U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Calvert L. Worth, left, a Missouri native and commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force, and Lt. Col. Tony Ansley, right, a Florida native and commanding officer of Combat Logistics Battalion 22, speak about evacuation control center procedures during a noncombatant evacuation operation training mission conducted by the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Auxiliary Landing Field Bogue, North Carolina, as part of a certification exercise Feb. 24, 2025. As the command element of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit completed a certification exercise, conducted by Expeditionary Operations Training Group, to prepare for a diverse range of potential future missions, including personnel recovery, embassy reinforcement, foreign humanitarian assistance, and non-combatant evacuation operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jorge Borjas)
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Martial arts and combative sports are a skillset many people use for various ways. Some want to learn how to defend themselves in case they are ever attacked. Others have been involved in these sports for years and compete professionally. For U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Charles Copeland, the fire and effects coordination center chief at the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), martial arts and combative sports taught him how to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Copeland grew up in a small town in Minnesota . Even when he was younger, he always found himself being told he couldn’t participate in challenging sports because of his smaller stature compared to the rest of the kids around him.
“I just...
