Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Adam Leyendecker | Sgt. Curtis Bennion, a recruiter at Recruiting Substation Batavia, Recruiting Station...... read more read more
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BATAVIA, N.Y. - For many Marines, recruiting duty can mean working sunrise to sunset or in some cases even later. Many work weekends and sometimes even holidays in order to recruit our nation’s finest warriors. Doing this involves sacrificing time that could be spent at home with family.
Sgt. Curtis D. Bennion, a recruiter at Recruiting Substation Batavia, Recruiting Station Buffalo, 1st Marine Corps District, maximizes the time he has during every day of the week both as a Marine and an individual for his community.
On Sept. 8, 2004, Bennion, who grew up on a dairy farm in Portageville, N.Y., decided to leave the farm to see what else was out there. That’s when he found himself at a local Marine Corps recruiting office and told the recruiter he wanted to join the military. He said he recalls the recruiter telling him, “Get out and come back when you want to be a Marine.”
He walked back in 10 minutes later because he wanted to challenge himself to do something not most people are willing or able to do. He said he wanted to be part of the best.
After joining the Marine Corps, Bennion became a motor transport operator and deployed to Iraq with an Explosives Ordnance Disposal unit in 2004 and 2005. After spending much of the early part of his career away from his home and family due to being called to duty overseas, Bennion now finds himself recruiting young men into the Marine Corps in the same area he grew up, Western New York.
During this duty, Bennion has adapted the same mentality his recruiter had with a no nonsense approach.
“I’m not a salesman,” said Bennion. “I offer the Marine Corps as an option, but I don’t get all hyped-up and show emotion to sell someone into joining the Corps.”
Bennion’s approach to recruiting has helped him earn one of the top spots amongst the recruiters at RS Buffalo in the last year.
“There is no Marine that works as hard as this guy,” said Sgt. Thomas Colombrito IV, a recruiter from RSS Batavia. "He doesn’t go to sleep until 11 p.m. and he’s already at the office working out at 5 o’clock in the morning while I am still sleeping.”
RS Buffalo has also noted Bennion's significant contributions to recruiting reservists and females.
Many of his recruits go down to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., and become squad leaders or guides in their platoons because of the quality recruit that Bennion seeks out. That is also a testament to the preparation Bennion puts into his poolees, which is the term for the young men and women waiting to leave for recruit training.
“He’s the poster-boy Marine,” said Colombrito. “He does everything the Marine Corps' way. He’s always up in front of the pool, leading his poolees. They all want to emulate Sergeant Bennion.”
However, when Bennion isn’t recruiting he is still finding ways to become an influence in his community. He is a volunteer firefighter and trains for two hours every Monday and puts in 10 hours a week at the department.
According to Paul Dougherty, the fire chief of the Pavilion Fire Department, being a volunteer fire fighter isn’t an easy task. It takes a willingness to drop whatever you are doing whenever an incident strikes whether it is in the evening hours, weekends or holidays, he said.
On Christmas Day, Bennion woke up at 3 a.m. to attend to a fire on a double-wide trailer. He spent six hours there helping put out the flames.
“Bennion’s experience in the Marine Corps has benefited him in being able to adapt to people he doesn’t know to achieve the mission,” said Dougherty. “It is difficult to acquire and retain members, so it is good to see someone like Curtis come along.”
Bennion’s involvement in his community doesn’t stop there. Medina High School looked up to Bennion so much as their leader, that the high school band had him march them onto the field during the New York State Field Band Championships in Syracuse, N.Y. The theme of the song they marched to was a tribute to him and all service members who fought before him and for the ones who will follow.
“Bennion is a Marine from family life to work, he never stops,” said Colombrito.
Bennion said his success and his family's success are what drive him to continue to grow into the best Marine, father, husband and man he can be. His goals after recruiting duty are to become an instructor at his military occupational specialty's school and to achieve the rank of master gunnery sergeant someday to continue to lead the future of the Marine Corps.
The greatest reward Bennion gets from recruiting duty is when the men and women he sends off to recruit training return to his office in uniform as United States Marines.
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2013 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 106001 |
| Location: | BATAVIA, NY, US |
| Hometown: | PORTAGEVILLE, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 220 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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