Photo By Lance Cpl. Glen Santy | Nicknamed Cpl. "West" by his colleagues, Cpl. Christopher Stefensonwestergard, an...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT,
N.C. - He looks at a helicopter and sees math, science and art.
Known simply as “West” or “Cpl. West” among his fellow Marines, Cpl. Christopher Stefensonwestergard lives up to his literal big name with a quiet but determined confidence that sets him apart within a squadron of over 250 Marines and sailors.
West is a science and math whiz kid, turned artist, turned Marine helicopter airframe mechanic with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366. Standing approximately five-feet seven inches with dirty blond hair, nothing about West stands out initially. Yet a closer look reveals a chiseled physique indicative of a Marine constantly pursuing perfection.
If anyone knows West, it’s his boss, Gunnery Sgt. Derrikk Bussell, the airframes division chief with HMH-366. From the day the Mantua, N.J., kid walked into his shop, Bussell knew Stefensonwestergard was different. Bussell said aviation airframe mechanics is a highly technical job field that Marines often take years to master. But that was not the case for West.
“He can look at stuff and just know it off the top of his head how to get them fixed,” Bussell said. He went on to say West has an outstanding memory and takes advantage of it, and that he is a go-to-guy in the shop – a Marine he can assign a job with a “fire-and-forget” approach.
Bussell got to know West in-depth during a recent seven-month deployment to the Horn of Africa where the squadron supported missions combating piracy and organized terrorist activity.
“It took months for him to start to break out of his shell,” said Bussell. “Trust me I put him on night crew with me and that was obviously a lot of time spent together, and it took him a while to just tell me what he did outside of work.”
Bussell said then and now, what stands out about West is how he takes pride in his job and his responsibilities as a corporal of Marines. He spends extra hours outside of work studying his job and bettering himself as a leader. Yet the young corporal somehow makes the whole thing look effortless.
“I’ve been committed to anything I’ve ever decided to go out and do, that doesn’t change for anything,” said West. “If you sign your name on something, then your name should mean something. So my name said ‘I’m going to do this job – I’m going to do it as good as I possibly can.’”
Looking back, Stefensonwestergard said his focus did wane a few times over the years. He explained that growing up he didn’t always know he would be a Marine, and the military never had much of an influence where he lived. He did discover his passion for art when, as West tells it, he was tricked into a class by a teacher at Clearview Regional High School.
“I took art as a scam class,” he said. “The first day my art teacher, Mr. Weaver, said that everything was just lines. After that I was sold.”
After high school, Stefensonwestergard “winged it” for a while and let life take him wherever the road led.
He always did well in school so he did take one predictable step by enrolling at Gloucester Community College where he pursued his interests in art. But it was not long before West was bored and needing a challenge, so his college days were few.
With a troubled economy, West figured the wages of an artist wouldn’t foot the bill for what he had planned in life – not the least of which was getting married to his fiancé, Laura Snyder. In a 180-degree turn from delicate strokes of the paint brush, West decided to pursue the title Marine and become a mechanic in the process.
But to reach his goal, the Jersey kid would have to get past the drill instructors at Parris Island. And with the name Stefensonwestergard, that would be no easy task.
He left for recruit training in March 2009. He fondly recalls the many times he had to scream out each letter of his last name in one breath to his drill instructor’s amusement. But West never wavered in his commitment to claim the title “Marine.”
West graduated Paris Island and went on to school in Pensacola, Fla., to be an airframes Marine. He said mechanics in genereal made sense to him and he could relate his work to mathematics and science; what he describes as the rules to finding out how anything works.
Airframe mechanics, in general, inspect, maintain, and repair helicopter airframe systems. The helicopter West works on daily is the CH-53E Super Stallion. West is a safety inspector and signs his long name to verify maintenance actions completed by other Marines are done correctly. Bussell said it is rare for a Marine of West’s age and experience to be an inspector and that his focus on doing maintenance correctly is a big part of the success of the “Hammerhead” airframes shop.
“When I joined, mechanics was something I had no clue about whatsoever,” West said. “If you work at everything, then nothing is really a challenge, as long as you’re trying the best you can, it stops becoming a challenge.”
West’s influence on the squadron spans to the physical fitness of the Marines, and he truly cares about the Marines he leads. West feels his role as a non-commissioned officer is to help those under him grow and understand what it means to be a part of the “Hammerhead” squadron.
“I mean that’s what your job is as an (non-commissioned officer), to get them to have a logic process and not need anybody else to take care of them,” he said.
West will compete in the squadron’s next meritorious promotion board in the hopes of pinning on sergeant chevrons. But to advance in rank, he will have to win the squadron-level board and follow that with winning the Marine Aircraft Group 14 and 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing boards.
Win or lose, promoted or not, West is happy where he is and where he is going. He describes his time in the Marine Corps as a time to grow and he feels that he’s matured since he joined. A recent trip home cemented that ideal in his mind.
“Everyone’s in the same spot as they were when I left, and nothing has really changed,” said West. “If anything I feel a sense of pride that I’m out doing something and they’re still sitting there, essentially still in high school, just with jobs.”
West’s plans for the future are still unclear, but whatever he chooses he’ll have his long name and title of Marine to back him up.
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2012 17:38 |
| Story ID: | 90009 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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