CAMP LEATHERNECK, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan— Words like honor and dedication are used to describe every Marine who serves his country.
Words like perfection and 100 percent reliability are words only used to describe a handful of Marines.
Those are the words that superiors use to describe Cpl. Antonio Dominguez, a radio repairman with Regimental Combat Team-7, who is serving in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Those words have not fallen on deaf ears, either. Dominguez, a 23-year-old native of Sparks, Nevada, was honored as the “Marine of the Quarter” as part of 7th Marine Regiment before the deployment.
“He has a drive for perfection; he hates being told he's wrong,” said Master Sgt. John Robison, the communications chief for RCT-7. “But that motivates him every time to do a better job. If he makes a mistake once, he doesn't make that mistake ever again.”
That kind of dedication to his job is what earned Dominguez what he calls his most significant experience in the Corps, a meritorious promotion to corporal on Dec. 2.
While his superiors say that he is mature for his age and rank, Dominguez won’t take all of the credit.
“I try to get a little something from every Marine I come in contact with,” Dominguez said. “I don’t just learn, emulate one Marine, I try to take something different from everyone so I can be well-rounded.”
Dominguez isn’t finished learning, either.
“I do MCIs (Marine Corps Institute) and Marinenet classes,” Dominguez said. “When I get stateside, I want to go back to college and get my degree.”
In fact, Dominguez went to college, but joined the Corps after not being able to decide on his future. Now his goal is to continue helping the units under RCT-7 with their communications gear.
“The other day we had 3/9 (3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment) bring in radios that were broken,” Dominguez said. “We were able to find out what could be fixed and then replaced what couldn’t so they could get back to their base.”
Dominguez loves cars and volunteers his time at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. when he isn’t deployed. He even has some advice for all of the Marines out there.
“Don’t let the little things bother you.” Dominguez said. “Stay positive and learn from your mistakes.”