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    Palau native enlists to support daughter, family

    Palau native enlists to support daughter, family

    Photo By Cpl. Matheus Hernandez | Pfc. Jared Dylan Jamila, left, a Palau, Micronesia native, Platoon 2153, Company G,...... read more read more

    SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

    07.19.2012

    Story by Cpl. Matheus Hernandez 

    Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego   

    SAN DIEGO - Many recruits have often had different reasons for choosing to enlist in the Marine Corps. For Recruit Jared Dylan Jamila, his family was the inspiration he needed to take the first step.

    Jamila is currently undergoing recruit training with Platoon 2153, Company G, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

    Thousands of miles away, on an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean known as Palau, Micronesia, Jamila was raised. The small tropical island is not only home for Jamila, but for his family to include his two year old daughter, Cherish, the main inspirations for enlisting.

    With a poor family background and a mother fighting to make ends meet, the 18 year old Pacific Islander, left from Palau, eager to serve in the Marine Corps just as his father had. However, he left with the intention to be the man his father couldn’t be.

    “My dad was a workaholic and was never really there for me, so my mom decided that it was best to raise me around my family in Palau,” said Jamila. “I had to step up for my daughter and I wanted to prove that I could do both, that I could be a father and a Marine.”

    Even though leaving his family behind for the time being was difficult, Jamila knew it was something he had to do. He used his family, and above all his daughter, as motivation during recruit training to get him through it.

    “It makes me homesick, being half way around the world. My mother was struggling to take care of our family, and it was hard to leave with her struggling like she was,” said Jamila. “I didn’t want her to suffer, so I decided to enlist. Everything I do is for my family and most importantly for my daughter.”

    Standing at 5 feet 2 inches and weighing approximately 105 pounds, Jamila never let his size come between him and his goal of becoming a Marine, according to Recruit Anthony M. Chriscoe, Plt. 2153.

    “Jamila has a good head on his shoulders and he works hard,” said Chriscoe, a Burbank, Calif. native. “He’s smaller than everyone else, so he has to work twice as hard, but he always keeps his head held high with a smile on his face.”

    Jamila showed perseverance and motivation attesting that he was someone to fight alongside with, according to Staff Sgt. Andres G. Navarro, senior drill instructor, Plt. 2153.

    “Just because he’s smaller doesn’t mean anything. He’s a force to be reckoned with,” said Navarro, a Miami native. “I guess it’s true what they say, good things come in small packages, because he’s as good as it gets.”

    Jamila’s actions during recruit training have shown his true colors and the potential he has to be an outstanding Marine and father, according to Chriscoe.

    “Hopefully my daughter sees when she grows up that I did this all for her, said Jamila. “I just hope that I can make her proud one day.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 07.19.2012
    Date Posted: 07.19.2012 17:36
    Story ID: 91840
    Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US

    Web Views: 317
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN