Why I Serve-USMC Recruit Garcia

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT PARRIS ISLAND, S.C.,"I wanted
something more" out of life, Marine Corps Recruit Nina N.
Garcia said a few
days before she was to graduate from recruit training here.

Earning a college degree was definitely one of her goals as
she was finishing
up high school, but Garcia also wanted to challenge herself
on another level,
she said. So, last year, when she was a high school senior,
the Fort Collins,
Colo., native joined the Marine Corps Delayed Entry
Program.

The 18-year-old Garcia was set to become a U.S. Marine Nov.
5, after completing
12 weeks of arduous training. Garcia said she learned "a
lot of discipline" at
Parris Island, which has trained Marine recruits since
1915.

Instructors on Parris Island rifle ranges taught her how to
shoot, and she also
became a better swimmer thanks to the Marines, she said.
Embracing and
employing teamwork, Garcia observed, provides the key for
recruits to
successfully complete the Marines' famously tough training.
"Everything depends
on teamwork," Garcia emphasized, noting, "There's no 'I' in
team."

The Marine Corps offers young people "challenge,
opportunity, and (a way) to
serve our country with the best," she said.

And, Marines' proud personal bearing, Garcia noted, sets
them apart "from any
other branch of the military."