My Marine Corps Experience

Decent Essays
I am Timothy Neely and I am from Chicago, IL. When I was in high school I thought the last thing I would ever do is join the military. I was not very athletic so I knew the physical demands of any military branch would be a strain on me. After applying for several jobs I reluctantly started to look into military branches. When I started to look into them, I chose the Marine Corps strictly because it was widely regarded as the hardest branch and I thought if I could make through that, then I could make any challenge. The physical fitness was the biggest challenge I had to face as I continued to fall out of runs and scoring 3rd class PFT's. I managed to graduate boot camp and earn the title of marine, and then it dawned on me all of the things …show more content…
I was a part of that group and during my marine corps career I strived hard to better myself, which to me is what being a Marine is all about.When I graduated MOS school and made it to my first duty station I did not waste anytime trying to prove that. When just showing up as a new PFC to the flight clearance branch I quickly caught on to the job and was highly regarded as the most advance Marine in the shop even above some of the higher ranking individuals despite being there the shortest amount of time. My PfFT scores raised by a minimum of 10 points every year I worked as hard as I could to get my 1st class PFT. When it was time to reenlist things did not work out as I had planned. Once I found out there was an opportunity to come back I jumped on the chance. There are many reasons I want to be active duty again. I loved the feel of everyone being family, no matter where you went you could start a conversation with someone. I also long for the advancement because I feel as though there is no other place that rewards hard work as much as the Marine Corps. I also loved having a uniform and taking pride in the unifrom and trying to look squared away. I want to be active duty again because I know that no matter what happens I may make mistakes but as long I try to better myself then there is nothing i won't be able to

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    I’ve had many positive experiences in my life, but my experience joining the Air Force and completing Basic Training had the greatest impact. I did not take high school seriously, because I signed to join the Air Force in my junior year of high school. Since I knew where I was going, I did not feel the need to apply myself in all my classes. I did just enough to graduate high school. Then September came, the month I left to Basic Military Training. During this time, I was broken down from the person I was, and they built me to be a better person. We went through hell and back, during the 2 and a half months we were there. I felt relieved when we graduated. After all the sweat and tears, I am finally able to say, “I am an honorable American Airman.”…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If I become an officer in the Navy I will continue to hold this view as I believe that an officer should always push himself and lead by example. An officer must know when to lead, when to follow, and when to stand aside. I learned this during a volunteer service trip rebuilding tornado stricken homes in Alabama. I realized that a leader only becomes a good leader when he, too, is following. A good leader follows his morals and what he believes is right, and retains his honor above all else. I believe that I would serve the military well, but I also believe the military would serve me well. My grandfather and uncle were in the Navy and cultivated a grand image of the service in me from a young age, an image that I want to pass down to the generations after me. I want to have that same strong sense of pride that they had and I envy their loyalty. I want to work for change on a global scale and to be pushed and challenged, mentally and physically, on a daily basis. I do not want a life of complacency with the same futile redundancy every day, I want a life of meaning and adventure. I want to be constantly pushed outside of and growing my comfort zone and I want to serve alongside a group of like-minded, motivated men and women. I…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    My father and I had grown apart, but slowly were reconnecting over the years of disconnect and resentment. I was investing all my time into JROTC, slowly advancing in my cadet career into a snapshot of my future military career. I was approached my sophomore year by a Marine recruiter who convinced me to be a part of “The Few, The Proud, The Marines!” My mind had swiftly changed from Army to the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in a matter of a day. Besides who didn’t want to be a jarhead and earn the coveted Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. The next year I put my focus on becoming a Marine. I began training for the 3 mile run, pull-ups, and…

    • 1459 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    My grandparents and uncle on my mom’s side of the family are retired from the Army and Air Force, and are still physically active, responsible, respectful and still have their unconditional love for their country even though it has been almost 20 years from retiring. My passion and support comes from my grandparents and uncle who are retired military personnel. after listening to all of their fun, discipline and success memories, my retired military family members motivated me to follow in their footsteps. From this motivation and current enrollment at The Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama, I have gained more respect, passion, and want for military life. In other words, my family has a strong respect for the military, but know that…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “I enlisted into the corps right before my high school graduation. I didn’t like school too much but it was my mother’s dream that I finish. I never gave college a thought. I remember when I first saw the recruiter I thought he looked sharp in his marine uniform. I wanted that too so I signed my life away,” said Dean.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I served on active-duty in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. During this memorable period, I discovered an immeasurable amount of my inner abilities: strengths, weaknesses, ambitions, and morals. Having spent years abroad in sixteen different countries on three continents, I maximized this unique opportunity to polish the intangible skills I brought with me into the Marine Corps. The core values of honor, courage, and commitment are the grassroots of great leaders. Whether in a combat zone, business environment, or a political venue-the skills I have learned make me a valuable asset to the diversity…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While some see graduating from Harvard as a very prestigious mile stone in their life, which it is for some, I saw mine as becoming a member of a 241 year old fraternity of great leaders, warriors, and hero’s. I chose to join the United States Marine Corps. I saw no better place to learn true leadership and life skills than the military, specifically the Marine Corps. There are few professions in life where one is forced to make critical decisions under intense, dangerous, and life changing circumstances. This fraternity, as I call it, has produced some of the finest leaders in business and politics. From the late, great, Senator John Glenn to Secretary of Defense Nominee, retired General, James Mattis, these former Marines have brought forth the Corps values in leadership and management and now it is my torch to carry. Through the leadership and management skills I have learned in the Marine Corps, I am now in position to take my next step in this journey and I feel like the skill set I have been equipped with, personally, academically, and professionally will allow me great…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    My Job Corps Experience

