thedrifter
10-22-05, 06:54 AM
Marine continues family tradition
MCB Hawaii
Story by: Lance Cpl. Roger L. Nelson
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii(Oct. 21, 2005) -- In two years, you would expect that most people could accomplish some pretty outstanding things. Lance Cpl. Geoff A. Kercher, team leader, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, has done just that and used his ambition to take his life to the next level and push himself do more than the “average Joe.”
“I was in college at Central Connecticut State University, studying business before I joined the Marines,” said Kercher. “But everyone does that, and it doesn’t take anything special to get a degree, just studying. Everyone goes to college, but I wanted to do something that not a lot of people do and get the experience, so I knew I should join the Marines.”
Kercher, a New Britain, Conn. native, said that his parents pushed him into the Marine Corps because of his family’s long history with the Corps.
“I’ve had a lot of family who have been in the Marines, so it’s kind of like my legacy,” said Kercher. “My mom and dad are really behind me with anything that I chose to do in my life, but they were all for it when I told them I was going to join the Marine Corps.”
Kercher explained that the only time his mother regretted him joining is when she found out he was being deployed to Afghanistan in November in 2004.
“Yeah, she was upset that her little boy was going into combat,” said 21-year-old Kercher. “That was probably one of the worst parts about being deployed. I missed my family and friends so much.
“Definitely the worst part of my deployment was seeing two of my really close friends get killed in action,” said Kercher.
“Once I got home from deployment, I just wanted to take leave and see my family,” said the Avon High School graduate. “I also wanted to get away from the deployment life and get back into the swing of things.”
Kercher explained that once he gets out of the Marine Corps he plans on returning to college and getting a Bachelor’s degree in business.
“I just want to have a desk job and make a lot of money when I get older and out of the Marines,” said Kercher. “The Marine Corps has given me a lot of opportunities, like I currently am in the Scout Sniper Basic Course, but other then that, I’m just tired of being outside, and just want to be able to relax at a desk for awhile.
“The hardest thing that I have done since I’ve been in the Marine Corps is definitely the sniper training,” said Kercher.
“The course is only ten weeks, but when I graduate, I will have put in a total of almost twenty weeks in the course,” said the motivated sniper student.
For Kercher, the Marine Corps has been a long and bumpy road, but he still finds himself pushing it to the next level and taking advantage of the things the Marine Corps has to offer him.
“I’m just here to experience things the average person doesn’t get to do,” said Kercher. “And, so far I’ve done just that.”
Ellie
MCB Hawaii
Story by: Lance Cpl. Roger L. Nelson
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii(Oct. 21, 2005) -- In two years, you would expect that most people could accomplish some pretty outstanding things. Lance Cpl. Geoff A. Kercher, team leader, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, has done just that and used his ambition to take his life to the next level and push himself do more than the “average Joe.”
“I was in college at Central Connecticut State University, studying business before I joined the Marines,” said Kercher. “But everyone does that, and it doesn’t take anything special to get a degree, just studying. Everyone goes to college, but I wanted to do something that not a lot of people do and get the experience, so I knew I should join the Marines.”
Kercher, a New Britain, Conn. native, said that his parents pushed him into the Marine Corps because of his family’s long history with the Corps.
“I’ve had a lot of family who have been in the Marines, so it’s kind of like my legacy,” said Kercher. “My mom and dad are really behind me with anything that I chose to do in my life, but they were all for it when I told them I was going to join the Marine Corps.”
Kercher explained that the only time his mother regretted him joining is when she found out he was being deployed to Afghanistan in November in 2004.
“Yeah, she was upset that her little boy was going into combat,” said 21-year-old Kercher. “That was probably one of the worst parts about being deployed. I missed my family and friends so much.
“Definitely the worst part of my deployment was seeing two of my really close friends get killed in action,” said Kercher.
“Once I got home from deployment, I just wanted to take leave and see my family,” said the Avon High School graduate. “I also wanted to get away from the deployment life and get back into the swing of things.”
Kercher explained that once he gets out of the Marine Corps he plans on returning to college and getting a Bachelor’s degree in business.
“I just want to have a desk job and make a lot of money when I get older and out of the Marines,” said Kercher. “The Marine Corps has given me a lot of opportunities, like I currently am in the Scout Sniper Basic Course, but other then that, I’m just tired of being outside, and just want to be able to relax at a desk for awhile.
“The hardest thing that I have done since I’ve been in the Marine Corps is definitely the sniper training,” said Kercher.
“The course is only ten weeks, but when I graduate, I will have put in a total of almost twenty weeks in the course,” said the motivated sniper student.
For Kercher, the Marine Corps has been a long and bumpy road, but he still finds himself pushing it to the next level and taking advantage of the things the Marine Corps has to offer him.
“I’m just here to experience things the average person doesn’t get to do,” said Kercher. “And, so far I’ve done just that.”
Ellie