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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - No Marine has the exact same story on
how they came to earn the title, but every Marine can relate.
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January 27, 2013 - Yuma-based Lance Cpl. Yesenia Rios (right), now a
Marine Aircraft Group 13 Headquarters supply clerk and a native of
Pomona, Calif., grew up in a tight knit family of five. Her new
Marine Corps family has kept the homesickness at bay. Lance Cpl.
Christine Keaney (left), a MAG-13 intelligence specialist and native
of Braintree, Mass., recalls her first impression of Rios as someone
who was quiet, but kind, motivated and game to whatever the Corps
had to offer. Photo by USMC Lance Cpl. Uriel Avendano
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Having grown up in Pomona, Calif., Lance Cpl. Yesenia Rios had a
plan in mind. And it wasn't the Marine Corps. However, being the
eldest daughter in a family of five, Rios could already appreciate
the true meaning of family.
“It was a fun loving
environment,” said Rios. “We get along really well and are always
there for each other.”
Growing up in a rough city, Rios made
sure to take care of her younger siblings. Her brother Gerardo,
12-years-old, and Viviana, 5-years-old, had a lot of fun growing up
with their big sister; with soccer always being the greatest source
of entertainment.
“In High School, I was into marching band
and soccer,” said Rios, recalling her years at Garey High School. “I
also did one year of JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps)
my freshman year.”
Rios had played soccer for over a dozen or
so years, fully intending to make it a career and make a run at the
international Mexican team. Unfortunately for her, after a
career-ending knee injury threw her life's course out of alignment,
Rios had to think of a contingency plan.
On a whim, Rios
found herself at the Woodland Hills, Calif., Marine Corps recruiting
station.
“It was right after my parents said they didn't
want me playing college soccer that I was walking around the mall,
walking into the recruiting station,” said Rios, now a Marine
Aircraft Group 13 Headquarters supply clerk. “Talked to the
recruiter - All the stuff he started talking about sounded really
interesting.”
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Then 17-years-old, Rios was intrigued most by the
challenges the Corps offered. Physically and mentally, the
toughest aspect of training suited her just fine. The
opportunities offered by the Corps also left the door open
for her to continue her athletic pursuits, particularly when
it came to soccer.
“I went in as an open contract,”
said Rios. “Two months after meeting my recruiter, I
shipped.”
Rios' boot camp experience mirrors that of
all Marines. Admittedly, her bearing could not hold up to
the dark sense of humor Parris Island, S.C., had to offer.
Through it all, she had no regrets of ever having stood on
the yellow footprints to join November Company, Platoon 4006
through the three months of recruit training. She would
graduate March 8, 2012.
“When I got back, I had
talked to a couple of Marines from the recruiting station
that were supply and they said it was pretty good, that the
school house was pretty cool,” said Rios. “I went into
school June and graduated in July, but then got sent to Camp
Guard for two months.”
Initially, after learning
what she would be doing and where she would be stationed,
the young Marine wasn't sure exactly where Yuma was. Her
roommate, Lance Cpl. Christine Keaney, a MAG-13 intelligence
specialist and native of Braintree, Mass., recalls her first
impression of Rios as someone who was quiet, but kind,
motivated and game to whatever the Corps had to offer.
“She had some decorations and pictures up on her wall,”
said Keaney. “She takes very good care of her cammies, she's
never late for work, does great on her CFT and PFT.”
Rios encompasses a hard work ethic and easy going
personality that translates into her Marine Corps career. A
career she has many goals for; the focus of which has
recently turned to a possible deployment.
“Being out,
in-country, that's an experience I wouldn't want to be left
out of,” said Rios, currently on a month long integrated
training exercise at Camp Wilson at Marine Corps Air Ground
Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. “I love it, getting
to learn a lot of stuff I normally wouldn't get to learn in
garrison. Going out in convoys, watching bombs drop,
shooting a 50 cal., actually having to think of what to do –
Not hesitating, all of this is a great learning experience.”
Currently, Rios is open to where her career goes. Goals
like learning her MOS to the fullest are always in the
making. Not 24-hours after earning a gray belt, Rios is
already thinking about the next stage in her Marine Corps
Martial Arts Program training.
“I want to pick up my
green belt. I also want to pick rank up quick, not lose it,”
said Rios. “By the end of my first enlistment, I'd like to
be a sergeant by then.”
Trying to make sure her
siblings Gerardo and Viviana have a good example in front of
them is a trait that's parallel to what Rios would like to
be true with her brothers and sisters in Yuma as well.
“What I look for in leaders? Just one that's
professional, knows their job, isn't lazy, takes initiative,
and is able to teach you,” said Rios. “The kind that, if you
ask them something, they have an answer or will find an
answer.”
Only a year in, Rios knows the long road
she has ahead of her. A lot to learn and more goals to
achieve. The fire and drive for one goal, that of earning
the military occupational field of 0311 infantry, has
recently been re-ignited.
“Eventually, I'd like to
make an 0311 move,” said Rios. “What people think or what
they say doesn't really bother me - I want to do it and I
will.”
By USMC Lance Cpl. Uriel Avendano
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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