U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Allen Ravan, from South Carolina, a maintenance assessment team (MAT) inspector with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), poses for a portrait in front of a static AV-8B Harrier II at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, April. 29, 2025. Ravan, a former AV-8B Harrier II maintainer, works in 2nd MAW's Aviation Logistics Department. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Gavin Kulczewski)
U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 271 conduct base recovery after attack training at Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field Atlantic, North Carolina, April 1 to April 2, 2025. MWSS-271 worked alongside personnel from the Office of Naval Research to test various unmanned aerial systems, evaluating their performance to determine which would best enhance the effectiveness of BRAAT training and application. (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Pfc. Gavin K. Kulczewski)
Sirens pierced through the walls of the C-130 Hercules aircraft that he rode, indicating that rockets were inbound somewhere on the installation. The aircraft was forced to conduct a “combat landing,” taking a steeper angle than usual to land to avoid enemy fires. The year was 2011, and U.S. Marine Sgt. Allen Ravan, a Charleston, South Carolina, native and an airframes mechanic with Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 513, had just landed at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.
“It was a pace I wasn’t ready for,” said now Master Sgt. Ravan.
High operational tempo and stressful conditions like this forged the beginning of Ravan’s career and have continued to impact how he leads today. Currently, Ravan is a Maintenance Assessment...
05.05.2025 | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Story by Lance Cpl. Mya Seymour
