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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Marines all over the Marine Corps get
moved from station to station and climb the ranks on the way. At the
heart of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Headquarters and
Support Company, a new company commander, Captain Eric Mattoon, 29,
from Hilton Head, S.C., just took command in early November, 2014.
Mattoon has seen a good portion of the Marine Corps in his still
young career and it all started with his decision to join the Junior
Navy Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
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Captain Eric Mattoon, 29, from Hilton Head, S.C., the 2nd
Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Headquarters and Support Company
Commander stands in front of an amphibious assault vehicle
during training exercise Steel Knight aboard Marine Corps Air Ground
Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Dec. 14, 2014.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. John Baker)
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“I've always wanted to join the military and then, in
high school, I joined a Navy JROTC and that's where I
learned all the differences between the different branches,”
said Mattoon. “Being so close to Parris Island, we would go
over there and see the Marines, and that's when I knew that
I wanted to be a Marine.”
Unlike many aspiring young
men and women, Mattoon didn't enlist at his first
opportunity; instead he chose the longer path, which led him
to the rank and position that he holds today.
“I went
straight from high school to college and immediately started
applying for the officer selection programs,” said Mattoon.
“I ended up getting selected to the Platoon Leader's Class.”
After being selected, Mattoon attended Officer Candidate
School over the summers of his freshman and junior years of
college. Upon his graduation, Mattoon was commissioned into
the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant and reported to The
Basic School that following July.
Since his
commission, Mattoon has been serving in the Marine Corps for
just shy of eight years.
“After graduating infantry
school, I was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine
Regiment,” said Mattoon. “I was stationed there for three
years. We deployed to Iraq and then Afghanistan before I was
moved to (Marine Corps Base) Quantico, Va.”
While
serving out of Quantico, Mattoon was a part of the Marine
Corps training command. He worked there for an additional
three years before being sent to a five month long course,
the Army Maneuver Captain Career Course, which is an
infantry captain level course. From there, he was finally
sent to his current command.
After his stay as the
H&S company commander, Mattoon said he would like to be
assigned to a line company as their company commander. He
would also like to one day become an operations officer for
an infantry battalion.
Mattoon said he will be in the
Marine Corps until he can no longer serve. He quite simply
just loves being around Marines.
“It's been great
working with Marines; they're so motivated and love their
job,” said Mattoon. "When I talk to people about work, they
make it seem like their coworkers just show up to collect a
paycheck. Here in the Marine Corps, the Marines are really
dedicated and it's a totally different environment that you
won't find anywhere else.”
Along with the people,
Mattoon also likes the responsibility and the unique
situations that the Marine Corps has given him.
During his deployment to Iraq, Mattoon was in charge of his
own platoon. They worked alongside the Iraqi border patrol
and would go out every night looking for smugglers along the
Syrian border.
“It was a lot of responsibility; I
definitely matured a lot there because there was nobody
looking over my shoulder,” said Mattoon. “It was just us; I
was 23 years old and in charge of a whole platoon with five
vehicles. Nowhere else in the world would you be able to do
that kind of stuff.”
Along with his growing maturity,
Mattoon also learned skills and saw different lifestyles in
his deployments that not many people will get the chance to
experience.
“I learned how to work with people from
different cultures,” said Mattoon. “Understanding the
cultures is huge, the way they view the world is way
different than an American views it. I learned about their
life and how it was growing up in their countries and
overall they were really nice to me and my Marines.”
Many Marines never know where the Marine Corps may send them
or what they may have to do. The future is unpredictable but
with a positive outlook like Mattoon's, Marines will always
find a way to push forward.
“Stay motivated and no
matter where the Marine Corps puts you, do the best you
can,” said Mattoon, “As long as you keep a positive outlook
on everything you do and you see everything as a learning
experience, you will walk away a better person.”
By U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. John Baker
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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