Photo By Sgt. Michelle Reif | Lance Cpl. Harlee M. Bradford, an ammunition technician with Ammunition Company, 2nd...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Serving in the military is known as one of the most physically demanding career paths a person can follow. However, one outstanding Marine is out to prove that it is the strength of your heart and the power of your will that determines your success.
After being among the first women to graduate from the Infantry Training Battalion at the School of Infantry-East, Lance Cpl. Harlee M. Bradford, a native of Haines City, Florida, was assigned as an ammunition technician with 2nd Supply Battalion aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where she quickly became a stand-out leader among the Marines of Ammunition Company.
Now, after less than two years in the corps, Bradford is being recognized for her exceptional performance with the Ammo Tech of the Year Award, a Marine Corps-wide decoration.
Bradford admitted that when she found out she was selected for the award, she was surprised and had no idea that she had done anything worth acknowledging.
“I didn’t think anyone thought of me that way, I’m just another Marine doing my job,” Bradford said.
Her peers and supervisors think otherwise.
“She won’t settle for being average,” said Pfc. Casey Herra, an ammunition technician with Ammo Co., 2nd Supply Bn. and native of Wilmington, Massachusetts. “She puts the work in and it shows in everything, whether it be physical training, work or just the person that she is.”
Staff Sgt. Kathryn L. Litchfield, an area supervisor with Ammo Co., 2nd Supply Bn. and native of Spring Creek, Nevada, explained that Bradford is currently holding a noncommissioned officer billet that isn’t normally entrusted to a junior Marine. Litchfield said that Bradford showed she was worthy of the job through her discipline and her attention to detail.
“She definitely knows her section well; she gets the job done,” Litchfield said.
Litchfield also explained that Bradford, having attended ITB training, has a higher level of experience than most lance corporals in the ammo field. She gained a more in-depth knowledge of how to become an effective leader in the Marine Corps and keeps a combat mindset.
Due to that combat mindset, Bradford keeps herself in peak condition, physically and mentally, at all times.
“I want to be ready, just in case,” Bradford said. “To me, that’s what being a Marine is about: being ready to go wherever the Marine Corps needs you to go and to take on any challenge.”
While many find Bradford’s graduation from ITB to be an incredible achievement of physical strength, Bradford gives credit to her determination and refusal to give up.
“I put 100 percent into everything, and if you want something bad enough, that’s what you have to do,” Bradford said. “Even if the entire world is against you, you have to find it in yourself to overcome.”
Bradford said that criticism only fuels her inner fire.
“I’m motivated by people telling me that I can’t do something when I know for a fact that I can,” Bradford said.
In the end, Bradford believes that your level of achievement is determined by how bad you want it.
It was Bradford’s willingness to give her whole self to every task and mission, no matter how small, and the leadership skills she acquired while attending ITB that made her stand out amongst her peers for the Ammo Tech of the Year Award.
Bradford is scheduled to be presented with the award in Quantico, Virginia, May 20.
| Date Taken: | 04.28.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2015 11:03 |
| Story ID: | 162566 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Hometown: | HAINES CITY, FL, US |
| Hometown: | SPRING CREEK, NV, US |
| Hometown: | WILMINGTON, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 621 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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