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Sergeant Michael Montgomery, patrol base
non-commissioned officer in charge, Echo Battery, 2nd Battalion,
10th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 6, briefs his Marines just
before leaving for a patrol in Delaram, Afghanistan,
June 1, 2012. Montgomery has served in the Marine Corps for seven
years and is currently on his fourth deployment. Photo by USMC Cpl.
Ed Galo
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DELARAM DISTRICT CENTER, Afghanistan (6/4/2012) – Living the simple
life in a small farm town, Sgt. Michael Montgomery felt that he had
to serve his country in a time of war.
“I think it's
everyone's obligation to serve their country in the military or some
sort of public service,” said Montgomery with Echo Battery, 2nd
Battalion, 10th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 6. “I joined so I
could deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.”
In his seven years in
the Marine Corps, Montgomery, of Potomac, Ill., has deployed four
times: twice to Iraq, once with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit,
and currently, to Afghanistan. He is serving as a squad leader and
the patrol base non-commissioned officer in charge for the Delaram
District Center just outside of Forward Operating Base Delaram II.
Montgomery, 25, is a field artillery cannoneer by trade.
“I love every aspect of artillery, but shooting and moving is my
favorite part,” Montgomery said. “There aren't blanks for the
howitzer. We always shoot live rounds. So that means we always train
for how we fight.” |
Montgomery says he believes his experience from his time
in service and deployments helps him be a strong leader for
his junior Marines.
“It has definitely helped me -
the experience of how basic day to day life is, and going on
patrols and maintaining security. I've learned a lot about
that and try to teach it to the junior guys,” Montgomery
said.
Although he's traveled around the world many
times, Montgomery is still a farm boy at heart. He enjoys
talking about tractors and farm life. He restores old
tractors as a hobby.
“I don't like working with new
tractors with computers and stuff like that,” he said. “I
like an older tractor that is just gears spinning and not
computer programs on wheels. I was raised old school like
that.”
Even on patrols, through the Delaram District
Center, Montgomery talks about farm equipment he sees.
“That one looks almost like the one I have back home,”
he said with a smile to another Marine while they stopped to
talk to the locals on a patrol. “Mine has a bigger plow
though.”
Montgomery says he probably won't reenlist
because he has accomplished his goal of deploying to Iraq
and Afghanistan. He plans on going back home to Illinois,
pursuing a degree in criminal justice, becoming a police
officer, and working on his farm.
“I don't plan on
making a lot of money out of the farm. That's just more to
keep it up,” he said. “We've owned it since 1828. I'm real
big into history, and that's history. It has a lot of
sentimental value. I was raised on the farm, and if I ever
have kids, I'll raise them on that farm too.”
By USMC Cpl. Ed Galo
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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