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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (March 31, 2013) - Brandy Soublet says
she has been in the right place at the right time. That may be so,
but she doesn't back down from opportunities that cross her path –
she waits for the moment.
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U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Brandy Soublet grew up with two immigrant
parents who worked hard to give their children a good life. Their
inspiration caused her to work hard. She took leadership roles in
her early schooling, earned her master's degree in college and
became one of the first women to be placed in an all-male combat
unit. Photo by USMC Lance Cpl. Lauren Kurkimilis, March 31, 2013
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She grew up with two immigrant parents who worked hard to
give their children a good life. Their inspiration caused
her to work hard. She took leadership roles in her early
schooling, earned her master's degree in college and became
one of the first women to be placed in an all-male combat
unit.
“My father is from Cuba and my mother is from
Puerto Rico. They are both very much self-made people,” said
1st Lt. Brandy
Soublet, S-4 officer, 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion. “My dad
was an entrepreneur and made a life for himself and for us,
but I had a very different childhood than them.”
Soublet's parents worked to send her and her brother to
private schools. She worked hard because her parents worked
harder.
“I had so many opportunities that they could
never dream of as children,” Soublet said. “Knowing they
grew up very poor, and what they came from, I was always
kind of feverish to take advantage of opportunities and to
work as hard as I could as kind of a thank you to them for
all they've done for me.”
Soublet attended an
all-girls, private high school where she played varsity
soccer, became the captain of the soccer team during her
senior year and was also elected vice president of the
student body council.
“I guess I was one of those
over achievers,” Soublet said. “I wanted to fill up my
resum� with extracurriculars but mostly I just always had my
nose in a book or I was on the soccer field. It was really
interesting because I went to an all-girls high school to
the Naval Academy, which was probably about 80 percent men,
which was a big difference.”
Soublet was one of the
first people in her family to go to college and was the
first person in her family to achieve higher than a
bachelor's degree. She studied ocean engineering at the
Naval Academy and then went on to earn a master's degree in
material science and engineering.
“I had a lot of
great professors in college who saw that I had a passion for
my studies and encouraged me to continue to grad school,”
Soublet said. “I ended up going to Pennsylvania State
University for graduate studies. I was commissioned after I
graduated college so I was actually a second lieutenant when
I went to grad school.”
Soublet took advantage of a
very unique program that's offered to Naval Academy
graduates, which allows them to commission but also to go to
grad school right after college.
“I was just sort of
in the right place at the right time,” Soublet said, “and I
did really well in the Naval Academy. I had to also get the
OK from the Marine Corps but I was still active duty the
whole time and I was a second lieutenant for two years while
I was at Penn State. Once I graduated, I went to The Basic
School.”
Soublet says she didn't make up her mind
whether she wanted to follow the path of the Navy or the
Marine Corps until toward the end of her time at the Naval
Academy.
“I actually initially went there thinking I
would do anything other than be a Marine,” Soublet said. “I
would be a Navy pilot or a Navy surface warfare officer but
I didn't want to do the Marine thing. But over the years of
being there, I found that the people that I empathized the
most with and found myself really getting along with, all
ended up graduating Marines. With that pattern I discovered
that the Marine Corps was more of the mindset that I wanted
to be in. We're more disciplined and have a lot of pride in
what we do.”
Soublet is a go-getter. When an idea
pops into her head, she runs with it.
“I'll always
love an adventure,” Soublet said. “I climbed Machu Piicchu
right when I graduated college and I spent two weeks back
packing through Europe by myself when I finished TBS. I'm
very hard headed and independent. It's something I've wanted
to do all my life so I took a military flight over to
Germany and I went to Munich, Prague, Budapest and Vienna.
You go at your own pace and see what you want. You're much
more open to meeting new people and you learn a lot about
yourself. It's a real boost in confidence and independence.”
After completing TBS, Soublet chose to come out to the
west coast and was pleasantly surprised to be stationed at
the Combat Center.
“Everyone always wants San Diego,”
Soublet said. “I got Twentynine Palms and honestly, I
couldn't be happier here. It's been home since day one. I
really enjoy it and I have a great group of friends here.”
Soublet is one of the initial 45 women who, as of
June 1, 2012, were assigned to a formerly all-male
battalion, a new milestone reached in the Marine Corps'
efforts to integrate more females into combat roles.
“Initially, I was assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion
7,” Soublet said. “But then, when I was at Combat Logistics
Officer course, they pulled us in and said, your orders have
changed. You're going to CEB.” Honestly, I was just in the
right place at the right time. June 1 was when this change
was being made and I graduated my course in May. But given
that, I was more than happy to take advantage of the
opportunity.”
Any new lieutenant going to their
first unit is going to be a little nervous, Soublet said.
She was apprehensive at first but once she got to her unit,
she told herself that being the only female in a combat unit
was not going to make a difference. She was just eager to do
her job.
“They responded incredibly well,” Soublet
said. “The first day or so it was sort of like, ‘One of
these Marines is not like the other,' because they weren't
used to working with females. But then, it was just business
as usual and I've never had any issues. They've just
accepted me like any other lieutenant and they judge me
based on my performance and not my gender.”
Soublet
will be deploying with 3rd CEB in early April. She says she
is excited and eager to go on her first deployment where not
only will she get to lead her troops in country, but she
will also pick up the rank of captain.
“My
grandfather doesn't know much about Marine Corps rank,”
Soublet said. “But he always says, ‘I never thought I would
see the day when one of my grandchildren would become a
captain in the United States Marine Corps, never in my
wildest dreams.' So now I can't wait to come back so I can
say, ‘Abuelo, I did it. Look, now I'm a Marine Corps
captain.'''
Inspired by the love, compassion and
dedication of her family, Soublet has worked hard to get to
where she is today. She attests her success to the mindset
her parents instilled in her at a young age.
“I think
that confidence will take you a long way in life.” Soublet
said. “Be bold, it will take you places.”
By USMC Lance Cpl. Lauren Kurkimilis
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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