I’m a former Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. I joined the Marines shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2003, I was recommended for Marine Embassy Guard Duty and accepted for training at the Marine Embassy Guard School in Quantico, Virginia. I successfully completed that program and was assigned to the U.S. Embassy Ankara, Turkey. During my tour in Turkey, I served on President Bush’s Protective Detail for the G8 Summit in 2004. I also served on Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Protective Detail during Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s inauguration.
Later in 2004, I was stationed at the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On December 6, 2004 the consulate came under attack from al-Qaeda members while I was on duty overseeing security.
“Under direct hostile fire he prevented them from entering the consulate…and was directly responsible for saving the lives of Americans and other employees assigned to the consulate” (Bronze Star Citation, 2004).
The actions we took that day resulted in me receiving the Bronze Star with Combat Valor and the Department of State’s Award for Heroism.
After the attack, I finished Embassy Guard duty at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India and was honorably discharged from active duty in 2006. On September 1, 2010, I was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy after being accepted into the Navy’s Health Professions Scholarship Program (Clinical Psychology). Soon, I will return to active duty as a Navy Lieutenant (O-3) to serve as a military psychologist with my fellow Marines and sailors.
