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Marine sees the world, comes home
Sunday, October 05, 2008 | 2 comment(s)
Jolene Guzman, Staff Writer
NORTH BEND — Service in the U.S. Marine Corps has taken Sgt. Dustin Stovall full circle.
The 2000 North Bend graduate joined the Marines to see different parts of the world. After serving in 15 countries including Japan, where he climbed on Mt. Fuji, in Iraq, and in helping keep the peace in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Stovall has accomplished that goal.
He now is back in the Bay Area for a different reason. Stovall has taken a job as a recruiter and wants to encourage other people to have the same experiences he did in the Marines.
“It’s changed my life for the better,” Stovall, 27, said. “It propelled me to the next level.”
The Marines gave him confidence and a military bearing, he said. It isn’t just Stovall’s shiny and pressed uniform that emits the Marine essence. He talks fast, using efficient language and is constantly in motion. Quick motion.
“I had a pretty good idea that this is what I wanted to do,” he said. “I joined for the challenge of being a Marine.”
A few of his missions have been challenging. He describes his seven-month tour in Iraq in 2003 as life-changing.
“It opens your eyes up,” he said. “We have it pretty good.”
Witnessing the devastation after Katrina was another illuminating experience. It took Stovall on a month-long humanitarian mission.
“We put houses together, whatever they needed us to do,” he said.
Everything was flooded. People were rioting. The Superdome was in bad shape.
“It was a mess.”
Since coming back to North Bend as a recruiter in December, Stovall has seen the 12-week basic training promote changes in some of his young recruits.
“They are walking tall,” he said.
Stovall’s role isn’t simply recruiting. He also has the responsibility of watching over potential high school-age recruits and making sure they keep their grades up and stay out of trouble.
“It’s a godsend for some of parents,” Stovall’s boss Staff Sgt. Nick Howard said.
The time spent recruiting makes Marines like Stovall better at their jobs when they come back from the typically three-year stints, Howard said. He said they often have to make their own schedules and develop better communication abilities. That makes them more independent.
“These are the skills they come back with,” he said.
NORTH BEND — Service in the U.S. Marine Corps has taken Sgt. Dustin Stovall full circle.
The 2000 North Bend graduate joined the Marines to see different parts of the world. After serving in 15 countries including Japan, where he climbed on Mt. Fuji, in Iraq, and in helping keep the peace in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Stovall has accomplished that goal.
He now is back in the Bay Area for a different reason. Stovall has taken a job as a recruiter and wants to encourage other people to have the same experiences he did in the Marines.
“It’s changed my life for the better,” Stovall, 27, said. “It propelled me to the next level.”
The Marines gave him confidence and a military bearing, he said. It isn’t just Stovall’s shiny and pressed uniform that emits the Marine essence. He talks fast, using efficient language and is constantly in motion. Quick motion.
“I had a pretty good idea that this is what I wanted to do,” he said. “I joined for the challenge of being a Marine.”
A few of his missions have been challenging. He describes his seven-month tour in Iraq in 2003 as life-changing.
“It opens your eyes up,” he said. “We have it pretty good.”
Witnessing the devastation after Katrina was another illuminating experience. It took Stovall on a month-long humanitarian mission.
“We put houses together, whatever they needed us to do,” he said.
Everything was flooded. People were rioting. The Superdome was in bad shape.
“It was a mess.”
Since coming back to North Bend as a recruiter in December, Stovall has seen the 12-week basic training promote changes in some of his young recruits.
“They are walking tall,” he said.
Stovall’s role isn’t simply recruiting. He also has the responsibility of watching over potential high school-age recruits and making sure they keep their grades up and stay out of trouble.
“It’s a godsend for some of parents,” Stovall’s boss Staff Sgt. Nick Howard said.
The time spent recruiting makes Marines like Stovall better at their jobs when they come back from the typically three-year stints, Howard said. He said they often have to make their own schedules and develop better communication abilities. That makes them more independent.
“These are the skills they come back with,” he said.
For more information on joining the U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Marine Sgt. Dustin Stovall can be contacted by calling 756-0566 or by visiting the Marine recruiting office at the Pony Village Mall, 1611 Virginia Ave., North Bend.
U.S. Marine Sgt. Dustin Stovall can be contacted by calling 756-0566 or by visiting the Marine recruiting office at the Pony Village Mall, 1611 Virginia Ave., North Bend.
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