thedrifter
02-22-03, 08:09 AM
The hunger to become a Marine
Submitted by: 1st Marine Corps District
Story Identification Number: 2003221143319
Story by Sgt. Jonathan E. Agee
MARINE CORPS RECRUITING SUBSTATION PROVIDENCE, RI (Feb. 21, 2003) -- He lost more than 100 pounds of body fat in his quest to become a Marine, and although it was no piece-of-cake, he admits it was worth all the effort.
Private Joseph C. Carter Jr. was 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 272 pounds when he decided to become a Marine. At that time, he was working as a restaurant chef in his local town of Riverside, RI.
As a chef, he had all the odds working against him. He would often eat throughout the day and have no time for exercise.
"I really had to watch what I ate, because I would eat 15 or 20 times a day" said Carter. "Working at a restaurant you are always picking on something."
His dream of becoming a Marine, however, outweighed his appetite and ultimately caused him to make a radical life change.
Carter began by changing his eating habits to three healthy meals a day. This new diet plan helped him lose 32 pounds, and by then he felt he was ready to join the Corps.
When he walked into the Providence Recruiting Office, however, the recruiters had bad news for him. Although he had lost a significant amount of weight, he was still 35 pounds away from being eligible to ship to Parris Island.
"The road went from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel to running out of gas," said Carter. "I wanted to go to boot camp right then, but it just wasn't a feasible thing at that time, so I had to sit down and convince myself that this is definitely what I was going to do and I did."
Carter's recruiter, Staff Sgt. Kelvin M. Grant, told Carter that if he was ready to become a Marine and had made a commitment to lose the weight he would help him achieve his goal.
"He (Grant) sat down with me and we went over my height and weight, and he showed me where I was and where I needed to be," said Grant. "He said he would help me every step of the way, and that I would get there, and he would make sure we did it together -- and he did it."
For the next two months, Carter was on a Marine Corps diet and exercise program. Each day, Carter came to the Providence recruiting office and exercised with a Marine. The two-hour workout consisted of a 1.5-mile jog, followed by pull-ups, crunches and another 1.5-mile fun-run where exercises were performed at four different locations on a running track.
After the morning exercise session, Carter would return to the Providence office and do more crunches and pull-ups. In the evenings, Carter went to a local gym and continued working toward his goal by running on the treadmill for 30 minutes and playing basketball every Tuesday night.
"Every week we would weigh him and make sure everything was good, and also do certain exercises to make sure he was keeping up with his strength," said Grant. "I saw big improvements and he kept working at it. He was motivating, he did everything we told him to do."
By the time Carter had slimmed down to the Marine Corps' shipping weight standard he was 205 pounds. He was now qualified to go to recruit training, but when he arrived at Parris Island he would have to diet again.
"My weight had actually gone up since I had been there (Parris Island) because we weren't doing anything for the first week, so I was almost up to 220 again," said Carter. "Just eating and sitting around, my weight had gone back up."
Carter was on a diet tray, which means a restricted eating plan that is specifically designed for overweight recruits, for his entire time on Parris Island. "At one point he (senior drill instructor) told me I was good to go, but I decided to stay on it," said Carter when talking about his dieting in recruit training.
"When you get down there you have so much more of a reason to push yourself to the extreme, and go that extra mile and that extra step," said Carter. "I found myself, a fat body, having more energy than some of the people who were in better physical condition than me, because it motivated me so much to keep going, that I would be pushing them. I might not be as fast as them, but I would try to motivate everybody. It was a good feeling to go down there and do that."
Nearly two months into recruit training, Carter received a surprise from his family, putting into perspective all he had accomplished. "I had received a letter from one of my family members and they had sent a wedding picture, and it had a picture of me in it," said Carter. "I had never seen myself until that point in a picture and realized how big I was. I showed it to my senior drill instructor and he didn't believe me that it was me at that point because I was down to 185 pounds ... He actually passed it to other drill instructors when they came in so they could see. And that was motivating for me for him to do that."
By the time recruit training neared graduation, Carter weighed 168 pounds, but that was not all. He had also improved dramatically on his physical strength; when he arrived at Parris Island he was only able to do 2 pull-ups, 11:50 second mile-and-a-half run and 60 crunches. During the final physical fitness test he did 11 pull-ups, 21:55 three-mile run and 135 crunches.
When Carter's family came to visit for recruit graduation, most could not believe how stunning he looked. "They (Carter's family) were pretty much in awe when they saw me," said Carter. "My girlfriend was there and she saw me for the first time and she was crying. She was actually jealous ... I weigh less than her now."
"He lost a lot of weight," said Pfc. Nathaniel A. Cowen, a Marine who went with Carter to the Military Enlistment Processing Station. "When he walked in I didn't even recognize him. I thought I knew him, and then I asked him, 'did I go to MEPS with you?'"
"He is a success story," said Grant. "He is a good motivated kid, and lets you know that if you are determined enough to get something, the only person that can stop you is yourself. He went out there and saw something he wanted to do and did it."
For the future, Carter plans to go to administrative school and one day become a drill instructor or a law enforcement official. But, no matter what direction he decides to go, if he keeps the same level of motivation as he did for his weight loss training he will be sure to excel.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003221144019/$file/Bef&aftlow.jpg
This comparison shows Pvt. Carter before and after his transformation into the United States Marine Corps.
