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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Every Marine is a leader; from the fire team leaders in a squad, to a general, commanding multiple regiments, Marines take charge and carry out the mission. While leading is a daily routine for most Marines, some find the qualities of leadership come naturally and excel in the art more than others.
First Lt. Conner Bohnen, an 81 mm mortars platoon commander with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, recently received the Tarawa Award in recognition of his leadership excellence aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
The Tarawa Award is presented annually to an officer selected by the 2nd Marine Division commanding general as the division’s outstanding platoon commander for displaying the highest level of leadership.
Bohnen said it was a weird feeling to receive the award but he likes that the Marine Corps give Marines the opportunity to be recognized for their accomplishments. He also said that he feels the reason he received the award was because, during his six month deployment to Afghanistan, he was able to step back and make decisions without letting his emotions get in the way.
Although Bohnen received the award, he realized that the credit is not entirely his and recognized the efforts of the Marines he led during his unit’s recent deployment to Afghanistan.
“A lot of pieces had to fall into place in order for me to get this award,” said Bohnen. “I had a platoon sergeant who did really well, squad leaders that worked really hard, and team leaders that took initiative. That’s how we were able to succeed and that’s how I was recognized for this award.”
While Bohnen gives credit to his Marines, his dedication to his men and accomplishing the mission were instrumental in his success as a leader. Sgt. Zachary Kapinus, a platoon sergeant with the battalion and Chicago, Illinois, native, gave testament to Bohnen receiving the award.
“First Lt. Bohnen is probably one of the strongest platoon commanders I have ever had,” said Kapinus. “I’ve been in for about eight and a half years and, out of all my platoon commanders that I’ve had, he is by far the best I’ve seen and operated with. He applied himself day in and day out. There was no down time for him; there was no 'me' time. He was all about the Marines, the platoon, and the mission.”
Though Bohnen received the Tarawa award for his outstanding leadership, he knows there are areas where he needs to continue to improve upon to become a better leader in the future.
“I just have to try to improve my deficiencies and keep doing what I was recognized for; the award is going to re-enforce the things that me and my platoon did, that worked,” said Bohnen.
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.11.2015 14:08 |
| Story ID: | 156663 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | CHICAGO, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 179 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recognized for excellence in leadership, by SSgt Andy Orozco, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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