Through the Ranks: Corporal
(May 24, 2011) |
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COMBAT OUTPOST KOSHTAY, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan -Cpl. Michael Kelley smiles while naming off a list of what needs to be accomplished in the back of his mind here, June 26,
2011. Kelley, a native of Philadelphia, is a police sergeant with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. He is responsible for logistical operations in Bravo's area of operations as well as any Marine of lesser rank here. This is Kelley's second deployment. He graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., in 2008 and deployed to Afghanistan for the first time in 2009. |
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COMBAT OUTPOST KOSHTAY, Afghanistan (MCN - 7/7/2011)
“Kelley!”
The call, echoing from one
HESCO barrier to the next, is answered instantly by
the ‘crunch, crunch' cadence of a Marine jogging
toward his senior. Short muffled bits of
conversation escape between boxes of military
rations, and the senior walks away, his heavy
chevrons drawn by the gravity of another task.
Cpl. Michael Kelley glances at the sea of
rations baking in the plus-100-degree sun, walks
away and returns with several more Marines. He
smiles congenially to the group – says, “It's not so
bad” -- and spends the rest of the day as the
foreman of the impromptu working party, moving boxes
out of the sun and into the shade.
Such is
deployed life for Kelley. The walls echo his name
every day, and every time, he answers with a smile
and ‘can do' attitude.
Kelley, a native of
Philadelphia, could be called the oil that keeps
Koshtay's parts moving. As the police sergeant for
Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment,
he is responsible for supplying the company
infantryman and taking care of miscellaneous tasks
around the combat outpost. Whatever the task, Kelley
never quits.
“Koshtay is like the grand
central station of all the supplies for Bravo
Company,” Kelley said. “We receive all the supplies
and send them out to the patrol bases.”
Kelley doesn't patrol or stand post. He rarely puts
on his kevlar, but his importance isn't measured by
what he does ‘outside the wire.' He has the vital
responsibility of equipping the patrolling Marine,
who's clad in body armor and ambles along the arid
Helmand landscape, rifle in hand. Kelly ensures that
food, water, bullets, uniforms and mail -- the
essentials to stay in the fight – make it to that
Marine. |
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It's not as if Kelley hasn't already proven himself in
combat. In fact, he served as a point man during 1/3's
previous deployment.
Since then, he has been
promoted to corporal and progressed in his career. Now, he
is experiencing the logistical side of deployment, which he
believes will make him a more complete Marine.
“I
really think having this billet is going to help me out in
my career, because it lets me see the other side of the
Marine Corps most infantry Marines don't get to see,” said
Kelley.
While supplying front-line Marines with the
essentials they need to stay in the fight, Kelley supplies
Koshtay Marines with the motivation they need to continue
their hard work. He interacts with everyone assigned to
Koshtay and those who come to drop off provisions, infecting
all with his contagious smile and enthusiasm.
“Getting fellow Marines to smile helps them do their job
because it helps them feel good about what they are doing,”
Kelley said. “I try hard and I try my best, and while I am
doing that, I try to make people feel good because they
should feel good. We're working all the time, and Marines
should feel good about what we are doing in Afghanistan.”
No matter what, Kelley's charismatic smile never
stops gleaming, spreading to other Marines faster than
anxious rumors of the battalion commander's next visit.
Kelley's belief in working with a smile doesn't come
from giddiness; he knows a good attitude goes a long way
toward leading his Marines.
And lead he must. As a
corporal, he holds the first non-commissioned officer rank
and is expected to take charge of those with lesser rank.
Everyone watches him to see how he will handle this
responsibility. Seniors scrutinize his effectiveness as a
supervisor, and juniors pay attention to the example he
sets.
“A lot of my friends who are lance corporals
look at me differently, and all the staff non-commissioned
officers look at me differently, because both of them expect
more out of me since I am a corporal,” Kelley said. “I just
have to raise the bar for myself above all the expectations
people have of me, because it's my responsibility as a
non-commissioned officer to achieve the best I can.”
The rank of corporal makes Kelley a middleman between
senior NCOs and the beehive of lance corporals and privates
first class at Koshtay. He relays the mission to the junior
Marines and lets his supervisors know how the Marines are
doing. In the process, elicits ear-to-ear smiles from both.
“I keep both sides of the spectrum informed,” Kelley
said. “I let the staff non-commissioned officers know how
the privates, Pfcs., and lance corporals are doing and, at
the same time, I make sure what the SNCO's expect of the
junior Marines is being accomplished.”
“It's not
always easy; you just have to find a medium and get the job
done,” Kelley added.
The lines of Kelley's well-worn
smile crease when he proudly reflects on his work. His
irrepressible enthusiasm – his greatest leadership asset --
spreads to lance corporals hauling trash during 4-hour
working parties.
Kelley's fastidious attitude toward
work wasn't born in the Marine Corps. The 32-year-old joined
the Navy in 2003 and served as a boatswains mate. While
chipping paint and mopping the deck aboard the USS Abraham
Lincoln, he learned that maintaining a positive perspective,
regardless of the circumstances, goes a long way.
Kelley left the Navy in 2007, worked for a year outside of
the military with his brother in Philadelphia, and came back
in as a Marine in 2008.
‘Why the military?' is a
no-brainer for Kelley. Motivated by a sense of patriotism,
he plans to stay in for 20 or more years.
“The
lifestyle of the military, in general, is a good lifestyle,”
Kelley said. “It teaches you a lot about life. You come into
the military by yourself, not knowing anyone and that is
when you find out who you are. Then, you start to build upon
who you are, and the military is a great place to be able to
do that because the opportunities offered to you are endless
in the military.”
An eligible bachelor, Kelley has
his mother and married brother keeping tabs on him back
home. Now that he's been ‘out of the nest' for a while, he
pines for home less than before. Though he misses his
family, he's comforted by the knowledge that they think of
him just as much. He knows that even though they aren't in
Afghanistan, they work just as hard at their professions,
with the trademark ‘Kelley Smile.'
“I know my family
is doing good things, and they know I am doing good things,”
Kelley said. “It's not like I just sit around missing my
family, I know they are just as busy as me. But we talk and
understand that we have to live our own lives the best we
can. Knowing that makes it easier for me.”
Editor's Note: ‘Through the Ranks,' is a series of feature
articles about a day in the life of a deployed Marine from 1st
Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Each article will highlight an
individual's personal experience through the perspective of his
rank. This is the fifth article of the series.
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Article and photo by USMC Cpl. Colby Brown
Regimental Combat Team 1
Copyright 2011 | |
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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