Flight Line Friday: Second Lieutenant Meredith DeLong

OKINAWA, JAPAN

02.01.2022

Story by Lance Cpl. Justin Marty 

1st Marine Aircraft Wing   

CAMP GONSALVES, JUNGLE WARFARE TRAINING CENTER, OKINAWA, Japan – A young and eager second lieutenant watches the combat engineer Marines under her command run beneath the roaring rotor blades on their way to board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter. They are preparing to conduct a fast rope insert into a landing zone deep in the jungle. The helicopter crew chief signals to the lieutenant. She slings her M4A1 rifle around her back, grips the rope firmly, looks down and drops down feet first, leading the rest of the Marines that follow.
A Family Tradition
To 2nd Lt. Meredith DeLong, this is the way. By leading from the front and setting the example for her Marines to follow. “It came from my father,” said DeLong, describing her motivation to commission as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. “He was an artillery officer who retired before I was born, but I always looked up to him and was a total daddy’s girl growing up. I always wanted to be part of the organization that made him who he was,” said DeLong. For the DeLong family, joining the Marine Corps is family tradition. “My older sister went to the Naval Academy and just graduated flight school, and my little brother was enlisted as a military police officer. We were never pressured to join, but it was all kind of understood that we just all would anyway,” said DeLong.
MOS 1302
2ndLt. Delong is a combat engineer officer and a platoon commander for the combat engineer platoon within Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 172, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW). Her job is to command or assist in commanding engineer sections consisting of Marines in various jobs whose duties consist of heavy equipment operation, construction, demolition, water purification, breaching, expeditionary base building, operations, and maintenance. “Our mission in the 1st MAW is important because we do all the airfield damage assessment and recovery if there was ever an attack on our air stations. We also assist in the Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concept, which is important in the direction the Marine Corps is heading with Force Design 2030” said DeLong.

Challenges
DeLong joined the Corps in May in 2020 after graduating with a degree in architecture from the University of Colorado. “When I was in college I had people tell me that I wouldn’t make it in the Marines because I was a woman, and that I didn’t deserve to be a Marine because I was a woman, but it never really got to me and yet, here I am.,” said DeLong. This motivated her to prove those people wrong and set the example for all future female Marines. 8.9% of all Marines are women and as of 2020, only 232 of those women were serving in traditional combat jobs. “I’m not a female Marine,” said DeLong, “I'm just a Marine. The women I lead are the same, we’re all just Marines.” DeLong hopes that all Marines are treated the same no matter the sexual orentation. DeLong graduated from engineering officer School September 8, 2021 and joined MWSS 172 in late September. “One of the challenges I’ve experienced since I’ve been here is just trying to figure everything out. It’s so easy to just read the student handout and say, ‘yeah, I got that, I can do this’ but there is a lot that goes into coming to a unit, having a platoon of Marines, and specifically working in a foreign country and having to balance the normal typical duties while also working with our Japanese counterparts,” said Delong.
Hobbies
“When I’m not in the field or at work I like to create collages in my free time. I also like to rock climb, backpack, and when there’s snow, I love to ski.” said DeLong. “Most of my hobbies came from my parents encouraging me to be active during my childhood and I would say that playing team sports my whole childhood helped me develop a team-centric mentality, which relates well to mission accomplishment via team success,” DeLong said. DeLong also enjoyed going to school in colorado. It’s where her passion for hiking and backpacking really took off which would also help her later in her Marine Corps career by instilling knowledge in field craft.
In my shoes
DeLong highly recommends anyone looking to become an engineer in the Marines to pursue it. “If you are considering it, do it. I’m having an incredible amount of fun,” said DeLong. “All the engineers I’ve met have been top-notch Marines, I’ve inherited a fantastic platoon, and in my experience the engineer community is one of the best, if not the best.” DeLong became interested in the job when it was recommended to her based on her degree in architecture. “I definitely see more variety in this job than a lot of the others. I go to the field more, I meet more people, and it helps that I have a background that is applicable in the job.”
Mentorship
Serving under DeLong is Staff Sgt. Douglas Phillips. Phillips is the staff non-commissioned officer in charge of the combat engineer platoon. He serves as a vital piece in the chain of command from the junior Marines all the way up to DeLong. Phillips offers support, planning, advice, experience, and does a lot of the “heavy lifting” for the platoon. “Oh absolutely, 100%!” laughed DeLong when asked if she views Philips as a mentor. “I’d be drowning without him. The amount of support he provides is amazing.” Phillips thinks DeLong is a great leader. “I’ll tell you what I see” said Phillips, “so far, she's shown that she really cares, DeLong showed up here hungry and wanting to learn. She has the give-a-damn factor and it means a lot to this unit, and it shows all the way down to the junior Marines. When they see that their whole demeanor changes.”

• Date Taken: 02.01.2022
• Date Posted: 02.08.2022 17:57
• Story ID: 413832
• Location: OKINAWA, JP