Photo by: Sgt. Jonathan E. Agee/Norwegian Cruise Line
Sempers,
Roger
Submitted by: 1st Marine Corps District
Story Identification Number: 2003221143319
Story by Sgt. Jonathan E. Agee
MARINE CORPS RECRUITING SUBSTATION PROVIDENCE, RI (Feb. 21, 2003) -- He lost more than 100 pounds of body fat in his quest to become a Marine, and although it was no piece-of-cake, he admits it was worth all the effort.
Private Joseph C. Carter Jr. was 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 272 pounds when he decided to become a Marine. At that time, he was working as a restaurant chef in his local town of Riverside, RI.
As a chef, he had all the odds working against him. He would often eat throughout the day and have no time for exercise.
"I really had to watch what I ate, because I would eat 15 or 20 times a day" said Carter. "Working at a restaurant you are always picking on something."
His dream of becoming a Marine, however, outweighed his appetite and ultimately caused him to make a radical life change.
Carter began by changing his eating habits to three healthy meals a day. This new diet plan helped him lose 32 pounds, and by then he felt he was ready to join the Corps.
When he walked into the Providence Recruiting Office, however, the recruiters had bad news for him. Although he had lost a significant amount of weight, he was still 35 pounds away from being eligible to ship to Parris Island.
"The road went from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel to running out of gas," said Carter. "I wanted to go to boot camp right then, but it just wasn't a feasible thing at that time, so I had to sit down and convince myself that this is definitely what I was going to do and I did."
Carter's recruiter, Staff Sgt. Kelvin M. Grant, told Carter that if he was ready to become a Marine and had made a commitment to lose the weight he would help him achieve his goal.
"He (Grant) sat down with me and we went over my height and weight, and he showed me where I was and where I needed to be," said Grant. "He said he would help me every step of the way, and that I would get there, and he would make sure we did it together -- and he did it."
For the next two months, Carter was on a Marine Corps diet and exercise program. Each day, Carter came to the Providence recruiting office and exercised with a Marine. The two-hour workout consisted of a 1.5-mile jog, followed by pull-ups, crunches and another 1.5-mile fun-run where exercises were performed at four different locations on a running track.
After the morning exercise session, Carter would return to the Providence office and do more crunches and pull-ups. In the evenings, Carter went to a local gym and continued working toward his goal by running on the treadmill for 30 minutes and playing basketball every Tuesday night.
"Every week we would weigh him and make sure everything was good, and also do certain exercises to make sure he was keeping up with his strength," said Grant. "I saw big improvements and he kept working at it. He was motivating, he did everything we told him to do."
By the time Carter had slimmed down to the Marine Corps' shipping weight standard he was 205 pounds. He was now qualified to go to recruit training, but when he arrived at Parris Island he would have to diet again.
"My weight had actually gone up since I had been there (Parris Island) because we weren't doing anything for the first week, so I was almost up to 220 again," said Carter. "Just eating and sitting around, my weight had gone back up."
Carter was on a diet tray, which means a restricted eating plan that is specifically designed for overweight recruits, for his entire time on Parris Island. "At one point he (senior drill instructor) told me I was good to go, but I decided to stay on it," said Carter when talking about his dieting in recruit training.
"When you get down there you have so much more of a reason to push yourself to the extreme, and go that extra mile and that extra step," said Carter. "I found myself, a fat body, having more energy than some of the people who were in better physical condition than me, because it motivated me so much to keep going, that I would be pushing them. I might not be as fast as them, but I would try to motivate everybody. It was a good feeling to go down there and do that."
Nearly two months into recruit training, Carter received a surprise from his family, putting into perspective all he had accomplished. "I had received a letter from one of my family members and they had sent a wedding picture, and it had a picture of me in it," said Carter. "I had never seen myself until that point in a picture and realized how big I was. I showed it to my senior drill instructor and he didn't believe me that it was me at that point because I was down to 185 pounds ... He actually passed it to other drill instructors when they came in so they could see. And that was motivating for me for him to do that."
By the time recruit training neared graduation, Carter weighed 168 pounds, but that was not all. He had also improved dramatically on his physical strength; when he arrived at Parris Island he was only able to do 2 pull-ups, 11:50 second mile-and-a-half run and 60 crunches. During the final physical fitness test he did 11 pull-ups, 21:55 three-mile run and 135 crunches.
When Carter's family came to visit for recruit graduation, most could not believe how stunning he looked. "They (Carter's family) were pretty much in awe when they saw me," said Carter. "My girlfriend was there and she saw me for the first time and she was crying. She was actually jealous ... I weigh less than her now."
"He lost a lot of weight," said Pfc. Nathaniel A. Cowen, a Marine who went with Carter to the Military Enlistment Processing Station. "When he walked in I didn't even recognize him. I thought I knew him, and then I asked him, 'did I go to MEPS with you?'"
"He is a success story," said Grant. "He is a good motivated kid, and lets you know that if you are determined enough to get something, the only person that can stop you is yourself. He went out there and saw something he wanted to do and did it."
For the future, Carter plans to go to administrative school and one day become a drill instructor or a law enforcement official. But, no matter what direction he decides to go, if he keeps the same level of motivation as he did for his weight loss training he will be sure to excel.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003221144019/$file/Bef&aftlow.jpg
This comparison shows Pvt. Carter before and after his transformation into the United States Marine Corps.
Photo by: Sgt. Jonathan E. Agee/Norwegian Cruise Line
Sempers,
Roger