thedrifter
10-17-07, 06:29 AM
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17, 2007 Last modified:
VISIT HOME: Stanley Cale graduated the Marine Corps boot camp this month. Family and friends say there's been a big change from his days as a self-described scruffy skateboarder. JEFF MANGUM/The Daily News
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 9:38 PM PDT
‘Squared away' MHS graduate finds his calling in the Marines
By DOMINIKA MASLIKOWSKI/The Daily News
BULLHEAD CITY - Stanley Cale was once a scruffy skateboarder with long hair tucked under a baseball cap.
But that was before Marine Corps boot camp.
He was always a good kid, his parents said, but since Camp Pendleton he carries himself better and is “on point about everything.”
And his room is clean.
“There's a huge difference in the way he dresses, the way he presents himself. He's changed,” said mother Sandee. “He's more respectful, more organized.”
“He's just so squared away now,” said stepfather Rob Grano. “And he presents himself to a higher standard than he used to.”
Inspired by his history teacher at Mohave High School, who was a former Marine, Cale enlisted during his senior year in high school. He was nominated for prom king that year and dated a few girls, but tried to stay unattached. One girl broke up with him saying she'd miss him too much when he left.
Both parents were against his decision to enlist, saying the country was at war and he'd always be away from home. His mother told him he was her only son, how could he do this to her? His stepfather wasn't thrilled.
But both soon came around when they realized Stanley's conviction and determination. Grano said just like Cale once practiced skateboarding tricks for hours in 120-degree weather, so now he was stepping up to the challenges in joining one of the military's most elite forces.
“When Stanley sets his mind to do something, he can do it,” Grano said. “Especially if there's a challenge, he's not going to fail.”
Cale entered the 13-week boot camp shortly after graduating high school this year, and it did prove to be challenging - one hopeful said it was worse than prison, others there threatened to kill themselves. When his mother spent a day touring the camp she became teary when she realized, “they so mean to him.”
Cale graduated boot camp this month and both parents were proud of his accomplishments. They said the Marines will offer Cale a good future, plenty of perks, medical benefits and money for college. It's a different road they've seen many people take who've grown up in Bullhead City, worked menial jobs with no direction and sometimes got sucked into alcohol or drugs.
When Cale was hanging out with his buddies a few nights ago, he said, “when you graduate and accomplish all that, it's the best decision.”
His friends say, “wow, what a change,” from the skateboarder they knew to the Marine he's now become.
Cale will now go through a three-week combat training course and then be stationed in California. He enlisted for four years and says there's a good chance he'll be sent to Iraq, Afghanistan or perhaps Iran. After four years, he's thinking of either re-enlisting or opening up his own restaurant.
And although he doesn't know what to expect in the Middle East besides what he's heard, Stanley says he's motivated to help the men he's bonded with at boot camp and all other Marines.
“Once you're in the Marine Corps, you know the person next to you will give their life for you,” he said. “I want to make a difference because there's Marines dying there. And the more there are over there, the more you can stop it.
“I can help them. And even save them.”
Ellie
VISIT HOME: Stanley Cale graduated the Marine Corps boot camp this month. Family and friends say there's been a big change from his days as a self-described scruffy skateboarder. JEFF MANGUM/The Daily News
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 9:38 PM PDT
‘Squared away' MHS graduate finds his calling in the Marines
By DOMINIKA MASLIKOWSKI/The Daily News
BULLHEAD CITY - Stanley Cale was once a scruffy skateboarder with long hair tucked under a baseball cap.
But that was before Marine Corps boot camp.
He was always a good kid, his parents said, but since Camp Pendleton he carries himself better and is “on point about everything.”
And his room is clean.
“There's a huge difference in the way he dresses, the way he presents himself. He's changed,” said mother Sandee. “He's more respectful, more organized.”
“He's just so squared away now,” said stepfather Rob Grano. “And he presents himself to a higher standard than he used to.”
Inspired by his history teacher at Mohave High School, who was a former Marine, Cale enlisted during his senior year in high school. He was nominated for prom king that year and dated a few girls, but tried to stay unattached. One girl broke up with him saying she'd miss him too much when he left.
Both parents were against his decision to enlist, saying the country was at war and he'd always be away from home. His mother told him he was her only son, how could he do this to her? His stepfather wasn't thrilled.
But both soon came around when they realized Stanley's conviction and determination. Grano said just like Cale once practiced skateboarding tricks for hours in 120-degree weather, so now he was stepping up to the challenges in joining one of the military's most elite forces.
“When Stanley sets his mind to do something, he can do it,” Grano said. “Especially if there's a challenge, he's not going to fail.”
Cale entered the 13-week boot camp shortly after graduating high school this year, and it did prove to be challenging - one hopeful said it was worse than prison, others there threatened to kill themselves. When his mother spent a day touring the camp she became teary when she realized, “they so mean to him.”
Cale graduated boot camp this month and both parents were proud of his accomplishments. They said the Marines will offer Cale a good future, plenty of perks, medical benefits and money for college. It's a different road they've seen many people take who've grown up in Bullhead City, worked menial jobs with no direction and sometimes got sucked into alcohol or drugs.
When Cale was hanging out with his buddies a few nights ago, he said, “when you graduate and accomplish all that, it's the best decision.”
His friends say, “wow, what a change,” from the skateboarder they knew to the Marine he's now become.
Cale will now go through a three-week combat training course and then be stationed in California. He enlisted for four years and says there's a good chance he'll be sent to Iraq, Afghanistan or perhaps Iran. After four years, he's thinking of either re-enlisting or opening up his own restaurant.
And although he doesn't know what to expect in the Middle East besides what he's heard, Stanley says he's motivated to help the men he's bonded with at boot camp and all other Marines.
“Once you're in the Marine Corps, you know the person next to you will give their life for you,” he said. “I want to make a difference because there's Marines dying there. And the more there are over there, the more you can stop it.
“I can help them. And even save them.”
Ellie