's finest fighting force.
Often times Marines I meet who are getting out of the Marine Corps talk about
the jobs they have waiting for them. They are excited about the money and
freedom they will enjoy. I urge these Marines to think about the bigger picture
of their life. In 1992, I left the Corps with two main goals, to make a lot of
money and get on TV. In 1993, I made $110,000. In 1994, I was featured in an
infomercial, which aired in 45 of our 50 states. By 1995, I was traveling with a
seminar company to different cities all over the country. I had money and minor
celebrity, but I felt that something was missing.
I have learned that money is not an end in itself. That is to say, money is a
poor measure of a man's life. I felt empty once I had attained my goals because
I served no higher purpose. I had an empty pride in my accomplishments, for they
only served me. When I was granted the opportunity to return to the Corps after
eight years as a civilian, I jumped at the chance. Marines often state that they
look forward to having their own freedom when they get out. This is a big
misconception. As a civilian I realized pretty fast that to be successful I
still had to do things I would rather not do. Twelve-hour days and 60 to 70 hour
weeks were not uncommon in my pursuit of wealth.
To return to our Corps is to return to the challenge. The challenge is not only
to improve myself but to improve others. This is why the bonds you form in the
Corps are like no other. I still remember challenges I faced along with my peers
and the camaraderie we shared as a result. Our current breed of staff
noncommissioned officers came through as junior enlisted in the 1980s as I did.
I am pleased to see that they are doing a much better job of helping, training
and taking care of the junior Marines than those who trained us in our formative
years. They have kept their standards high and challenge our young Marines to
meet the standards. This not only makes a better Marine but also a better
person. After eight years working with and for civilians, being with
professional Marines again is definitely an improvement. There is a saying that
you never have friends like the ones you had in the Corps. This is because the
bond formed through adversity and challenge is the strongest of all. In the
civilian world when adversity and challenge become too great, people just quit
and move on. I miss working with people who faced challenges and became
stronger. I have always been proud to say that I served in the Corps.
As I grew older that pride increased. After eight years I had seen and learned
enough to know something that had eluded me when I was younger; I was part of
something that served a higher purpose. The Marines train to win battles, take
care of their own, and never leave a man behind. As a youth, I did not see the
forest through the trees. In our day-to-day jobs and training cycles, it is easy
to lose sight of the purpose of our existence. We are here to win battles and
protect each other. Pride in serving this higher purpose tends to grow once time
has filtered out the day-to-day minutia and the forest becomes clear.
This pride enables us to pass on our Corps intact to the next generation. We are
part of a force with a glorious history that we teach to our juniors so that it
is never forgotten. We pass on our traditions, keeping them alive. This Corps
belongs to us, until we pass it on to our sons and daughters. We should all
strive to keep its traditions alive. What we do now will reflect in the actions
of our future Marines.
I will never forget the day I decided to come back into the Corps. Some friends
and I were sitting around talking about what our fathers did for a living. I
heard about salesmen, welders and factory workers. I remember taking great pride
in the fact that my father had retired after 30 years in the Navy. Later that
night on my way home, I couldn't help but wonder what my own son would say
someday about his father's path in life. I had been a Marine before he was born.
Would he say salesman? Would he say that his dad made money in different
business ventures? What legacy will I be leaving for my son to follow? What kind
of markers would I set for my daughters to measure a man by? For my son to say
"my dad is a retired Marine" will give my life meaning. That simple statement
will say so much. How I look in his eyes will mean so much. These intangibles
keep me and our Corps strong. |
