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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Children like to talk about
what they will be when they grow up. Most change their minds. Only a
driven few realize their childhood dreams as lifelong goals.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I just always saw myself in the
Army,” Pfc. Nathaniel Kirkpatrick said. “I used to play soldier
growing up.”
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Pfc. Nathaniel Kirkpatrick, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, climbs across a rope obstacle during the I Corps Soldier of the Year Competition June 11, 2013. Since enlisting in the Army, Kirkpatrick has earned his Expert Infantryman Badge and been named the 7th Infantry Division Soldier of the Year. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Naylor, 17th Public Affairs Detachment)
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The middle child of five siblings, Kirkpatrick, 19, grew
up in the town of Otsego, a small community in the heart of
Michigan. His mother, Laurie Marculis, recalls that he spent
most of his childhood in the forest around his house,
practicing survival and just enjoying the outdoors.
“He got pretty serious about the Army at 16 during those
last two years of high school, when your teachers and
counselors are really pushing you to make those decisions,”
Marculis said.
After graduation, Kirkpatrick spent
one last summer vacation in Michigan then left home to
pursue his dream of becoming an infantryman. “I felt like
that could offer the best opportunities to serve my
country,” he said.
The first stop on his journey was
Fort Benning, Ga., for three months of initial training. He
then moved to his current duty station, Joint Base Lewis-McChord,
Wash.
Kirkpatrick found a new home with his fellow
soldiers in the sniper section of reconnaissance platoon,
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd
Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
“They helped me out a lot,” he said. “They helped square
me away. I definitely wouldn't be here if it wasn't for
those guys.”
Only six months into his first
assignment, Kirkpatrick put his infantry training into
action by earning the Expert Infantryman Badge. The badge
was the culmination of a weeklong event that tested badge
candidates physically – one event is a 12-mile foot march
with nearly 70 pounds of gear - and mentally with a host of
combat-related tasks and skills. Of the more than 800
competitors, Kirkpatrick, the youngest candidate, was one of
only 159 to earn the badge.
“It was pretty
challenging,” Kirkpatrick said of the EIB qualification. “It
was great to learn all the new things and to be able to
challenge myself and push myself to compete against everyone
else and get the EIB.”
With barely a pause,
Kirkpatrick moved on to a best soldier competition for the
7th Infantry Division where he beat 11 other soldiers to
claim the title. “I didn't have the wealth of knowledge that
a lot of my competitors had. It was a huge learning curve,”
Kirkpatrick said.
Leaders around him recognized
early on that he stood out from his peers.
“He is
the ideal private first class,” said Staff Sgt. Peter
Kacapyr, a Candor, N.Y., native, and team leader in the same
platoon as Kirkpatrick. “He's new to the Army, but he's
extremely motivated to learn.”
When not busy
competing for titles and badges, Kirkpatrick plays sports
and hangs out with his fellow infantrymen. He is also an
avid explorer who started making his way through the forests
of the Olympic Peninsula early this year.
“I do like
it here. It's nice,” said Kirkpatrick, though he added, “it
sure rains a lot more here than it does in Michigan.”
With only eight months in the Army, Kirkpatrick has kept
busy, but he still thinks about his family back home.
“They're my motivation really,” Kirkpatrick said. “All
the support they give me through phone calls and through
Skype and all the stuff they do for me, it gives me
motivation.”
Kirkpatrick said his family has been
supporting his dream of being a soldier since he was young.
“My family, they always knew that I was going to join,”
Kirkpatrick said. “I always talked about it. They and my
friends couldn't see me doing anything different.”
“We're just so proud,” Marculis said of her son. “He's our
only child in the service. It's something he's always wanted
to do.”
With his new EIB on his uniform and the title
7th ID Soldier of Year, Kirkpatrick is looking forward to
what comes next in his career.
“I do want to be
selected for Special Forces,” he said. “That's what I've
always wanted to do. It would fulfill a dream.”
Kirkpatrick also hopes to attend Army Ranger School and Army
Sniper School.
“I know he's going to do whatever he
sets his mind to,” Marculis said proudly.
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Naylor
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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