From Enlisted Marine To Battalion Commander
by U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Willow Marshall
February 14, 2023

On January 6, 2023, Lt. Col. Clinton K. Hall replaced Lt. Col. Robert M. Jones as the commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.

Hall is a Winnemucca, Nevada, native. He said he joined the Marine Corps in 1997 because he was “unprepared to attend college, needed some structure, and was looking for a challenge.”

Upon completing his initial training pipeline as an infantry Marine, he checked into 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. After deploying with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, he took the Surveillance and Target Acquisition platoon indoctrination and became a scout sniper.

While Hall was a scout sniper with the STA platoon, he deployed with a small unit to Africa in support of Operation Resolute Response in 1999. Resolute Response was the United States’ response mission in the aftermath of the blasts at American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998, which killed more than 250 people, including 12 Americans, and injured 5,000.

Hall left the Marine Corps when his contract expired in December 2000; however, he reenlisted the following summer.

“I chose to return to the Marine Corps primarily because of the camaraderie in the teams, platoons, companies, and battalions across the institution,” said Hall.

Upon returning to the Corps, Hall checked into 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st MARDIV, and deployed again on the 31st MEU to Japan. During that deployment, he decided to submit an officer package through the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Education Program. In 2003, Headquarters Marine Corps approved his application, and Hall was on his way to earning his commission.

MECEP is an enlisted-to-officer commissioning program designed to provide outstanding enlisted Marines the opportunity to serve as Marine Corps officers. A Marine must possess a minimum of 12 credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree and seek a commission. Marines must be between the age of 20 and 26 and, upon acceptance to the program, will attend Officer Candidates School for 10 weeks before arriving at a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps-affiliated college or university to complete their bachelor’s degree. Once they complete their degree, Marines earn a commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.

“The training, education, and mentoring that exists for those transitioning from enlisted to officer is a time-proven process that effectively prepares those to use what is valuable from their past experiences, but simultaneously realize that their peers, without those experiences, are just as, if not more, capable,” said Hall. “I chose to apply for a commission because I recognized that the chain of command quickly departs from the enlisted ranks and runs through officers. My ability to make an impact would be best realized as an officer.”

Upon completing MECEP, Hall reported to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. As a first lieutenant, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Deploying alongside Hall was then-gunnery sergeant, now Master Gunnery Sgt. Shawn Hughes. Hall and Hughes served as scout snipers in 3rd Bn., 5th Marines and have remained close for over twenty years.

“Looking back on our careers as enlisted, and now he as a lieutenant colonel leading one of the most decorated battalions in the Marine Corps, makes you step back and think, man, we’ve come a long way,” said Hughes, the operations chief for the 15th MEU. “Clint is a family man and servant leader that cares about the Marines, sailors, and their families. Make no mistake; he has always trained hard, ensuring that the Marines and sailors were ready for anything that could arise.”

In the following years, Hall served as an instructor at The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and attended the Expeditionary Warfare School and the Army’s Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He then served as the commanding officer at Marine Corps Recruiting Station San Francisco for three years.

When starting his career as an enlisted Marine, Hall was given orders to 5th Marine Regiment. Now, he is serving as the commanding officer of a different battalion with 5th Marines. This tour could be his last or a stepping stone to the next.

“Never intended to stay beyond four years,” said Hall, “yet here we are.”

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