CAMP FOSTER, Japan – Maj. Gustavo Terrazas has served the Marine Corps for 26 honorable years, and he took the opportunity to return to Okinawa, Japan to retire. From the inception of the Combat Fitness Test to the modern-day uniform, he has seen many of the Marine Corps’ changes and fought where his country needed him.
Terrazas’ story began when his family immigrated from Mexico to California when he was 4 years old. After settling in California, Terrazas joined the Marines in the summer of 2000.
“Going to boot camp, I signed up as an open contract,” Terrazas said.Terrazas didn’t have the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) score to qualify for the military occupational specialty (MOS) he wanted.
“I didn’t like the choices I had,” Terrazas explained. “I thought if I go open, I might have a chance to be a grunt or something like my recruiter was. I became a 3381, a food service specialist."
Realizing the infantry wasn’t possible, Terrazas graduated Marine Combat Training and left for Norfolk, Virginia to his MOS school.
Being taught the basics of his craft, Terrazas found passion for supply management. After graduating from his follow-on school, he was sent to Marine Wing Support Group 17, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan. As a lance corporal, Terrazas worked out of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma mess hall, managing the supply room and ordering the food served until 2001.
“Right after 9/11 hit, I found myself in Kandahar, Afghanistan with Marine Air Control Squadron 4,” Terrazas said. “I’m like, ‘wow this is it, this is what we signed up for.’ Not an ideal situation being a cook in a combat zone, but at least I was there.”
As a corporal, Terrazas was a part of the team that helped establish Kandahar as a military operations site. Terrazas led a team of Marines, U.S. Soldiers and Canadian soldiers managing supplies and Meals Ready to Eat (MREs).
“Thinking back, I went to war and all I did was food service—I never saw combat,” Terrazas said. “I felt like my overall purpose as a Marine was unfulfilled. Even though I had all this experience, I felt like, as a Marine, I didn’t get action.”
Terrazas returned to Okinawa feeling unfulfilled with his work in Afghanistan.He was promoted to sergeant and received orders to California in 2003.
In California, he was assigned to 2nd Force Service Support Group, now 2nd Marine Logistics Group, where Terrazas worked as a manager in the supply warehouse.
“I was nervous initially, but I think it was good anxiety,” Terrazas said. “My first experience as a sergeant was becoming the NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge) for the platoon.”
As a sergeant, Terrazas rose to the challenge of leadership, leading Marines and ensuring operations ran smoothly for the warehouse. He deployed to Iraq, where he managed supply convoy operations and later deployed with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit acting as a logistics specialist until 2009.
“After 2009, the Marine Corps changed in structure. It felt like the opportunity to deploy had diminished,” Terrazas said.
Terrazas was unsatisfied with his career as a food service specialist and began the arduous process of becoming aMarine Corps Commissioned Officer.
Originally, he hadappliedto the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training Program, but he was denied. Dejected but not deterred, hepushed further, increasing his SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and Physical Fitness Test (PFT) scores to apply for Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP).
“When I saw the prerequisites, I thought ‘man I am far from close,'” Terrazas said. “My ASVAB wasn’t good, I had no college degree, so I started getting after it.”
Terrazas realized he needed to buckle down. He knew he wouldn’t be able to do it on his own, so he leaned on the brotherhood of the Marine Corps to help him prepare his application.
“Thinking back, I thought it was pretty cool I didn’t get there by myself,” Terrazas said. “Someone had to help me coordinate my ASVAB while in Bahrain. Someone had to help coordinate a formal PFT.”
As a staff sergeant, Terrazas went to Quantico, Virginia, to become a student of MECEP, where he gained new respect for commissioned officers.
“The instructors we had during the MECEP program were reserve officers who were doctors and chemists with PHDs,” Terrazas said. “They were lieutenant colonels and colonels teaching us Math, Science and English. I had served under a lot of officers and never really knew what they did. It just gave me another perspective of the Marine Corps.”
After finishing his time at Quantico, Virginia, Terrazas traveled back to California and joined NROTC (Naval Reserve Officer Training Center) San Diego and graduated from California State, San Marcos with his undergraduate degree.
Despite his original desire to be in the infantry, new considerations made Terrazas reevaluate his goals.
“After experiencing a marriage where I deployed a lot, I don’t think I would have chosen something more combat arms,” Terrazas said. “I chose something more technical because of family. At the time, I had my family with me at The Basic School (TBS), and I thought to myself ‘when the Marine Corps ends, what then?’”
After graduating TBS, he became a communications officer and was sent to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California for training. He joined 9th Communications Battalion in 2015 as a platoon commander.
During his 3 years at Twentynine Palms, California, he grew both in his craft and in leadership; going from 2nd Lt. Terrazas, platoon commander, to Capt. Terrazas, company commanding officer.
After serving in Twentynine Palms, and graduating Naval Post Graduate School, Terrazas moved with his family to Headquarters Marine Corps in Quantico where he became a manpower analyst.
Initially he felt like his talents were being mismanaged, that the Marine Corps had made a mistake taking him away from communications. Here he was again, feeling like that open contract cook.
It wasn’t until he received advice from his mentors that he considered, maybe he was in the right place, maybe he is here to help facilitate the next evolution of the Marine Corps.
“Those 3 years at manpower, specifically at Headquarters Marine Corps, was definitely eye-opening,” Terrazas said. “I got to see firsthand how the Marine Corps operates—a peak behind the curtain.”
In 2023, Maj. Gustavo Terrazas could have retired, but he stayed in the Marine Corps for two reasons: 1) he wanted to show his family Okinawa;2) he wanted to see how the Marine Corps would change. With these in mind, he executed orders to Okinawa, Japan.
“This is a good end, and this is absolutely a good step forward,” Terrazas said. “I think one of the reasons I decided to stay a little bit longer in Okinawa was to figure out what I want to do when my career does end. I know I don’t want to stop warfighting, but I probably want to stop in this capacity—no longer wearing the uniform.”
From an open contract food service specialist to a deputy assistant chief of staff, Terrazas began his career in Okinawa and ended his journey where it started—sharing Okinawa with his wife and children.
Maj. Gustavo Terrazas retired with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing March 25, 2026.