Behind every strong leader is an eager follower, and this brother and sister pair pursued the challenge of becoming United States Marines. Pfc. Tabitha Morales, an air crash fire and rescue Marine, and local of Escondido, California, graduated boot camp at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot (MCRD) Parris Island, South Carolina in June of 2022. Pfc. Morales was initially working at Starbucks for 2 months before a Marine Corps recruiter, Staff Sgt. Brandy Price with Recruiting Sub-Station (RSS) Oceanside, Recruiting Station (RS) San Diego, asked her a riveting question,
“Is what you’re doing working for you?”
From that moment on, she decided it was time to take a leap of faith and pursue the career that she has been wanting since she was 12 years old.
One of her strongest influencers was her brother, Sgt. John Morales, a heavy equipment operator and Marine Corps recruiter with RSS Oceanside. Sgt Morales graduated from boot camp in June of 2015 from MCRD San Diego. His sister was inspired by his transformation when he returned home from boot camp. He was disciplined, wanting to achieve more for himself and his family, and holding himself to a higher a standard in everything he did. She said,
“I saw the way he carried himself and the way that he felt proud of himself and I wanted that for me.”
Sgt. Morales would always ask his sister about her long-term plans and held her to a higher standard by making her pay attention to the details in everything she did. Initially, Pfc. Morales did not understand why her brother held her to such a standard, but once she joined the Marine Corps, she understood. Her boot camp experience has inspired her to pursue the challenge of becoming a drill instructor when the time comes. From her experience, she learned that there are things that you cannot predict, but to prepare for the unexpected and through repetition, you gain adaptability and confidence. She believes that drill instructors
“…do everything to a perfect standard because if you make Marines, you have to be a perfect Marine because you’re setting the example and I’ve always wanted that.”
During her difficult times in training, Pfc. Morales would imagine that her brother could see her accomplishments and she could hear his voice in her head telling her that she could do more. Eventually, she graduated boot camp and became a Marine, just like her brother. As a recruiter, he sees the transformation of many young adults upon their return home from boot camp, but with his sister, it was different. He says,
“I felt the emotion that our parents felt when she left. Instead of having that third party feeling, I was feeling it first-hand. I didn’t want to recruit her, she wanted to do that for herself.”