Photo By Sgt. Sarah Anderson | Staff Sgt. Jeanette Hogan has been selected as the Combat Center's All-around Athlete...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- No one would call Staff Sgt. Jeanette Hogan a still woman. Laidback, sure. Calm, maybe. Friendly, absolutely. Personable, only if you make your dental appointments on time. But not still.
She is a mom, a Marine, a basketball player, a baseball player, a football player, a mentor, a leader and an easy interview for reporters. She is bubbly and energetic and laughs a lot. But she is not still.
She is always on the move. Marine during the day, wife in evenings, mother at all times and superstar athlete at basketball tournaments on the weekends.
“I started with track in 3rd grade, moved on to little league baseball, and my coach introduced me to basketball,” Hogan said. “It was game over from there.”
Hogan’s love for athletics started early in life. Her priorities took precedence, however, and sports had to be put on a back-burner to take care of her family.
Hogan grew up in a rural area of Newport, R.I., and was the seventh of 13 children. Being the middle child definitely had its pressures. Hogan was caught dead center in between being an example to the younger six while still learning from the older six and finding herself somewhere along the way.
“It has its crazy moments,” said Hogan, who serves as the base’s dental liaison. “A lot of sibling rivalry.”
Her older sister Catherine taught her about the basics – how to wear makeup, how to drive. But it’s her mother who she credits as her biggest influence.
“She is a single parent with 13 kids,” Hogan said. “She worked jobs to support us. When we were old enough, we all worked too. Mom has always been my role model.”
Now a mom with two children of her own, Hogan said growing up with so many siblings prepared her for her own motherhood.
Hogan also introduced her brothers and sisters to sports during the many hours she helped her mother by babysitting her siblings.
“I went to the park with them so they were always there when I played. [Taking care of them] is what made me a good parent today,” she said.
Hogan moved in with Catherine in Virginia after high school to help her while Catherine’s Marine husband was deployed with the Navy. When he returned, Hogan moved back to Rhode Island in 1997, and walked into the recruiter’s office.
“I grew up tough,” Hogan said. “My hometown was a Navy town, and I wanted to do something better.
“My sister’s ex was a big influence in me joining,” Hogan added. “When I was a kid, he used to make me and my brother do jumping jacks and wall-sits when we got in trouble.”
Hogan enlisted as a field radio operator. Her first assignment was with 8th Communications Battalion at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., where she met her husband Damon. The two married in 1999. Damon left the Corps after his first enlistment, and Hogan continued her service.
“It became a part of me,” she said. “Some people join and go back home. I didn’t have anything to go home to.”
During her years spent at Camp Lejeune, she was actively involved in the base’s women’s basketball team.
She fit the seasons she played in between deployments to Norway, Greece and Haiti, and two tours in Iraq.
“My favorite deployment was Haiti,” Hogan said. “It’s a third world country, so it wasn’t spectacular, but the people welcomed us.”
Hogan’s sports career hit a wall when she was faced with two foot surgeries and a recovery period that lasted from 2006 to 2008.
“It was discouraging,” she said. “I didn’t think I would ever play again. You just have to keep positive and surround yourself with positive people. If you think negative, you’re never going to get better.
“It was one of my goals, get better and stronger to play,” she added. “It felt good [coming back], I could run the PFT, CFT and play basketball again.
Hogan started slowly, building up her strength, endurance and agility. She re-entered the competition arena in 2008 as a force to be reckoned with.
Now, she is a key player on the installation’s women’s varsity basketball team. She plays on the intramural softball, volleyball and co-ed flag football teams during the off-season.
With everything going on in her life, Hogan’s at the top of her game. She gets her time on the court, and her family is right there cheering her on. And she said that’s all she needs.
| Date Taken: | 01.23.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.30.2012 13:31 |
| Story ID: | 83021 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 620 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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