Photo By Damany Coleman | Pfc. Miguel Jimenez-Mercado poses for a photograph in front plaques of some of the...... read more read more
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HATBORO, Pa. – Pfc. Miguel Jimenez-Mercado, a Coopersburg, Pa., resident, scored a 93 on his Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test and originally wanted to have a military occupational specialty in the intelligence field.
His plan was to enlist in the Marines then get out after eight to 12 years, and become a CIA or FBI agent. But he said after reviewing the list of available MOS’ with his recruiter, the job he wanted wasn’t available.
“There weren’t any slots for the MOS I wanted in intel,” said Jimenez-Mercado. “I thought long and hard and asked myself, ‘Is this what I really want?’ I like working with my hands; I like tangible results whenever I do things. I’ve also always wanted to fly. As an aviation mechanic, I can learn how to work on and operate the things that later in my career, I could fly, hopefully. The more I hear about it the more I like it.”
Originally from Houston, Texas, Jimenez-Mercado once worked for a company that provided materials for oil rigs, which was his only experience as a mechanic.
“I worked there for about five months, operating fork lifts and doing a lot of welding,” said Jimenez-Mercado. “Hopefully being an aviation mechanic isn’t too different. It’s one thing I pride myself about though, is that I’m a pretty quick learner as long as it really grabs my attention. I’ve been working with my hands since I was a lot younger, so hopefully I can use that to my advantage.”
Jimenez-Mercado added that his choice to join the Marines was simple: He wanted to be one of The Few, The Proud.
“That, and my father was in the Army,” said Jimenez-Mercado. “When I surround myself with people who are better, it helps me better myself. I lost 20 pounds in boot camp and I went from three pull-ups, to 15 pull-ups. That’s why I joined the Marine Corps … to get better.”
Staff Sgt. Paul Hawthorne, who is a recruiter at the recruiting substation where Jimenez-Mercado was recruited, shared some of his own experiences as an aviation mechanic, just to give him an idea of what being on the job would be like.
Hawthorne, an AH-1W Super Cobra and UH-1N Huey mechanic, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007 and 2009. He let Jimenez-Mercado know that since it was such a technical job, career advancement was based largely on how much training one has had.
“You pace for yourself for your own promotion,” said Hawthorne. “If you don’t excel because of the qualifications you need, then you’ll never see a promotion. If you put in the extra hours and the extra effort, you’ll do well.”
Jimenez-Mercado felt this was the job for him.
“He told me that the school to become an aviation mechanic is really long, which is something I want,” said Jimenez-Mercado. “I don’t want to just learn something, and then have to learn it all over again in the field or the fleet. I also heard that no matter how much training you get, you still learn a lot more when you’re actually doing it. You’re always learning.”
Jimenez-Mercado said that is one of the many reasons he joined the Marine Corps: There is always more to learn.
“One of the biggest things my drill instructors instilled into us is that the Marine Corps is like a huge machine,” said Jimenez-Mercado. “Every part of it corresponds and the moment someone else is slacking, it’s noticeable. Everyone usually makes fun of the word, but saying motivated is very important.”
As much as having too much motivation is ridiculed sometimes, Jimenez-Mercado said he wants to be one of ‘those guys.’
“I just want to fill my ‘brain housing group’ with as much knowledge as possible,” he said. “I want to do my best and excel. The thought of being a Marine is still very attractive to me, even though I’m already a Marine.”
Jimenez-Mercado hasn’t been in the Marine Corps a year yet, but expects a lot from the Marine Corps.
Some Marines say the hardest part of being a Marine is boot-camp and that the rest is all up to the individual. Jimenez-Mercado, who recently graduated from recruit training, hopes the hard times have passed.
“Getting (individually trained) at boot camp wasn’t that fun,” said Jimenez-Mercado. “I was fired as a squad leader because instead of leading people, I just yelled and pushed people around. At that time, it didn’t compute to me that there was more to being a leader than that. The hardest thing was swallowing my pride, and understanding my place. It’s so weird to go from civilian to recruit, then from recruit to Marine. When you’re in that transformation, you’re in turmoil with yourself, knowing what your past was and knowing exactly what your goal is, while being stuck in the middle still. I was willing to do anything it took to get where I had to go, as fast as possible.”
When asked if he would make the Corps a career, he said it was a little too early to tell.
“I don’t want to be overly ambitious and say I want to retire from the Marine Corps,” said Jimenez-Mercado. “That’s not a realistic thing to say for someone so young. Instead of thinking about what I’m going to do 20 years from now, I’m going to do my best right now, so that my future will be that much brighter.”
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2013 13:26 |
| Story ID: | 110486 |
| Location: | HATBORO, PA, US |
| Hometown: | COOPERSBURG, PA, US |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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