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A memorable day in my life is when I came to job corps and got my high school diploma. I never thought I could do it but when I did I felt like I accomplish so much in life. It has yet to end job corps made me a better person when I came here. I can finally say I finished school. And that I made it to be successful in school and not be held back no more on stuff. As I walk through the halls of job corps I felt like I could do it from the first till the last day that I was here. I choose job corps to finish school and get a better job. Actually make it to the marine’s cause that is my dream and to do that I enrolled in job corps. I never thought about going to job corps till my mom told me about how good the program is so I signed up. It took…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My body hurt, I could barely move, and my legs would not stop cramping. “Push on," I yelled as we continued our ascent up the mountain dubbed the Reaper. That hike was the last thing that stood in my way of earning the coveted Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. I would become a Marine. I would not know it until after the evolution, but we hiked over 50 miles and trained for 54 hours all with little food and sleep. As we descended into Edson Range, the emotion I felt was overwhelming, and tears began to stream down my face uncontrollably. “I did it, we did it,” I said to a fellow recruit as we dropped our 60-pound packs.…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I was never told of the hardships, the hazing, or the games they play to break you down and to degrade you. I was only told of the great respect for the soldiers and for their sacrifice. While it is true, about the great things actually being in the corps, they are mixed with some of the bad as well. The corps has a lot of good mixed with a lot of bad creating an even ground and a possibility for many different outcomes and feelings. Many people turned out the way I did, they felt the corps was an awful place to be and all they wanted to do was leave. But others felt empowered by the corps, they felt the corps gave them a purpose and it made them a better person. This multitude of different out comes leads to even more of a bias, because I had a bad experience now I am negatively biased towards the corps. The truth is that the real corps is somewhere in the middle. Join the corps was definitely one of the most impactful decisions of my life, and the end result is a favorable one indeed, yet I am still baffled by the constant fact that if I had not be effected by a multitude of biased opinions I may have never joined the corps and my life would have been drastically different from how it is…

    • 1006 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marine Corps Operations

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The U.S. Marine Corps has been supporting the nation's conflicts since their founding in 1775. Their agile structure and unique capabilities make them the primary go to force for military operations and activities. Marines have been involved in several joint operational environments from stability operations with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), to peace operations with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), to counterinsurgency (COIN) operations in the aftermath of the war in Afghanistan, and counterterrorism operations in the Philippines with Operation Freedom Eagle. Because of this, the Marine Corps must prepare to execute all forms of military operations and activities particularly humanitarian assistance…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marine Corps Values Essay

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Yet, an overemphasis on competence in our daily and annual training and a lack of a robust character development has led to what I frame is a 'crisis of character' in our force today. The development of the character of our force is a daily endeavor and cannot live solely in classroom periods of instruction less we continue to fail in our responsibility to foster our profession and return quality citizens to society after their service. The Marine Corps is an awesome warfighting organization with a storied heritage, tradition and legacy as America’s expeditionary force, yet those familiar with its history, or for that matter…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I want to become a Marine Corps Officer because I believe it takes something else, something great to lead the best and most aggressive fighting force in the world. Marine Corps Officers are the epitome of a great Marine and have to have certain personality traits that distinguish themselves from others and label them as leaders. My father raised me with the mentality that ideals such as integrity and sacrifice are more important in a man than materialistic objects and bad morals. Growing up, I had a lot of experience to gain these traits and even learn new ones like commitment and initiative. In high school, I was on the swim team and played water polo all four years, and my junior year my coach made me Team Captain. Although I was in shape…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I believe that I will be a strong addition to the Marine Corp due to my deep sense of patriotism, commitment to values and the discipline that I have learned to apply to follow through with my…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Why Marines Are The Best

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages

    For the past two centuries the Marines have made themselves an important part of the US military. Marines expect higher standards always being in shape and having a bond with other Marines making them family. The Marines have the dedication and motivation to push themselves past their own limits. This is what makes the marines different than the other military branches. Being a Marine is a serious life time commitment, those who earn the title of being a Marine are expected to act in a manner proper of a Marine at all times.…

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays