Photo By Sgt. Jack Adamyk | Lance Corporal Brendan T. McDowell is back to back winner of the Marine of the Quarter...... read more read more
Lance Corporal Brendan T. McDowell has been named the Marine of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2018 at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
McDowell was also the Marine of the Quarter for the first quarter. Between the time he received his first Marine of the Quarter recognition and the second, he got married in May to a woman he has known since third grade.
“I moved from the barracks to base housing after I got married,” McDowell said. “For a 19-year-old man who’s never had his own home before, it’s great.”
He works as the Network Transport Administrator for S-6 Communications Department programming and encrypting handheld and mobile radios, but that was not the job he trained for in communications school.
“I expected to be working wire, hanging aerial cables and being down in manholes like I was being taught as a construction wireman,” McDowell said. “Now I see that what I’m doing keeps the fire department stable and the police department up and running. A few weeks ago when we had some rain, lightning knocked out radio communications at the range, so I came in on the weekend to reset and reprogram all the radios.”
“Lance Cpl. McDowell works diligently and intelligently at any task he’s assigned,” said Master Sgt. Tianna Tien, Communications chief. “He also acts as a kind of mentor for the younger Marines. He is an excellent choice for Marine of the Quarter recognition.”
McDowell was born in Deer Park, Long Island, N.Y., and joined the Corps on the delayed enlistment program in March 2016. He began recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., in November of that year, graduating in February 2017.
“I joined when I was 17, so I had to have my parents’ permission,” McDowell explained. “My father was all for it because he’s very patriotic but couldn’t join the service himself because of medical conditions. My mother, on the other hand, had heard some disturbing stories about the Marine Corps. She did sign the papers but she was not happy with the decision. Once I completed boot camp, though, she came to the realization that things were not as bad as they were years and years ago. Both my parents are now enthusiastically behind me and my career.”
He used the eight months between the DEP and boot camp to watch all the videos he could on the Marine Corps and Boot Camp, familiarizing himself with what to expect on the physical side of the job.
“Physically I was prepared but mentally you can never be ready for something like that because it’s brand new,” McDowell said.
But his time in recruit training made an impression and he hopes it will form a part of his future in the Corps because he plans to become a drill instructor.
McDowell likes sports and has a unique hobby for this area, which admittedly he has not had time to engage in in the Corps; stringing lacrosse stick heads.
“It’s a great skill to have especially where I’m from. There are a lot of people who play lacrosse and if you’re good at stringing heads, everybody’s buying your product,” he said. “That’s fun for me.”
If someone were to ask him about joining the Corps, McDowell said, “I would tell people that the Marine Corps is not for everybody. You have to have a thick skin and let stuff roll off of you and take the discipline and responsibility they put on your shoulders.”
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.09.2018 12:37 |
| Story ID: | 287974 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Hometown: | DEER PARK, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Marine of the Quarter for MCLB Barstow is back to back winner, by Keith Hayes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT