New Marine alters plans by joining Marine Corps

Photo By Sgt. Angelica Annastas | Lance Corporal Stephen J. Bayer, Charlie Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, stands outside his squad bay at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Sept. 12. Bayer spent an extra three months on the depot while waiting for an injury to heal. Following recruit training, Bayer will report to the School of Infantry at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then to his military occupational specialty school to become a military policeman. Annually, more than 17,000 males recruited from the Western Recruiting Region are trained at MCRD San Diego.  

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

09.12.2016

Story by Cpl. Angelica Annastas 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego     

Even with his life following his plan, Lance Cpl. Stephen J. Bayer, Charlie Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, was looking for a change of pace in his life, and found it with the Marine Corps.
“I wanted something that was high speed, low drag,” said Bayer. “I always had an itch to join the military, or at least something like it. I always had that drive in me.”
Bayer, native of Smithville, Miss., had a busy life growing up.
“I was always busy because I had a lot of close friends who I hung out with,” he said. “The thing we did most was drive trucks. We loved driving, so it took up a lot of our time. I remember we would play pool and have bonfires, too. We’d just hang out and have a good time.”
It wasn’t much different when it came to spending time with his family.
“I’ve always been close to my family,” said Bayer. “I remember Sundays being an all-day event, and we’d play board games or something.”
Transitioning into high school didn’t bring much change to his life, for the exception of meeting the love of his life and getting married shortly after graduating.
After high school, Bayer began working as a mechanical engineer. He was a welder for eight years and was making a solid paycheck to support his family, but it wasn’t really what he wanted to do.
“I wanted to expand my horizons, in a sense,” said Bayer. “I wanted to earn my spot in America and not just be a part of it because I was born here. I figured it was time to step up and try for something different. That was when the Marine Corps came into my mind.”
Bayer sat down with his wife and talked about his decision and how it would change their lives.
“We’d come to the question of, ‘Can we do this?’” said Bayer. “We spent almost a year talking about it off and on, and then we finally came to the decision to try.”
Bayer visited a recruiter and told him what he was looking for from the Marine Corps.
“He asked me what I wanted to do, and I told him I wanted to be a military policeman and nothing else,” said Bayer.
The recruiter was able to fulfill his request, but he had to spend five months in the Delayed Entry Program before attending recruit training. When he finally left for training, he picked up with Charlie Company, but his experience took an unexpected turn.
“We were doing one of the physical training events, and I felt pain in my shin and hip,” said Bayer. “When I was sent to medical, they diagnosed me with a hip fracture in the right femoral neck and head, and I also suffered from a left bilateral tibial stress fracture.”
Bayer was taken out of training and assigned to a Medical Rehabilitation Platoon, where he was put on crutches for 17 weeks. During that time, he went to physical therapy and waited for his injuries to heal before getting back into training. He spent two weeks in a Physical Conditioning Platoon and transitioned back into the training cycle.
“During my time of healing, I decided to better myself any way I could, so I started studying more knowledge,” said Bayer. “It was all emotionally draining and extremely stressful having to wait, but I couldn’t quit. I had to finish what I started, and I had to do it right.”
Bayer finally reentered training on July 22, 2016, and ended up with Charlie Company being led by the same senior drill instructor.
“I didn’t expect it to work out so well, but it did,” said Bayer. “I was the guide when I was in MRP and PCP, and I didn’t mind taking that billet again. The guide of my new platoon was pretty squared away though, so I didn’t ask for the position.”
That soon changed when the guide decided to step down and hand over the reins to Bayer.
“We were on the range, and the guide called the platoon into a school circle,” said Bayer. “He explained to them that he felt they needed a more mature leader. I thought maybe since I was a little older than the rest of them, that maybe they saw it as respect thing. Either way, it was game on from there.”
Recruit training was more physically demanding than anything else for Bayer.
“I’m about to turn 28, and I didn’t have that young energy like the rest of the platoon had,” said Bayer. “We were a family, and the other recruits kept me motivated. We pushed each other through it all.”
Earning his Eagle, Globe and Anchor was a moving moment for Bayer.
“Being on top of the hill and looking out at the ocean was such an out of body experience,” said Bayer. “The handshake and eye-to-eye contact was what did it for me. I was welcomed into the brotherhood, and it made it all worth it. Knowing that the protection of our own is so important, made me feel like part of the family.”
Following recruit training, Bayer will report to the School of Infantry at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then to his military occupational specialty school to become a military policeman.
“One quote that stuck to me throughout training was, ‘What we do in life echoes in eternity,’” said Bayer. “I wanted to set the bar high for whoever comes after me.”

• Date Taken: 09.12.2016
• Date Posted: 09.14.2016 17:31
• Story ID: 209634
• Location: MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, CA, US