thedrifter
12-18-07, 06:19 AM
Marine works on his degree while serving in Iraq
KRISTEN A. HOLMSTEDT
December 18, 2007 - 1:41AM
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS
If Marine Gunnery Sgt. Ronnie Williams had it his way, he would spend his spare time in a classroom at Coastal Carolina Community College working toward his associate's degree. But when you're a Marine and there's a war going on, you don't always have it your way.
So you adapt.
In Williams' case, that means taking his psychology and English classes online from Fallujah.
"In some ways, it's hard taking online classes," Williams wrote in an e-mail from Iraq. "I enjoy a traditional classroom setting. Online courses take the human element out, the interaction between teacher and student."
Nonetheless, Williams and at least nine other deployed service members who are signed up for online classes through Coastal this spring will forgo the human element for the convenience of continuing their education while overseas.
They may not be taking classes under the most ideal circumstances, but the very idea of earning part of a college education from the battlefield is still relatively new.
In previous wars, the thought of Marines and soldiers continuing their education during a conflict was unimaginable. They were lucky to get mail, never mind phone calls, Internet service and class assignments.
A 35-year-old communications specialist with Task Force Military Police, Williams is generally responsible for ensuring that the security teams have what they need to complete their missions. But right now he is a liaison officer, helping to plan and coordinate activities between his battalion and the Marine Expeditionary Force.
Williams works in a building Saddam Hussein once used as a getaway. His office, which will double as his study area, is in a room where the former Iraqi leader is said to have entertained his guests. Now the room is filled with Marines talking on phones and pecking away on their computer keyboards.
With 16 years in the Marine Corps, the Anderson, S.C., native began taking classes to prepare for a second career. He knows that if he wants to be smart about his family's future, he needs to start now, before he gets out of the Marine Corps.
"I am a very simple man," he wrote. "I don't want/need millions of dollars. I just want to be happy."
It's like the old saying, "Money can't buy happiness."
"Well I say it can ease some worries and pains," Williams wrote. "My dreams are to be a professional hunter, to see my children grow into adulthood, and to make my wife happier than the day before."
As far as Williams is concerned, there's no time like the present to start planning for the future, even if the present is in Iraq.
"Now is better than never," he wrote. "When there is no more 'active duty,' what is there? I know that college will offer a lot of opportunities for my family and me.
"The military gives you so many experiences that will be with you for life. But an employer doesn't want to hear that you can get a perfect score on a physical fitness test or that you have visited every continent. They don't want to hear that you can take a squad of Marines and clear a building."
The qualities you learn in the Marine Corps, such as responsibility, leadership, and being a team player, are essential, he wrote, but a college degree will open even more doors and allow you to negotiate a higher salary.
Master Sgt. Gene Potes is a tank leader attached to Delta Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division in Fallujah. He will study American literature during his deployment in Iraq.
Like Williams, Potes has invested a lot of years in the Marine Corps - 18 to be exact. Now he's thinking about his next career.
But it's difficult coming up with a new career when all you know is the one you are in. Potes turned 18 in boot camp. He has been a Marine his entire adult life.
"I'm kind of doing what I want to do right now," he wrote. "I guess that's why I'm unsure of what I'm going to do when I get out."
Still, the 36-year-old native of Sparta, Mich., is moving ahead with his college education. "It's important to me to get a head start on a degree before I retire. I've waited much too long."
Ellie
KRISTEN A. HOLMSTEDT
December 18, 2007 - 1:41AM
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS
If Marine Gunnery Sgt. Ronnie Williams had it his way, he would spend his spare time in a classroom at Coastal Carolina Community College working toward his associate's degree. But when you're a Marine and there's a war going on, you don't always have it your way.
So you adapt.
In Williams' case, that means taking his psychology and English classes online from Fallujah.
"In some ways, it's hard taking online classes," Williams wrote in an e-mail from Iraq. "I enjoy a traditional classroom setting. Online courses take the human element out, the interaction between teacher and student."
Nonetheless, Williams and at least nine other deployed service members who are signed up for online classes through Coastal this spring will forgo the human element for the convenience of continuing their education while overseas.
They may not be taking classes under the most ideal circumstances, but the very idea of earning part of a college education from the battlefield is still relatively new.
In previous wars, the thought of Marines and soldiers continuing their education during a conflict was unimaginable. They were lucky to get mail, never mind phone calls, Internet service and class assignments.
A 35-year-old communications specialist with Task Force Military Police, Williams is generally responsible for ensuring that the security teams have what they need to complete their missions. But right now he is a liaison officer, helping to plan and coordinate activities between his battalion and the Marine Expeditionary Force.
Williams works in a building Saddam Hussein once used as a getaway. His office, which will double as his study area, is in a room where the former Iraqi leader is said to have entertained his guests. Now the room is filled with Marines talking on phones and pecking away on their computer keyboards.
With 16 years in the Marine Corps, the Anderson, S.C., native began taking classes to prepare for a second career. He knows that if he wants to be smart about his family's future, he needs to start now, before he gets out of the Marine Corps.
"I am a very simple man," he wrote. "I don't want/need millions of dollars. I just want to be happy."
It's like the old saying, "Money can't buy happiness."
"Well I say it can ease some worries and pains," Williams wrote. "My dreams are to be a professional hunter, to see my children grow into adulthood, and to make my wife happier than the day before."
As far as Williams is concerned, there's no time like the present to start planning for the future, even if the present is in Iraq.
"Now is better than never," he wrote. "When there is no more 'active duty,' what is there? I know that college will offer a lot of opportunities for my family and me.
"The military gives you so many experiences that will be with you for life. But an employer doesn't want to hear that you can get a perfect score on a physical fitness test or that you have visited every continent. They don't want to hear that you can take a squad of Marines and clear a building."
The qualities you learn in the Marine Corps, such as responsibility, leadership, and being a team player, are essential, he wrote, but a college degree will open even more doors and allow you to negotiate a higher salary.
Master Sgt. Gene Potes is a tank leader attached to Delta Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division in Fallujah. He will study American literature during his deployment in Iraq.
Like Williams, Potes has invested a lot of years in the Marine Corps - 18 to be exact. Now he's thinking about his next career.
But it's difficult coming up with a new career when all you know is the one you are in. Potes turned 18 in boot camp. He has been a Marine his entire adult life.
"I'm kind of doing what I want to do right now," he wrote. "I guess that's why I'm unsure of what I'm going to do when I get out."
Still, the 36-year-old native of Sparta, Mich., is moving ahead with his college education. "It's important to me to get a head start on a degree before I retire. I've waited much too long."
Ellie