HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- A group of Marines in Afghanistan recently extended their service to the Corps, not on the sands of the country’s battlefields, but thousands of feet above it.
The three Marines, all with Marine Attack Squadron 513, reenlisted aboard a Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules aircraft from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, Aug. 13.
Cpl. Shawn Rose, a VMA-513 avionics technician; Cpl. Michael Prince, a VMA-513 powerline mechanic; and Sgt. Marc Longoria, a VMA-513 powerline mechanic, all re-affirmed their oaths of enlistment, while the Hercules on which they were flying was supporting VMA-513 AV-8B Harrier attack jets with aerial refueling.
Each Marine had his own reasons for serving their country another term.
“The Marine Corps has been a great stepping stone in my life,” said Rose, of Freeport, N.Y., who grew up in Jamaica. “Being a Caribbean-American, the Marine Corps has opened a window to my mental, physical and psychological development.”
Reenlisting almost guarantees a perpetuation of Corps tradition, which include passing on knowledge, as in Prince’s case.
“I want to stay in my job field, to keep up with what’s going on,” said Prince, a Battle Creek, Mich., native, slated to become an instructor at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. “It’s a good career. The military takes good care of you.”
Longoria hails from Yuma, Ariz., like the Harrier squadron with which he now serves. The corporal, whose father also served as a Marine, said he comes from a family of service.
“There’s good and bad in the Marine Corps, like anything in life,” Longoria said. ”But it’s definitely more fun than most civilian jobs.”
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