Showing posts with label PERSONAL STORY OF A MARINE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PERSONAL STORY OF A MARINE. Show all posts

Thursday, December 6, 2012

A MARINE CORPS GUITARIST

Marine Corps Cpl. Mark A. Boughton, a guitarist with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., enjoys making music and serving in the military. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Glen Santy


FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, MARINE GUITARIST, PERSONAL STORY OF A MARINE, 2ND MARINE AIRCRAFT WING BAND, MARINE BAND

Face of Defense: Marine Guitarist Enjoys Military Service
Marine Corps Cpl. Mark A. Boughton, a guitarist with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., enjoys making music and serving in the military. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Glen Santy
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Glen Santy
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C., Dec. 6, 2012 - An accomplished guitarist who also enjoys serving in the military, Marine Corps Cpl. Mark A. Boughton said he gets amped up playing with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band here.

Practice makes perfect, as Boughton spends many hours each week playing his electric guitar.

Boughton said his mission in the Marine Corps enables him to mix his love of music with his love of physical fitness and serving his country.

"Growing up, I always wanted to serve, not knowing that I could play in the Marine Corps. There's a part of me that wants to go out and be a famous rock star, but for right now, this a good gig," he said.

Boughton added, "I get a steady paycheck, all the benefits of the military, and I get to play my guitar."

Since he joined the military, Boughton said he's strived to excel both musically and as a Marine.

Outside of work, Boughton said he usually spends no less than 30 hours-a-week playing his guitar.

He also has earned a black belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.

"When I put the guitar down, I'm still a Marine," he said. "I constantly play and keep pushing myself to achieve."

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

MARINE JOINED MARINE CORP OVER APPEAL OF STRICT STANDARDS


FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Marine Corps Cpl. Erica Adams went to a recruiter's office with a friend who planned to enlist. Her friend didn't enlist, but she did. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chelsea Russell  

Face of Defense: Marine Recalls Decision to Enlist
By Army Spc. Chelsea Russell 
Regional Command Southwest
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan , May 7, 2012 - When Cpl. Erica Adams decided to join the Marine Corps, she knew she wanted to be a motor transportation mechanic.
"My dad would show me how to fix my own car," the Clinton, Ill., native said. "I was a tomboy. I did all the dirty work and the yard work."


Adams, who is attached to 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group here, said she never planned on joining the Marine Corps until just before her Feb. 7, 2010, enlistment. Her best friend's brother was home on recruiter assistance duty, and Adams decided to tag along with them to the recruiting station. She didn't plan on signing up, she said, but her best friend did. But when they walked out of the recruiting station later that day, Adams had joined instead.


Her mother and sisters were stunned when they found out she had chosen to enlist in the Marine Corps. At first, they doubted her decision and asked her why she hadn't picked the Army, Air Force or the reserves. She replied that the Marine Corps' strict standards appealed to her.


When she made the decision to join the Marines, Adams said, her parents were on vacation and had no idea. They were quite shocked when, shortly after their return home, Adams nonchalantly placed the card she had received from the Marine recruiter on the table.


Pausing a moment to let them puzzle over the card, she said, she told them she had enlisted in the Marines and soon would be leaving for recruit training.
But it didn't take long for her parents to fully support her decision, she said. "By the time I went to boot camp, they were all behind me," she added. "They sent me a letter every day in boot camp." Adams received her eagle, globe and anchor on her 21st birthday.
She celebrated her 22nd birthday in the Vanuatu Islands while participating in a four-month Pacific Partnership humanitarian deployment. This year, Adams will celebrate her 23rd birthday in Afghanistan.


Adams' time in the Marine Corps thus far has taken her to exotic locales such as New Guinea, Australia and Hawaii. While she was growing up, she said, she wanted to travel but she didn't know if she'd ever actually be able to do so.


"They said I would see the world," she said, laughing. "That was one of the reasons I wanted to join."


Her experiences have taught her the world is a big place with many differences in culture, Adams said. "It's a whole other world," she said. "There's a lot of different people with a lot of different ways of living."


During her deployment, Adams said, she hopes to gain more experience as a Marine. She's already managed to pay off her credit card bills, and she said she wants to have a better understanding of why U.S. forces have deployed to Afghanistan.
"I just want to bring home the truth about what really goes on and what it's like to be here," she said.


It pleases her to know she's making her family proud by serving in the military.
"There's a whole other world out there besides the town that you grew up in," she said. "I feel like I'm more mature than [the people I grew up with]. I've seen and done so much already, and I'm only 22. I'm proud that I can make my parents proud."

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