Photo By Cpl. Isaiah Smith | U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kush Vyas (left) and Pfc. Lakshya Vyas, both assault...... read more read more
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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kush Vyas and Pfc. Lakshya Vyas have spent their entire lives side by side, and now in the Marine Corps Reserve nothing has changed.
Kush and Lakshya, brothers born to Indian immigrants and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, enlisted together less than a year ago and now serve as amphibious assault vehicle operators with Bravo Company, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division.
The brothers recently took part in Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 3-25 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California as part of their annual training requirements for the Marine Corps Reserve. ITX is a critical Marine Air-Ground Task Force Exercise for the Marine Forces Reserve's training cycle, confirming unit readiness through live-fire and combined arms integration.
For Kush, the decision to join the Marine Corps Reserve all started with a hard look at himself.
“I was in school, and I wasn’t really doing the best. I was not making the best decisions,” he said. “Then I sat down one day and was like, ‘Yeah, let me try this out.’”
What began as an idea on the couch turned into a pact between brothers.
“It kind of started off as a little joke,” Kush said. “I was visiting home from school and said, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna do this.’ He was like, ‘Okay, I’ll do it with you.’ The next day we were talking to recruiters. A month later, we were gone.”
Lakshya remembers it the same way, “He brought it up, and at first, I thought he was joking. Then he called the recruiter at two in the morning and told me to come to the office the next day. I was like, ‘Oh, you were serious.’ If he’s going, I’m going too.”
Since that day, their Marine Corps career has been just like every other part of their life, doing everything together, from boot camp at Parris Island, to Marine Combat Training, to the AAV schoolhouse, and now to the hot desert training ranges of Twentynine Palms.
Lakshya, who has been driving an AAV during ITX, said mastering the heavy tracked vehicle takes focus and teamwork. “Since there’s tracks, anytime there’s a ditch we have to cross steer. You go in at an angle and come back up the other way. If you don’t, you can damage it, and that’s not good.”
Both say seeing how their role connects with infantry units in the field puts the bigger picture in perspective.
“If I don’t do my job right, it could affect another unit. Seeing them do their jobs shows how mine fits in. It’s interesting to see how leadership works too. The crew chief’s job affects the whole company,” said Kush.
Outside the uniform, the brothers have each carved their own civilian path. Kush is working on finishing college, with plans to transfer to the University of North Florida. He hopes to use values he’s learned in the Marine Corps Reserve to make a difference at home, and one day take his service to a higher level by serving in local to state government.
“I want to make the community a better place,” he said. “Jacksonville’s on the rise, and I just feel like somebody needs to not be scared to say what they need to actually say. The Marine Corps gave me leadership and the ability to work under pressure. I can express myself how I need to.”
Lakshya splits his time between school and working at a hospital in Jacksonville. He’s studying nursing and says the discipline and creative problem-solving he’s learned in the Corps carry over to patient care.
“It’s making the best out of the least amount of equipment,” he said.
“Out here you might use a Gatorade bottle as a shovel if you have to. In the hospital, you do what you have to do, fast. I love the hospital environment. Helping people, seeing someone come in and being able to help them. It just makes me feel good.”
Growing up in an Indian household, expectations were high and military service was not the obvious path.
“It’s not that common to join the military,” Kush said. “Your Indian peers are usually doctors or engineers. When we decided to join, everyone was shocked and confused. Our parents were supportive, but also worried, which makes sense.”
Now, with almost a year in uniform, both say the Marine Corps Reserve has already changed them.
“It’s taught me discipline,” Kush said. “You learn how to push your limits. Every time I train, I realize I’m capable of more than I thought.”
Through it all, the bond between brothers only grows stronger.
“When there’s times where I’m in the suck, I know he’s there too,” Lakshya said. “When we get released, we always get together, talk about our day, make sure each other is good.”
Kush summed up the experience simply: “We’ve been best friends since he was born. We’ve done everything together so far. I’d die for these boys, and I’d do it again tomorrow.”
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2025 19:52 |
| Story ID: | 500896 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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