Motor Transport sergeant keeps his Marines on the road ... to success

[thedrifter]

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — Lead by example. It’s easier said than done for most; but one Marine from Truck Company, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Forward), makes it look natural.

Sgt. Juan Tellorios, platoon sergeant for Truck Company’s 1st Platoon, joined the Marine Corps after seeing a recruiter wearing one of the most recognizable uniforms of the U.S. military.

“I was inspired by a staff sergeant who came to our school in San Diego,” said Tellorios. “He was wearing [a Marine Corps blue dress uniform]. I remember looking at the uniform, and it caught my attention more than anything. After that, I went to the recruiter.”

During his time in the Marine Corps, “Sgt. T” has learned to mentor and motivate his junior Marines with both his work performance and his personal character.

“I have been working under Sgt. T for about three years,” said Cpl. Justin C. Keith, a motor transport operator with 1st Plt. “I have learned a lot from him. He shows you not only how to be a Marine, but also how to be a man at the same time.”

When Tellorios isn’t preparing his Marines for multiple convoys, he is conducting classes and making sure all of his Marines are current with Marine Corps Institute exams, physical fitness tests and other professional military education classes.

“He helps us with everything,” said Lance Cpl. Steven S. Conner, a motor transport operator with 1st Plt. “Whether it’s a PFT or a personal problem, or even if we have a question on how to fix our trucks, he will stop what he’s doing to help us.”

Part of what helps Tellorios lead his Marines with such success is the example he sets.

said Tellorios. “If they’re going on a hump, you need to pack heavier, and if they’re going to be working out in the sun all day, the leaders need to be out here with them.”

His effective leadership style has not gone unnoticed by his superiors at Truck Co.

“He’s very hands-on,” explained Chief Warrant Officer Ceylon Williams, commander of 1st Plt. “It’s 24/7 with Sgt. Tellorios, and that is the kind of interaction that needs to happen for mission accomplishment. Hopefully, he can mentor and train his corporals so we can have many more Sgt. Tellorios ‘mini-me’s running around the Marine Corps.”

Along with mission accomplishment, the bond the Marines have built with Tellorios throughout this deployment is very important to him.

“The greatest feeling of all is to be able to work with junior Marines and to teach them and to mentor them from private first class all the way to sergeant,” said Tellorios.

"Along the way, you make them laugh, you make them smile and you build this camaraderie that us really nowhere else to be found. I have only found it here in the Marine Corps."