Marine Cites Pride in Service
(October 11, 2010) |
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Marine Corps Lt. Col. Rex Sappenfield, the
assistant chief of staff of administration, Marine Corps Recruiting
Command, Quantico, Va., is joined by his father, Dale Sappenfield, a
former Marine officer, during his promotion ceremony at the National
Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Va., Sept. 3, 2010. Sappenfield
joined the Marine Corps after his father, a Marine during the 1950s,
surprised him with a recruiter one day after high school. |
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va., Oct. 8, 2010 – A
well-traveled Marine Corps officer based here said he is
proud of his years of service and thankful that his father
had talked him into joining the Corps.
“Serving your country is a great endeavor,” said Lt. Col.
Rex Sappenfield, the assistant chief of staff for
administration, Marine Corps Recruiting Command. “It's an
endeavor that if undertaken ought to be done in the best
service, which is the Marine Corps.”
Sappenfield has served in the Marine Corps for 24 years as
an enlisted infantryman and an administrative officer. He
was a high school student in Los Alamos, N.M., when he came
home from school one day to find a recruiter in the living
room with his parents.
“I was nervous,” Sappenfield recalled, noting the
recruiter's visit had been arranged by his father, Dale
Sappenfield, a Marine officer who'd served as a
communications officer in Japan during the 1950s. |
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Sappenfield's three older brothers, he said, did not join
the Marine Corps and he was his father's last chance to have
a son join the Corps.
“I signed up that day. I was an easy one for that
recruiter,” he said.
Sappenfield arrived at boot camp Sept. 12, 1986, beginning
his Marine Corps career. As an enlisted Marine, he initially
served as an infantry rifleman with 1st Battalion, 8th
Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Being an infantryman “required a lot of endurance and
patience,” Sappenfield said. “It was a pretty challenging
job, physically and mentally.” Sappenfield attained the rank
of corporal and was a fire team leader. A fire team is
usually a four man unit consisting of a rifleman, a machine
gunner, an assistant machine gunner and the team leader.
“Overall, it was a pretty rewarding experience,” Sappenfield
said of his time in the infantry.
Later, Sappenfield learned of an opportunity that would
enable him to expand his education and become an officer.
“When I was a corporal with 1st Bn., 8th Marines, one of my
platoon commanders was a Citadel graduate,” Sappenfield
recalled. “I respected him immensely and after he talked to
me about the benefits of the institution, it was an easy
choice.”
At the end of Sappenfield's enlistment, he became a student
at The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, S.C.
Sappenfield earned a bachelor's degree in education with an
emphasis on English. Upon graduation he received his
commission as a second lieutenant on May 25, 1994.
Though not a teacher, Sappenfield said he still uses his
teaching degree. “I am passionate about teaching and
mentoring young people,” he said.
Sappenfield's pursuit of education did not stop at The
Citadel.
“I earned a master's degree in human resource development
from Webster University when I was a lieutenant,”
Sappenfield said, noting he has instructed newly
commissioned Marine officers attending the Basic School
here.
According to Sappenfield, being a prior enlisted Marine
gives him an understanding of the enlisted Marines he serves
with now.
“It gives me a perspective of what junior Marines go through
on an everyday basis. I have a better perspective of what
their concerns are,” he said.
Sappenfield said he has seen the world in the Marine Corps,
having been stationed in South Korea, Hawaii, and
Afghanistan.
Currently Sappenfield is the manpower officer responsible
for staffing and meeting the administrative requirements for
the recruiting command.
“There's a lot of writing involved in being an
administrative officer, so the English degree helps
tremendously,” Sappenfield said. “The human resource degree
is essential for the human resource management of the
command, ensuring the human resource demands are fulfilled
to accomplish our mission.”
Sappenfield said it is the enjoyment of being a Marine that
has kept him charging forward for the past 24 years.
“I thoroughly enjoy what I do,” he said. “Being a Marine is
a very satisfying job. It's a tremendous honor to be a
Marine Corps officer. | |
Article and photo by USMC Pfc. David Flynn
Marine Corps Recruiting Command
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010
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