Photo By Lance Cpl. Jerrick J. Griffin | Col. Anthony Ardovino, 51, from Vestavia Hills, Ala., the outgoing chief of staff, 1st...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. - With close to 30 years of honorably serving his beloved country, one service member looks back on his extensive career and admires his time in the Corps.
Col. Anthony Ardovino, the outgoing chief of staff, 1st Marine Logistics Group, was commissioned in the Marine Corps in December 1982. He said he had wanted to be a Marine since childhood.
“I read a book when I was in the third grade called Guadalcanal Diary,” said Ardovino, 51, from Vestavia Hills, Ala. “It was about the battle of Guadalcanal, and ever since I was a kid, I was just attracted to the Marine Corps, the mission, the challenge of being a Marine, the physical and mental challenges. Plus, I wanted to serve my country.”
He added that he felt he owed this country for giving his grandparents, who came to America from Sicily, Italy, a good start and a good life.
He said his father, Anthony J. Ardovino, and his mother, Josephine Ardovino, influenced him in joining the Marine Corps.
“My dad and mom were both hard workers,” said Ardovino. “They always worked and tried to make it better for me and my brother and sister.”
Ardovino started out as an in¬fantry officer before he became a logistics officer. His first unit was 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division here on Camp Pendleton back in 1983. As an infantry officer, he served as a rifle platoon commander, weapons company executive officer and weapons company commander. In 1986, he became a logistics officer with 1st MLG, then known as 1st Force Service Support Group.
His current job as the chief of Staff is to lead and manage the staff and all the staff actions that need to occur to run 1st MLG and to assist the com¬manding general.
With all the years he has served in the Marine Corps, his wife Patti, and daughter Logan, have been there every step of the way, he said.
“They are the reason I do everything,” said Ardovino. “Being married in the Marine Corps, your [spouse] and family [are] an integral part in supporting what you enjoy doing, and certainly Patti and Logan have always supported me in every assignment and everything I wanted to pursue in the Marine Corps. They have been right there with me, and they supported me 100 percent … couldn’t have done it without them.”
After having a successful career, Ardovino plans to retire, June 3, 2011.
Before leaving the Marine Corps he passed knowledge to the warriors who will keep the Corps running.
“To the leaders, I would tell them don’t forget that every one of their Marines has been entrusted to them by a loving set of parents and that they always need to take care of their Marines,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.20.2011 11:57 |
| Story ID: | 70761 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 420 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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