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The United States Marine Corps is an organization where strangers
come together and build bonds as strong as family. But what happens
when those bonds are already set in place? What happens when there
is a lineage to strengthen these bonds even further? What happens
when two brothers join the world's greatest fighting force?
Lt. Col. Jonathan R. Smith, the ground combat element commander
with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Michael F. Smith, the
air combat element operations officer with the 13th MEU, are
currently deployed together during Western Pacific Deployment 16-1.
The brothers Smith grew up with a long lineage of military
service dating back to the Revolutionary War. Even though the
brothers aren't able to recall 200 years of family history, their
memories are full of the tales of their grandparents, who all served
in the armed services.
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May 13, 2016 - U.S. Marines Lt. Col. Jonathan R. Smith (left),
the ground combat element commander with the 13th Marine
Expeditionary Unit, and Maj. Michael F. Smith, air combat element
operations officer with the 13th MEU, stand side-by-side next to the
CH-53E detachment flagship, 'Gunsmoke' helicopter, fuel probe aboard
the USS Boxer (LHD 4). The flagship is named after the 13th MEU's
Battalion Landing Team, which is commanded by Jonathan, and piloted
by Michael. (Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alvin Pujols)
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“It starts with my grandmother being in the Army Nurse
Corps and my grandfather being in the Army Air Corps during
the World War II era,” said Jonathan. “We have service on
both sides of the family, my mother's father was a doctor in
the Army and my grandmother was a nurse.”
It was this
lineage that led their father, William Franklin Smith III,
to join the United States Marine Corps. Being a Marine meant
the world to their father. He would talk highly about the
Marines he served with and his time in service.
“Our father was a Marine, that was a very
important part of his life,” said Jonathan. “He would say
how every Marine was six feet tall and bulletproof.”
He would speak about how Marines are cut from a different
cloth. This was a driving factor to his sons drive to serve
their county. All of his boys would ultimately become career
Marines.
The Smith family has a deep devotion to
service, patriotism, and love for country, said Michael.
The oldest brother, William Franklin Smith IV or “Bill”,
joined the Marine Corps as an enlisted reconnaissance man
and, after 24 years of service, retired in December of 2015
as a Master Gunnery Sergeant.
Meanwhile, Jonathan and
Michael went to the University of Maine together, and upon
graduation, were commissioned as United States Marine Corps
officers.
Jonathan, the second oldest and commander
of Battalion Landing Team 2/1, ultimately became an infantry
officer. He wanted to take on the challenge Marines faced in
so many of his father's stories.
“When I heard my
father talk about the important aspects of service, the
highlights of his career, I heard about Marines being on the
ground and struggling through personal and unit sacrifice,”
said Jonathan. “I knew it was going to be a physical and
mental challenge and that's what I wanted.”
As
Jonathan began his career as an infantry officer, Michael,
the third brother, went down a different career path.
“I've always been fascinated by my grandfather's life, his
record as an aviator is unbelievable,” said Michael about
his father's father, still unable to believe all that his
grandfather accomplished. “He had in the realm of 60-80 air
medals, two distinguished flying crosses, was the commanding
officer of a squadron at a very young age and loved by all
those he served with. This was always in the in the back of
my mind.”
His grandfather's legacy and a few gentle
nudges by previous aviators led Michael to take on the
challenges of a Marine Corps aviation career. But this
career path sent him across the country from his brothers on
the East Coast.
“Getting stationed in Hawaii was
absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me,” said
Michael who was skeptical at first. “It allowed me to figure
out who I was as a Marine, independent of my brothers, learn
my craft, become a subject matter expert on the employment
of a CH-53 helicopter.”
This separation from his
brothers gave Michael the opportunity to grow as a leader
and reinforce the bonds with his wife and young children. As
Michael and Jonathan progressed through their careers, they
eventually had some chance encounters.
“We missed
each other by minutes, in Iraq in 2006,” said Michael as he
adjusted, now sitting at the edge of his seat. “I think I
was actually going out of the country as [Jonathan] was
getting established.”
It wasn't until 2008, when
Michael was a part of the Unit Deployment Program (UDP) and
Jonathan was a company commander with the 31st MEU where
they deployed together to Okinawa, Japan.
The
brothers shared some special memories enabled by their tight
relationship and and service in the Corps. One special
moment occurred during their time in Okinawa.
"One
day, while I was playing video games or something ACE-like
and Jon was doing [professional military education]
assignments, Jon received a message about the recipient of
the Leftwich Award for that year. Jon said, 'It's some crazy
guy named Smith.' I stopped playing and looked at him and
said ‘No way you're that guy!'”
At the time, Captain
J.R. Smith won the Lt. Col. William G. Leftwich Award for
outstanding leadership in 2009.
After Okinawa, the
Smith brothers wouldn't meet up again professionally until
the pre-deployment training for Western Pacific Deployment
16-1. Michael was stationed aboard Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar as the officer in charge of the CH-53 detachment
with the 13th MEU, while Jonathan assumed command of 2nd
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, which would later become the
13th MEU's ground combat element.
“It wasn't until
Jon's change of command ceremony, while I was sitting in the
audience and thinking to myself ‘This is going to happen'
that it sunk in,” said Michael.
As pre-deployment
training began, the Smith brothers started working in
professional environment during training and would later
discuss their experiences as colleagues.
With both
brothers being subject matter experts in their fields, they
had rich conversations about the capabilities and
limitations of the ground combat element and air combat
element.
“Those kinds of frank discussions probably
wouldn't occur if it wasn't with Mike, my brother, the ACE
operations officer, talking about how we could make things
better after completing operations,'” said Jonathan. “We do
this while still being completely professional and not
severing or circumventing the chains of command in any way
because we're brothers. He has his boss and I would never
step in the way of that. But those rich discussions allow me
to understand the MAGTF as a whole. I think it will help me
design operations and training a lot more effectively, when
I can understand the air combat element and how its
capabilities and limitations can be maximized and
minimized.”
The way they do business trickled out to
the entire Marine Air-Ground Task Force and soon the 13th
MEU seemed like one big happy family.
“Our
relationship and family-oriented style, in my opinion,
really spilled over to the initial gathering of the MAGTF,
specifically, the ACE and GCE relationships,” said Michael.
“We were really close because we treat each other like
family and that has filtered out to where the battalion
landing team operations officer and I have grown very tight.
The camaraderie felt from all those things has been
positive. We're able to work through problems and gain deep
integration because there's an openness and teamwork to all
that we do. That's what gets things done.”
The 13th
MEU family wasn't the only family growing closer during the
trials and tribulations of deployment. The brothers'
families are also able to conquer the struggles of
deployment together.
“Because we are stationed in
California together, our kids are able to spend time
together and have sleep overs,” said Jonathan. “They're able
to talk about what it's like to move from different areas in
the country. They're able to talk about the separations that
they've gone through as a result of the deployment. All
those things really build a foundation of a family and
really bring it closer together.”
The Smith family
name drives the brothers to push each other and want to seek
excellence, along with their families and healthy sibling
rivalry. Throughout their lives the brothers have used
various phrases to remind them what it means to be a Smith.
“A little witty banter like ‘Don't disappoint us, uphold
the legacy with the name, don't let the Smith name fail,'
has pushed us to achieve excellence,” said Michael. “The
shear terror of letting your family down is enough to keep
you pushing regardless of the task!”
With their
legacy, families and sibling rivalry fueling them, the Smith
brothers will continue to push each other. Once the
deployment is over and everyone is safe back in the states,
they'll have the opportunity to ‘look at the forest for the
trees' and understand how special this experience has been.
By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Alvin Pujols
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
The U.S. Marines
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