Photo By Cpl. Samantha Sanchez | U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Andrew Harrah, financial technician, Headquarters Battalion,...... read more read more
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There is no substitute for hard work, and life isn’t always fair—but everyone is faced with two choices; stay down, or get up and face adversity head-on.
“When I first decided to join the military, the only job on my mind was something infantry related, and reconnaissance just spoke to me,” said Sergeant Andrew Harrah, a financial technician with Marine Corps Base Hawaii. “The atmosphere at recon is testosterone fueled. It’s like trying to hit a personal record every day,” he said.
Marine Corps Reconnaissance School is an 18-week training course that creates basically trained reconnaissance Marines. Due to the intense physical training standards, Marines often do not make it past the early phases of the course.
“I ended up getting dropped out of recon, and I was pretty disgruntled about not getting the job I signed up for,” Harrah said. “After talking to some friends, I realized that everything happens for a reason, and maybe recon wasn’t where I was supposed to be.”
Hoping for a new occupational specialty in counter intelligence, Harrah submitted his request. A day later, he was informed that he would be a financial technician instead.
“When I showed up at admin [financial technician training] school, I was pretty upset with the entire Marine Corps,” he said.
For Marines transitioning from one job field to another, the sudden change can be difficult.
“I wasn’t happy about going from recon to finance, but I think my upbringing helped me with adapting to my situation,” said Harrah. “My mom, an immigrant from Mexico who sacrificed everything for me, taught me that no matter what I was going through, I always needed to try my best.”
Harrah explained that coming to the fleet was different than what he anticipated.
“There were a lot of ups and downs, but thankfully I had good mentors,” said Harrah. “They took me under their wing and taught me how to perform as a Marine and as a leader.”
With the help of his mentors, Harrah progressed in his job and quickly started to see the results of his efforts.
“I was working as hard as I could, taking every opportunity to be better,” recalled Harrah. “I ended up being nominated for Marine of the Quarter.”
Performing in a number of additional billets, such as the unit’s Single Marine Program representative and Combat Marksmanship Coach, Harrah continued to gain recognition for his hard work in and out of the office.
His unit recognized his efforts and awarded him an meritorious promotion to Sergeant.
“I got meritorious sergeant because of the hard work I put in, but also because of the examples that were surrounding me,” explained Harrah. “My staff at finance showed me how to be a leader. Before that, I had my mom and her example of hard work in a difficult situation.”
Despite his uncertain beginning in the Marine Corps, Harrah adapted and quickly found his place.
“My upbringing taught me a lot, and so did everyone along the way,” said Harrah. “Hispanics are proud people, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
| Date Taken: | 10.06.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2022 23:18 |
| Story ID: | 430909 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 136 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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