Marine Emerges as Leader
(September 26, 2010) |
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September 16, 2010 -- Marine Corps Sgt. Kevin A.
Aguilar conducts Marine Corps Martial Arts Program training with his Marines on
a regular basis. In addition to his military occupational duties, Aguilar serves
as a suicide prevention instructor trainer, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program
instructor and Mentors in Violence Prevention instructor. |
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CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii, Sept.
23, 2010 – Marine Corps Sgt. Kevin A. Aguilar
has wanted to be a Marine almost for as long as
he can remember.
“I used to watch war movies instead of cartoons
when I was a kid,” the California native said.
“When I was 7 years old, I saw a Marine color
guard for the first time. They all looked so
proud in their uniforms. Since then, my dream
has always been to be a Marine.”
He planned to enlist after high school, he said,
but life threw him a curve ball. At 18, with a
child on the way, Aguilar decided being a father
was more important than following his dream. But
five years later, his family rewarded him for
his dedication by bringing the Corps to him.
“It was my wife who called the recruiter,” he
said. “At the time, I didn't know they accepted
anyone who wasn't 18. I honestly thought I was
too old to join. But my wife pushed me to follow
my dream, and I signed up to be an infantryman.”
But the infantry was full at the time, and there
was a nine-month wait before it would open
again. Aguilar had to find an alternative. His
recruiter suggested motor transportation, and
Aguilar seized the opportunity to become a
Marine.
In January 2005, he shipped to basic training in
San Diego, and then he |
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attended Marine combat training. |
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But once he arrived at his motor transportation school, Aguilar said, he was
disappointed.
“I thought I was going to be rolling around in ... Humvees with .50 [caliber
machine guns],” he said. “When I found out I was going to be driving [5-ton
trucks], I was not too happy.”
But Aguilar never forgot why he joined; he wanted to fight for his country. He
graduated from his school and finally received the break he'd been waiting for.
He was assigned to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms,
Calif.
“They assigned me to 1st Tank Battalion,” he said. “It was a combat unit. I
automatically took a lot of pride in that. It was what I joined for. I was
overjoyed my dream was coming true.”
Aguilar deployed to Iraq in 2007, but in the interim, he said, he needed to
challenge himself. During a time when many Marines weren't interested in the
Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, Aguilar took it upon himself to become a
martial arts instructor in 2006.
“I have a saying: ‘Do something challenging at least once a year,'” he said. “In
2005, that was boot camp. I deployed to Iraq in 2007. So in 2006, I saw that the
battalion only had one [martial arts] instructor. So I chose to become one
myself. It challenged me to be physically fit. I became more confident, and I
trained dozens of Marines. I loved it.”
During his time in Iraq, Aguilar and his platoon conducted dozens of combat
missions, and the young Marine and earned a reputation for being trustworthy and
dependable. His reputation followed him back to Twentynine Palms. In October
2008, Aguilar was promoted to his current rank and was made a convoy leader for
an exercise.
Challenged with a position typically reserved for staff noncommissioned officers
and senior sergeants, Aguilar proved his worth by conducting the 30-day exercise
with zero incidents while in charge of more than 80 Marines.
Two months later, he was transferred to Hawaii and assigned to Headquarters and
Service Battalion, Marine Forces Pacific, to work as the dispatching and
licensing noncommissioned officer in charge. Aguilar said he realized he was
being sent to a nondeployable unit, but that he took the assignment to give back
to those who gave up so much for his dream.
“I look at it as a little payback to my family,” Aguilar said. “They gave up a
lot so I could be a Marine. They put up with me being gone for training, a
combat tour, exercises, you name it. I got to bring them out to Hawaii for
everything they've done for me.”
Despite his “desk job,” Aguilar is far from complacent. He mentors his Marines,
is active in their lives and continues to serve as a martial arts instructor.
“He's a stellar sergeant of Marines,” said Cpl. James Moore, a motor
transportation Marine. “I've been in for almost five and a half years. I've seen
my fair share of sergeants who just go through the motions, but I know that I
can take a problem to Sergeant Aguilar and guarantee that it gets done.”.
Moore recalled an example of Aguilar's leadership. “I had to go on emergency
leave once, and I couldn't find the number to the Red Cross,” he said. “Five
seconds after I told him, he had the number for me. That's the kind of sergeant
he is.”.
Aguilar's dependability has been noticed throughout the command. In addition to
his job and the time he puts in as an instructor, the command has given him
additional duties reserved for only the most mature and dependable Marines:
suicide prevention instructor trainer and Mentors in Violence Prevention
instructor..
“He's an extremely dependable sergeant,” said Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Trinity A.
Lizalde, battalion embark chief. “It's just Aguilar. If you work with him, you
know things are going to get done. He's exactly what a sergeant of Marines
should be.”.
Aguilar and his family are scheduled to leave Hawaii in December. He hopes to
become a drill instructor..
“The next couple of years aren't going to be a vacation,” he said. “But it's
time I give back to the Marine Corps for what it's given me.” |
Article and photo by USMC Cpl. Juan D. Alfonso
Marine Forces Pacific
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010 |
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