thedrifter
02-17-07, 11:02 AM
Ark City Marine earns top honors and a daughter, too
By FOSS FARRAR
Staff Writer
The Arkansas City Traveler Online, KS
Sgt. Jeffrey Hunt had mixed feelings when he learned last month that he had been chosen Marine of the Year for the 2nd Marine Division, a huge unit consisting of roughly 20,000 Marines.
The Arkansas City native who played on the local high school's state championship baseball team in 2003 was far from home when he heard the news. He was in Iraq, serving on his second tour there.
And his wife was in the late stages of pregnancy.
"I am very proud, but my emotions are mixed because my wife is going to have the baby soon and I can't be there by her side," Hunt, 22, was quoted as saying at the time.
But the Marines had another surprise awaiting Hunt -- he got a meritorious promotion -- and he was promoted on the same day his first-born child, a baby girl, was born.
"February 2 was a great day for me," Hunt said in an e-mail to the Traveler on Thursday. "I was up all night on the phone with my wife (Meagan) while she was having the baby. I am very proud of her; she did an amazing job.
"I was glad that we stayed back from patrol that day."
Twenty minutes after the baby was born, Hunt was called by his superiors to join his platoon in formation for a picture.
"I had no idea what was going on," he said. "We were all getting ready to go on a patrol and my sergeant major called me into his office ... He took me into the battalion commander's office and they told me the news. It was a good and proud day for me."
Hunt already had been through a previous meritorious promotion. That was after his first tour in Iraq in 2005. Then a lance corporal, he was given a chance to compete for the title of Marine of the Quarter for his battalion. He eventually won that honor and was promoted to the rank of corporal.
Shortly after that first meritorious promotion, he learned that his wife was pregnant.
"He was recognized for his skills as a good Marine -- kindness, generosity," Meagan Hunt said Wednesday. "He's a great leader with his peers. A lot of people look up to him in his job."
Hunt is a light armored vehicle crewman.
He was assigned to the 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in Camp Lejeune, N.C., after undergoing training as a rifleman and completing a crewman's course.
Hunt's current tour in Iraq is "10 times different" than his first tour, he said in Thursday's e-mail.
"During my first tour our task was to maintain ... security," he said. "We cleared the roads, searched for IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and things like that."
His current assignment is about reaching "the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people," he said.
"We are a lot more interactive with the people," Hunt said. "There are a lot more rules of engagement for us this time around. We give the people every chance they could possibly have to prove themselves."
That task involves a lot of risk, he adds, "but that's our job, and we are out here getting it done."
Hunt said he has pleasant memories of growing up in Ark City.
"My biggest memories were baseball," said Hunt, who was a first baseman for the Ark City Bulldogs. "I played with the same guys every year for as long as I can remember. There was nothing better."
Hunt said he is looking forward to returning to Ark City to see his wife and daughter, Hailey Grace, at the end of his second seven-month deployment to Iraq. He is scheduled to return in March.
"It seems like forever since I've been home," he said. "There is nothing that I want to do more than to just be home and show off my little girl."
Ellie
By FOSS FARRAR
Staff Writer
The Arkansas City Traveler Online, KS
Sgt. Jeffrey Hunt had mixed feelings when he learned last month that he had been chosen Marine of the Year for the 2nd Marine Division, a huge unit consisting of roughly 20,000 Marines.
The Arkansas City native who played on the local high school's state championship baseball team in 2003 was far from home when he heard the news. He was in Iraq, serving on his second tour there.
And his wife was in the late stages of pregnancy.
"I am very proud, but my emotions are mixed because my wife is going to have the baby soon and I can't be there by her side," Hunt, 22, was quoted as saying at the time.
But the Marines had another surprise awaiting Hunt -- he got a meritorious promotion -- and he was promoted on the same day his first-born child, a baby girl, was born.
"February 2 was a great day for me," Hunt said in an e-mail to the Traveler on Thursday. "I was up all night on the phone with my wife (Meagan) while she was having the baby. I am very proud of her; she did an amazing job.
"I was glad that we stayed back from patrol that day."
Twenty minutes after the baby was born, Hunt was called by his superiors to join his platoon in formation for a picture.
"I had no idea what was going on," he said. "We were all getting ready to go on a patrol and my sergeant major called me into his office ... He took me into the battalion commander's office and they told me the news. It was a good and proud day for me."
Hunt already had been through a previous meritorious promotion. That was after his first tour in Iraq in 2005. Then a lance corporal, he was given a chance to compete for the title of Marine of the Quarter for his battalion. He eventually won that honor and was promoted to the rank of corporal.
Shortly after that first meritorious promotion, he learned that his wife was pregnant.
"He was recognized for his skills as a good Marine -- kindness, generosity," Meagan Hunt said Wednesday. "He's a great leader with his peers. A lot of people look up to him in his job."
Hunt is a light armored vehicle crewman.
He was assigned to the 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in Camp Lejeune, N.C., after undergoing training as a rifleman and completing a crewman's course.
Hunt's current tour in Iraq is "10 times different" than his first tour, he said in Thursday's e-mail.
"During my first tour our task was to maintain ... security," he said. "We cleared the roads, searched for IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and things like that."
His current assignment is about reaching "the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people," he said.
"We are a lot more interactive with the people," Hunt said. "There are a lot more rules of engagement for us this time around. We give the people every chance they could possibly have to prove themselves."
That task involves a lot of risk, he adds, "but that's our job, and we are out here getting it done."
Hunt said he has pleasant memories of growing up in Ark City.
"My biggest memories were baseball," said Hunt, who was a first baseman for the Ark City Bulldogs. "I played with the same guys every year for as long as I can remember. There was nothing better."
Hunt said he is looking forward to returning to Ark City to see his wife and daughter, Hailey Grace, at the end of his second seven-month deployment to Iraq. He is scheduled to return in March.
"It seems like forever since I've been home," he said. "There is nothing that I want to do more than to just be home and show off my little girl."
Ellie