Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mark Porter | Marine Cpl. Antoinette Rodriguez, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, practices Marine Corps...... read more read more
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KABUL, Afghanistan - They say Marine Corps boot camp will make you or break you. In the case of Cpl. Antoinette Rodriguez, it did both.
At just a shade over 5 foot tall and 130 pounds when she arrived at Parris Island, S.C., Rodriguez knew training would be a challenge. After breaking her pelvis, she wondered if would be possible.
As she recovered from the injury – suffered on the forty-sixth of what should have been 70 days of training – she wondered if she’d made the right decision in joining the military. After all, it was a decision that took nearly seven years to reach.
Rodriguez, who is currently assigned to U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, at New Kabul Compound, first considered the military as a 17-year-old high schooler in Newark, N.J. Her mother was not supportive of the decision, however, so Rodriguez did not follow through.
She had moved out on her own at age 16 and tried her hand at several jobs over the next few years – including waitressing and working at a bakery.
“I guess I was trying to find my fit,” she said. “When I moved back home at 23, I knew I had to do something.”
She again considered the military and started comparing the four branches. In the end, it was the challenge of training that won her over to the Corps.
“I saw that [the other services] had eight weeks or less of training. Marines - for just basic boot camp - said 13 weeks,” she recalled. “The challenges seemed intense, yet attainable only by those who truly wanted it. I wanted it. So, one day while watching TV, I saw a [Marine recruiting] commercial and drove to the recruiting station.”
That was October 2008. In November she enlisted; by January she was on her way to Parris Island. Her mother Maritza Montero was still not sure.
“I saw her feeling lost and out of place at home,” said Montero. “I didn’t like it, but it was her decision so I had to support her.”
Rodriguez doesn’t know how she got injured during training, but remembers when it became too much to bear. It was during the fourth of boot camp’s four hikes, right before recruits begin The Crucible - a 56-hour final event before graduation.
“[During] the last hike I was in severe pain but I didn't want to say anything because I knew I would get dropped,” Rodriguez explained. “The pack on my back was weighing me down.
“I developed a bad limp and was forced to seek medical help and the X-rays reveal all the cracks in my left leg.”
Rodriguez had a pelvic stress fracture and left hip stress fracture. She was taken out of training and placed in the female rehabilitation platoon for about two months of recovery and rehab before being able to get back into training and finally graduating.
Did she consider quitting? No. Perhaps one advantage to being so small is that there isn’t room in her for quit. Six months after she started, Rodriguez graduated from boot camp. The combination of rigorous training and injuries had left Rodriguez at just 97 pounds.
“I thought [training] was going to be a problem after the injury but I was determined to finish strong,” she said. “I wanted to earn it so bad. They do not just hand out our beloved Eagle, Globe and Anchor.”
Despite the early injury, Rodriguez, 26, hasn’t exactly shied away from physical challenges since boot camp. While all Marines receive basic hand-to-hand combat training through the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, she has continued training, becoming a first degree black belt instructor.
She trains other Marines for MCMAP certification and, when she is back in Hawaii (she is deployed out of the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24, Marine Aircraft Group, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay) she assists in teaching civilian self defense.
Though her daily duties here are as an administrative specialist with the USFOR-A J3, Rodriguez finds time to do much more. In addition to pursuing a degree in criminal justice and working to certify as a personal trainer, she also volunteers as a member of the base force protection team.
“Rodriguez is always willing to help – no matter what you need,” said Navy Chief Stanley Kubat, non-commissioned officer in charge for Force Pro Team Bravo. “And she’s not only willing, she’s knowledgeable and good at what she does. She’s been a great asset to base protection.”
Rodriguez is now looking ahead to life after her deployment. She said she misses the little things – like driving her car and seeing friends.
“People don’t realize the simple things that are taken for granted,” she said.
She also plans to re-enlist this summer, and has the support of her mom and three siblings, as well as her boyfriend – a fellow Marine currently deployed at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.
“Antoinette told me already she wants to stay. It is a part of her life and I’m very proud of her,” said Montero.
It is a matter of pride for Rodriguez, too.
“I like the respect and honor that comes with serving. Especially being a Marine. I plan to make a career of it."
"That’s what I am now. I’m a Marine.”
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2012 01:16 |
| Story ID: | 84143 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 436 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Her big break: Marine overcomes injuries to excel in Afghanistan, by SFC Mark Porter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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