Photo By Cpl. Katherine Solano | Lance Cpl. Mike C. Scuderi, a motor transport operator with Transportation Support...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Many Marines enlist directly after high school for a variety of reasons. Financial needs, a family tradition or a patriotic passion may drive them to join the country’s most elite fighting force.
There are a small number, however, that choose to attend college first, and then for one reason or another, enlist before they finish their degree.
Lance Cpl. Mike C. Scuderi, a motor transport operator with Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, doesn’t fit into either of these categories. Scuderi didn’t get one associate degree, he got two; only then would he enlist.
He began talking to recruiters during his last year of attending Briarcliff College in N.Y. The cost of tuition had begun to overwhelm him, and working a full-time job for the state still wasn’t covering all of his living expenses on top of his school costs.
He has a small military presence in his family, mostly in the Army, but didn’t necessarily want to follow in his relative soldiers’ footsteps.
“The Marines always look more professional,” Scuderi said as he explained why he joined the Marine Corps. “You can recognize a Marine anywhere and I wanted that for myself.”
Shortly after achieving his criminal justice degree, following one in civil engineering, Scuderi headed to recruit training at the age of 21.
After his initial training and his military occupation specialty training in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Scuderi arrived at Camp Lejeune to report in to Transportation Support Company, CLB-8.
Scuderi says he has already learned more than he imagined he could in just a few short months.
“My favorite part of my job is working with all the other Marines,” the native of Massapequa, N.Y., began. “Right now we have a small battalion, so everything I do is close to all the noncommissioned officers, so I’m learning a lot more and a lot quicker than I think I would if it were a bigger battalion.”
With an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in early 2013, Scuderi and his fellow operators are focused on learning and training for missions in a combat zone. However, the opportunity to grow as a person and a leader for the long-run are not lost on him, either.
“It’s all about being well-rounded,” Scuderi explained. “You have to know your job, you have to know how to be a civilian, but also how to be a Marine [all the time]. [To learn] how to lead a group, how to take orders and how to take responsibility when you or someone messes up, it’s all important.”
When talking about the upcoming deployment, the excitement is evident in Scuderi’s voice. He views it as a chance to grow as a person, as a tactical driver and especially as a Marine and a leader.
“I hope to gain a lot of experience from the deployment coming up,” he said. “I want to learn those leadership traits under pressure, learn about my gear and my fellow Marines, and absorb all the knowledge I can.”
Following the deployment, Scuderi wants to marry his long-time girlfriend, Alyssa, and pursue his dreams of becoming a Marine Corps officer. Whether he makes a career out of the Corps or gets out after four years, he is humbled by the opportunity to learn and gain confidence, knowledge and discipline in everything he does.
“Leading other Marines will help me potentially be a better boss one day,” he concluded. “The discipline will help me get any task done. Everything in the Marine Corps has to be done with speed and intensity, so the faster I finish my work, the easier my life will be. The Marine Corps, in all aspects, will help me.”
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2012 17:01 |
| Story ID: | 90208 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 188 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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