Poolee turned Gunnery Sergeant crosses path with former RS CO

Photo By Sgt. Samuel Guerra | Gunnery Sgt. Juan Vasquez Jr., left, a U.S. Marine assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Africa, poses for a photo with Col. Daniel Greenwood, the commanding officer of SPMAGTF-CR-AF, at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, Feb. 25, 2017. Greenwood formerly served as the commanding officer for Marine Corps Recruiting Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while Vasquez was a poolee for the station in 2003. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samuel Guerra)  

NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, ITALY

03.02.2017

Story by Cpl. Samuel Guerra 

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa     

NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, ITALY – The Marine Corps, home to nearly 200,000 active duty service members, draws from coast to coast those who seek the title “Marine” and displaces them to locations across the globe. Despite those odds, the Corps is known as a “small world” where Marines’ paths often intersect. Sometimes those paths meet more than a decade later.

Gunnery Sgt. Juan Vasquez Jr., the Alert Force Company Gunnery Sergeant assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Africa, joined the Marine Corps in 2003 after being recruited at Recruiting Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The RS commanding officer at the time – 14 years ago - was Col. Daniel Greenwood, now the commanding officer of SPMAGTF-CR-AF. Today, both Vasquez and Greenwood serve together as leaders within the MAGTF.

Vasquez enlisted into the infantry, rising quickly through the ranks and deploying to nearly 30 countries, to include Iraq and Afghanistan, in less than 14 years before deploying in support of the SPMAGTF in Italy, under Greenwood’s command.

“The Marine Corps truly is a band of brothers,” Greenwood said. “Crossing paths again with Vasquez on this deployment [exemplifies] what happens every day across the Corps.”

Vasquez, who joined in pursuit of opportunities for success, was most recently promoted meritoriously to Gunnery Sergeant in April of 2016. Although others may view that type of promotion as a testament to their proficiency, he humbly attributes his accomplishments to where it all began.

“I owe a lot of my success to my recruiter and the recruiters at my recruiting station,” Vasquez said. “They showed me what the Marine Corps culture was all about and I know that the standards [are upheld] from the top down.”

Greenwood is proud of how successful his former poolee has become throughout his career, viewing him as the embodiment of perseverance that others can follow.

“Vasquez serves as an example for every Marine Corps applicant; proving that they can accomplish anything with hard work, dedication and commitment.”

• Date Taken: 03.02.2017
• Date Posted: 03.03.2017 02:13
• Story ID: 225456
• Location: NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, IT