GARMSIR DISTRICT, Helmand province, Afghanistan
(May 10, 2011) - Lance Cpl. Shawn Cole, a native of Cresskill, N.J., is a fire team leader with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment's Guard Force Platoon. He is responsible for three other Marines during his seven-month deployment. This is Cole's second deployment. |
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He hums the chorus of a song, which bounces off the
walls of an empty house he passes. His fire team
hums along, but no one smiles or laughs. Their eyes
scour the terrain, and their ears are tuned for
trouble.
Lance Cpl. Shawn Cole stops
mid-hum. His fire team halts, and the chorus comes
to an abrupt rest. Instead of thinking about how
long they've been walking, they hone in on
something. Despite the improvements in Garmsir
District, even a farmer digging in his field could
signal danger ahead – maybe an improvised explosive
device.
After a tense moment, the muffled
crunch of boot upon stone resumes. Trouble never
materializes, and the patrol moves on.
“After
about four or five hours of just walking, it's hard
to stay concentrated,” Cole said. “So, I try to keep
my Marines attentive and fresh. We pour over the
ground, walls and trees, looking for [improvised
explosive devices] and anything suspicious. Singing
is a way I try to keep things fresh — make sure my
Marines aren't being sucked into the monotony of
patrol ...”
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed
21-year-old joined the Corps because he had always
been interested in the military. He said he wanted
to be a part of something bigger than himself, and
his second tour in Afghanistan gives him that
satisfaction.
Cole is a fire team leader
with the Guard Force Platoon, 1/3, which provides
security throughout the district. As a fire team
leader, he is responsible for himself and three
other Marines. If they do something wrong, he has
done something wrong; conversely, their successes
are his. |
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Although Cole and his fire team are all the same rank,
Cole has the most time-in-grade. Thus, he leads them in
combat and in their daily lives. They go to him with any
problem, ranging from illness to coping with separation from
loved ones. He knows if they are married, have a girlfriend,
or are engaged, and he knows their life goals.
“As a
leader, I have to be concerned for my Marines,” Cole said.
“Not just how they perform their job, but I have to immerse
myself in their life to see what's bothering them, how life
is back home, how I can help them, and what I can do to
boost their morale. [I have to] let them know that there is
a Marine here who cares about them.”
The Cresskill,
N.J., native graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot,
Parris Island, S.C., in 2008, and deployed to Afghanistan in
2009. He has only been in the Corps for three years, yet he
leads Marines in combat.
As a lance corporal, or
“lance,” Cole holds a dynamic rank. He bears a significant
level of responsibility as a fire team leader, but he's
still only two ranks up from the bottom. Lance corporal is
the most common rank in the Marine Corps, and for the
infantryman, being a lance represents a baseline of
experience. It means you know what you're doing.
“[Being a lance] is really about going through shared
hardships -- being able to say ‘we've experienced this,'
because with experience comes respect in the infantry,” he
explained.
Superiors' constant supervision breaks
down his weaknesses, building him into a better Marine each
day. “Yes, insert-rank-here” always follows a direct order
from a Marine of higher rank.
Cole still fills
sandbags like a private first class, but as a lance, he is
beginning to see and become part of the bigger picture. As
his superiors scrutinize him, he studies them and forms his
own opinions of how to effectively lead. Gradually, he's
becoming his future self.
“I'm definitely seeing
what it's like to be in that higher rank, and what it's like
to have Marines under you,” Cole said.
However, Cole
can't lord over his Marines. Because he is equal to them in
rank, he has to work especially hard to justify his elevated
position. Yet, he must have the confidence to dictate when
necessary.
“The fact that I hold a billet doesn't
mean that I'm going to take myself out of the mix of things
and just tell them to do things,” Cole said. “I don't set
myself [above them], but I still have the responsibility to
make sure my Marines get the job done quickly, efficiently
and properly.”
Cole and his fellow lance corporals
are the workhorses of the battalion. They stand post in the
middle of the night, patrol, and participate in impromptu
working parties during their free time.
“The vast
numbers of lance corporals make up the [majority of the]
Marine Corps' workforce ...” Cole said. “As a lance, it's
about being mentally tough, because there are a lot of
things that get thrown your way, but you just got to keep
your head up and keep pushing.”
Hardship and
adversity is the mortar of the lance corporal network:
crushing on the one hand, yet binding on the other. And
Cole, although he may be a fire time leader, isn't
impervious to the stress. He still calls home any chance he
gets. Many a night, he lays motionless in his bed, waiting
to fall asleep and thinking of his girlfriend.
When
his spirits are low, he leans on his fire team for support.
They know each other in a way only a Marine fire
team can. They live in an atmosphere where sensitive
subjects become talking points for discussions, and
everything somehow ends in a zany joke to relieve the
stress. It's not about suffering through seven months of
separation, but enjoying time with fellow Marines — fellow
brothers.
“At the end of the day, when everything is
said and done, we let each other know we're here for one
another,” Cole said. “You definitely see the brotherhood in
the room, even if it's just goofing around to blow off
steam. They know when I get extra stressed, I think about
all the places I'd rather be, with my girlfriend and with my
family. They know seeing my girlfriend's face on Skype and
talking to my family on the phone keeps me going.”
Mentally, Cole drifts between the present and future. He
plans to marry his girlfriend, which he brings up everyday
with an ivory-white, full-toothed grin. He doesn't plan on
staying in the Marine Corps, but that doesn't stop him from
being proud to claim the title. He plans to get his
associate's degree before exiting the Corps, and when he
does get out, he plans on going into law enforcement.
For now, he's a young and tough - a lance corporal
laboring alongside his brothers in 1/3.
“I'm never
going to regret my decision to join the Marines,” Cole said.
“I've made friends, and I'm going to take away a unique
appreciation for the securities and luxuries I have as an
American. Sometimes it's rough, and you kind of just want to
make it go away, but at the end of the day, you're always
proud to be a Marine, because you're going through things
the average American can't even fathom.”
Editor's Note: ‘Through the Ranks,' is a series of feature
articles about a day in the life of a deployed Marine from 1st
Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Each article will highlight an
individual's personal experience through the perspective of his
rank. This is the fifth article of the series.
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