U.S. Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment embark an MV-22 Osprey aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 (VMM-261) during tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel (TRAP) training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Feb. 4, 2025. The ability to conduct TRAP and personnel recovery missions allows the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and its forces to rapidly respond to downed aircraft and rescue people from isolated or hazardous locations. (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...
