Photo By Sgt. Raymond Tong | Ret. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Christina Grantham, now the director of the Navy...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, JAPAN – "It was hard being a young female Marine,” said Ret. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Christina Grantham, an Iwakuni, Japan native, recalling her time in service in the late 1990’s. “Life was really predatory. I don't think anyone viewed females as anything more than a piece of meat.”
Now the MCAS Iwakuni NMCRS director, Grantham recounted the challenges and experiences she faced as a female Marine, which shaped her into the woman and leader she is today.
During her 24-year career in the Marine Corps, Grantham, an MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, native, faced many challenges, including personal encounters of sexual harassment, having to address a distressing case of rape and attempted murder of one of her Marines, and serving in four combat deployments. Despite experiencing the good, bad, and ugly aspects of Marine Corps life, Grantham remained resilient and continued to fight.
She was born to a military family while her father was serving at the air station. Grantham then lived at several other Marine Corps Air Stations throughout the U.S. before returning to Iwakuni in 1991, where she graduated from the Matthew C. Perry High School in the class of 1996 as the Salutatorian, earning her a spot on the cover of the air station’s weekly publication at the time, The Torri Teller.
“I wanted to be a Marine from the time I was old enough to walk around,” said Grantham. “However, through high school, as a dumb kid with a big ego, I just told myself I would never join the military.”
Yet, almost overnight, Grantham woke up one day, after graduating, with an unshakeable belief that the Marine Corps was her true calling, a realization that took her by surprise. She underwent the enlistment process and officially joined the Marine Corps in November of 1997 as an aviation communication systems technician. During the enlistment process, she realized she could not secure her desired positions in the intelligence and public affairs fields due to a lack of vacancies, and she had to settle for what she felt was the next best option. Grantham's early Marine Corps career was filled with challenges that she had not anticipated, despite having grown up around the military environment.
As a lance corporal, Grantham found herself often sitting alone in her barracks room, overwhelmed with feelings of anger, frustration, and loneliness.
“A lot of it was sexual harassment,” said Grantham. “It was like no matter how much work I put forth, it was never good enough. My value to the platoon was never my intelligence or abilities, but instead to be [the butt of everyone’s] jokes.”
Through her many challenges, the Marine Corps molded Grantham to become a more resilient individual. This trait enabled her growth into the leader she felt she needed when she was younger. She slowly recognized that the Marine Corps, like any organization, was not without flaws and realized that the only way to bring it closer to perfection was for someone to take action.
Later in her career, when the time came to select one of two career paths, first sergeant or master sergeant, Grantham decided to become a first sergeant. Master sergeants provide technical leadership as specialists in their specific occupational specialty, whereas first sergeants serve as senior enlisted Marines in units, offering support in unit administration, morale, and Marine welfare. By becoming a first sergeant, she was able to expand her influence beyond her job specialty to help shape policy, as well as offer guidance to commanders on how to best prepare units for warfighting.
While serving as a first sergeant at 1st Supply Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Grantham had to oversee a young female Marine’s sexual assault case, one that would stick with her for the rest of her life. The Marine was raped twice at knife point by one of her direct superiors, and stabbed multiple times through her face, hands, and upper chest. Despite the extremely traumatic event, the Marine still continued to resiliently show up to work every day and put her best effort forward.
While navigating this difficult situation, Grantham recalled a different moment from her youth. While at a Secret Santa exchange during her father's work section Christmas gathering, she witnessed a sexually suggestive gift being given to a female Marine. Her father, the section officer-in-charge at the time, was furious, and took all of the Marines outside and subsequently reprimanded them.
“‘She’s the same as you, how dare you,’ he said,” recalling her father’s response. “I remember hiding, listening, and thinking, ‘my dad is a badass,’” said Grantham.
From that point on, Grantham understood that no matter how horrible people would act toward her or any other female Marine, there was always going to be someone who would set things right. Her father had instilled in her a sense of right and wrong, and showed her that she could stand up for herself and others in the face of adversity.
Relying on this mindset of standing up for others, Grantham played several roles during the young female Marine’s case by supporting the administrative and logistical steps of her family's travel to her bedside, assisting the Criminal Investigation Division, handling court martial administrative procedures, facilitating the Marine's medical retirement, and later joining a working group to increase security at the barracks. The group's efforts resulted in the installation of video cameras in the barracks for the safety of Marines.
Grantham knew that she could not stand for sexual misconduct and spent the following months ensuring that justice was served, and ensured that the Marine was taken care of. Grantham was driven to ensure that the Marine and other Marines had someone to watch over them. This determination to provide support and guidance to those around her was fueled by her deep sense of responsibility and empathy towards the young female Marine, and it encouraged her to strive for excellence in her future leadership roles.
Later in her career, while serving as the sergeant major of Marine Aviation Support Squadron (MASS) 2, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, the story of the young female Marine resonated with Grantham when she experienced a miscarriage through 20 weeks of gestation. She vividly recalled the painful memory of what had happened to her junior Marine and used that Marine’s resilience as inspiration to move forward through her loss.
“I didn’t know how I was going to go to work,” said Grantham. “Everyone knew I was pregnant. I hid in my house for a week and a half, and every day, I just thought about how my Marine was literally almost murdered, yet she stayed resilient.”
The example set by that Marine and other Marines in MASS-2 inspired and motivated Grantham to persevere through personal struggles.
“That’s why the Marine Corps is so powerful,” said Grantham. “Because at the end of the day, it’s led by people who will always make sure that the right thing happens. When I was in positions to lose faith in the Marine Corps, something or someone always came to save me.”
Her passion and positive influence over the lives of others was not without recognition.
“Seeing my daughter grow and enjoy successes in the Marine Corps has been the most gratifying,” said Grantham’s father, Ret. U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 5 Timothy Morehead.
After Grantham's 24-years of service in the Marine Corps, she was transformed into a more compassionate and empathetic individual, one who is eager to assist those in need.
“Working at the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society doesn’t really have much to do with helping female Marines necessarily, but working at the NMCRS gives me a platform from which I can continue to teach and influence junior enlisted service members to position themselves tomorrow better than they were yesterday,” said Grantham.
As the director of the NMCRS at MCAS Iwakuni, Grantham draws upon her past experiences and lessons learned to provide support to individuals facing adversity through a variety of means, including quick-assist loans, the visiting nurses program, thrift shops, education assistance, and personal finance classes.
“Bad times suck no matter who you are, and when you’re in the middle of it you might not be able to see the end,” said Grantham. “Each challenge is going to make you better. Everyone processes pain differently, but there is a way through every challenge, you just have to survive long enough to understand.”
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.05.2023 03:08 |
| Story ID: | 442022 |
| Location: | IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 580 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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