Photo By Ashley Boster | U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Alicia Walters, lead career planner with the Marine...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – Confident in every right, they walk through the door in their crisp uniforms, wearing the serious faces of seasoned Marines. A husband-and-wife duo, “power couple” as some may refer to, prepare to close one chapter and are eager to live the next. With a combined 45 years of service, Master Gunnery Sgt. Brad Walters, ground ordnance chief with The Basic School, and Gunnery Sgt. Alicia Walters, lead career planner with the Marine Corps Recruiting Command, credit their successful Marine Corps careers to teamwork, having each other’s backs, and striving towards the same goals.
Like most young Marines, the Walters’ joined the Marine Corps with the excitement of the unknown and the many possibilities for the future. While the Marine Corps may not have been the easiest path, they both will retire in May with a wealth of experience and knowledge.
“It's been a long road, it's been a bumpy road, but it was worth it,” Alicia said.
Take it from Alicia, who has seen her fair share of uncertain junior Marines. The debate was always whether or not they should re-enlist, and sometimes getting the little nudge they need to remember the reason they joined in the first place.
“Everyone kind of stumbles through their first enlistment,” Alicia said. “I don’t think it really matters what branch you are, there’s a lot happening in those first few years; you’re leaving home, you’re growing as a person, you’re growing in your career, learning... so much happens,” she continued.
Many young Marines join the Marine Corps and leave home for the first time. Thinking back on the advice they would have appreciated as junior Marines and recalling much of what they learned through what they called “growing pains”, the Walters’ learned to be prepared, to be forward thinking, and to always have a plan.
“For me, setting short, mid, and long term goals, I don’t think I did that as a young Marine,” Brad said.
Growing up in Dunkirk, a small town south of Buffalo, New York, Brad credits his Marine Corps career to his uncle who was stationed at Marine Barracks Washington, and one of his biggest influences for joining the Corps.
“A lot of my family members served in World War II, Vietnam era, and I felt it was just, you know, my time to do my part,” Brad said.
The Marine Corps has given them both a sense of belonging, a purpose, and an unexpected family.
“It’s the sense of brotherhood, you know? You have your family, that’s different, but when you leave all that behind and you join the military, you’re looking for acceptance in something else and being part of a team,” Brad said. “That’s probably the most exciting thing about being in the military. It’s the friendships that you develop and the friendships that you build and that sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. Knowing that the people you have met along the way will always be there for you.”
No one doubts the tight-knit community of the Marine Corps, the successes and struggles they face together. The brotherhood is apparent in all aspects of their career.
“It teaches you that family is not always a blood thing, it’s not,” Alicia said. “Some of the closest people we have to us, it’s not family, biologically speaking, but they are family. My best friend, she’s my sister, hands down. I love her as if we grew up together.”
Alicia was raised in Alabama; a farm girl who joined the Marine Corps to see the world. While she may not have been stationed many exotic places, Alicia reminisced about some of her favorite special duty assignments, from working as a career planner with the Marine Security Guard, Marine Corps Embassy Security Group to a combat instructor with the Marine Combat Training School of Infantry East.
“The Marine Corps has been good to me, it’s given me the lifestyle I have, it’s helped me grow as a person,” Alicia said.
Looking back on his career, “The things that stick out to me the most are the people,” Brad said. “I've met some great men and women in this institution, and I have long lasting friendships and had a lot of fun doing it. You know, between being on the drill field and serving at OCS [Officer Candidate School], to being in training commands to Division, MARSOC [Marine Forces Special Operations Command] and MLG [Marine Logistics Group]. I was fortunate to be around all of that and meet a lot of great people along the way.”
Speaking of great people along the way, Brad and Alicia crossed paths early in their careers, starting with passersby to finally meeting at a unit function. They were together for six months before they tied the knot. They now have four children and have been married for 15 years. The joys of having a family also came with added pressure because, while they had a responsibility to their family, they also had a responsibility to their Marine Corps family.
The additional stress of juggling family life and two careers had Alicia considering the giant fork in the road, but the Walters’ always found a way to make it work and to support each other. It wasn’t easy; they both agreed one of the biggest challenges was having children.
“I mean the hard part is when two people have to be at a spot, at exactly the same time, and you're worried about how you're going to do that,” Brad said. “You know, who's going to drop the kids off? Who's going to pick up? What’s going on at work? Who's got to stay late? What if both of you have to stay late? I think that is probably the most difficult aspect of being dual active duty [with a family], and a lot of people forget that.”
“I think it teaches you to think forward,” Alicia added. “I think that's the biggest thing, is you always have to think forward and you always have to have a plan, and I know, in the Marine Corps, we hear that all the time.”
Many dual military families can relate to the ups, downs and curve balls that comes along with the territory; having a plan helps to dodge a few of them. Once the Walters’ decided getting out of the Marine Corps wasn’t for them, they buckled down and planned their career out, always looking forward and supporting each other along the way. Every once in a while, that meant trading the spotlight for a less exciting role.
“We just want to see each other succeed. So even though one [person] sometimes has to take the back seat and do all the dirty work so the other one can I guess rise… the roles change [again],” Alicia said.
Throughout their careers, the Walters’ focused on family first and supporting one another.
“It requires a lot of communication, a lot of real dedication, not only to each other but your goals. The Marine Corps has always been our career, and our goal was to finish together,” Alicia said.
Success comes in many forms, but the Walters will successfully close this chapter together, celebrating with a dual retirement ceremony in May. Alicia, who is currently on terminal leave after 20 years of service and Brad, finishing up 25 years to the Marine Corps are looking forward to spending time with their children and starting their 26-acre homestead.
“I’ve come to terms with my retirement, and it wasn’t a forced decision or anything like that, I wanted to retire. I’m glad to have started and ended my career in the same unit,” Brad said.
Alicia is eager to finally do the things she has always wanted.
“First we are going to buy real dishes because we don’t have to move again, I’m so excited about that,” she said.
It’s the little things the Walters’ are looking forward to. While they are excited to enjoy the solitude, the land, and the house they will finally call home, they both agree that the things they will miss the most are the people.
“I can easily say we’ve enjoyed our time in the Marine Corps, I think it’s given us and we’ve given back,” Brad said.
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2022 10:50 |
| Story ID: | 419755 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 828 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Guns to Guns: Marines look forward to dual retirement, by Ashley Boster, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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