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thedrifter
03-05-03, 07:05 AM
by Lance Cpl. Edward R. Guevara Jr.
Marine Corps News
February 28, 2003

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Throughout their training here recruits are given many opportunities to improve themselves. In each platoon however, there is one recruit who stands out as the Most Improved Recruit.

Mario Ramirez, 18, from Los Angeles, is the Most Improved Recruit in Platoon 1147, Company B.

According to Ramirez, he is honored that his senior drill instructor finds him worthy of this title.

"I put out just as much as the other recruits," said Ramirez. "I improved physically mostly and have much more confidence."

"He was the most improved for his attitude toward the situation he was put in," said Staff Sgt. Eduardo A. James, drill instructor, Platoon 1147, Company B. "I did not feel sorry for him or give him any special treatment. I treated him as any other recruit in my platoon. He saw that I did not care, so he chose to excel and volunteered to do different things."

"He improved by being more open, taking chances in tasks that involved things where he would make the decision for the team or platoon," said James.

His confidence comes from the drill instructors and other recruits picking him up and helping him out when he was down, according to Ramirez.

"I think my platoon did an outstanding job," said Ramirez. "We made it through together, that's what counts."

Recruit training is where it all starts for Ramirez, who is slated to train as an aircraft mechanic. As an aircraft mechanic, Ramirez expects to create and maintain goals for himself with a good stable life in the way of the Marine Corps. This is the new way of life and beginning he has been looking for, according to Ramirez.

Having graduated recruit training today, Ramirez can go home with a new sense of pride for the effort he has put forth during this testing three months, according to Ramirez.

"I can go home and say I did this," said Ramirez. "Something my friends would never do."

He will visit some of his high school friends when he gets back to his hometown for 10 days of recruit-training leave.

Ramirez spent four years in Navy Junior ROTC at Hawthorne High School, earning him the rank of private first class upon completion of recruit training. He balanced these responsibilities along with a part-time job as a fast food restaurant cook.

Most recruits find recruit training a difficult challenge and Ramirez agrees.

"Boot camp was one of the most difficult things I have ever done," said Ramirez.

"The difficulties that I saw were that it took a while for him to be able to depend on others," said James. "He was forced to be part of a team. In the past he was not given a chance to be part of something."

Difficult times are not something new to Ramirez. He has led a challenging life and come out on top, according to Ramirez.

He was brought up in a bad neighborhood, but his mother and father were there guiding him to become the good man he is today, according to Ramirez. Ramirez was born with a cleft lip and cleft palette. Through reconstructive surgeries and speech classes he was able to live a much more normal life.

Working through verbal handicaps with the aid of speech class did not prepare him for the challenge he faced at the gas chamber.

"I saw recruits freaking out in front of me, but I didn't with the help of my senior drill instructor talking me through it," said Ramirez.

His senior drill instructor was there to talk him through the chamber obstacle and his success has led him to the parade deck here where his drill instructors grant him the title Marine.

"Recruit Ramirez came here to be part of something, and he found a new family that will take care of its own," said James.

He will be going into the Operating Forces with confidence that was obtained with the help of his drill instructors and platoon.

"Many recruits come through here and most of them milk their situation, Recruit Ramirez did not," said James. "He showed me that you cannot judge a book by its cover and he is here to make a difference and be a Marine. No matter what obstacles come in front of him."

According to Ramirez, his main motivation during recruit training were his thoughts of family and home. He has reached his goal and is looking forward to finally being with his parents and two sisters back home during his leave.

http://www.military.com/pics/usmc2_022803.jpg
PFC Mario Ramirez, rolls the sleeves of his camouflage blouse. Ramirez was named as the Most Improved Recruit in Company B. Photo by: PFC Jess N. Levens

The Drifter