U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Christopher Taylor, an Oklahoma native and the sergeant major of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Alert Contingency MAGTF (SPMAGTF-ACM), fires an M240B machine gun during a live-fire flight over New Mexico, June 25, 2025. As the aviation combat element of the SPMAGTF-ACM, VMM-261 conducted a deployment for training to increase the squadron’s proficiency in high altitude aviation operations and improve overall combat readiness for any potential MAGTF missions. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Osmar VasquezHernandez)
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Martial arts and combative sports are a skillset many people use for various ways. Some want to learn how to defend themselves in case they are ever attacked. Others have been involved in these sports for years and compete professionally. For U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Charles Copeland, the fire and effects coordination center chief at the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), martial arts and combative sports taught him how to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Copeland grew up in a small town in Minnesota . Even when he was younger, he always found himself being told he couldn’t participate in challenging sports because of his smaller stature compared to the rest of the kids around him.
“I just...
