By: Kylie Coffin, Co Editor-in-Chief
Posted November 11th, 2015
Slinger High School senior, Morgan Mountjoy, is planning on enlisting in the Marine Corps. It is fitting that this article be posted now, as November 10 of this year marks the 240th anniversary of the establishment of the Marine Corps. Once Morgan enlists, she will be auditioning for the band in the hopes of playing clarinet during her time in the military. Her second choice is to be a part of the Public Affairs Office in which she would be able to work for the Stars and Stripes, a newspaper that keeps the public informed about what is occurring in the Marine Corps. If she receives this job, she would have the opportunity to write and do field photography for the paper. While in the military, she will have the opportunity to work on furthering her education and receiving college credits that will be transferable once she leaves. She will also have the option to take nightly classes and earn an associate's degree.
Morgan was in the process of enlisting in the Marine Corps last year when an ACL injury caused by soccer interfered in her plans and set her back a year. She is required to wait twelve months after her ACL surgery- putting her at May of 2016- before she can qualify for basic training. She hopes to begin her basic training around August or September of next year. This would allow her to enjoy the freedom of her summer, something she was unable to truly do last year due to the limitations her knee injury placed on her. When her time for basic training comes, she will be stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, which is an over 8,000 acre military installation that is located inside of Port Royal, South Carolina. Morgan is planning to join a delayed entry program that would allow her to be enlisted in the Marine Corps but also have the ability to choose when she wishes to leave. Because of this, she wants to join in May- the soonest she can- so that she has a year to make that decision.
Although she has not endured her basic training yet, Morgan has already gotten a sense of what the physical demands of this will be. Before the ACL injury, her recruiter had encouraged her to attend physical training sessions at the Military Recruiting Office in West Bend. In Morgan’s words, this included, “pretty brutal workouts that give you a taste of what basic will be like.” She is not currently participating in these workouts because she is still in the process of restoring her knee to full strength. However, as she works towards full health, she has been running and doing strength training in order to refamiliarize her knee with these motions. Once she enlists, she will be required to participate in the physical training again.
A variety of people in Morgan’s life have influenced and inspired her to join the military, including her peers. Several of her friends have recently joined or are planning on joining the national guard. She has a family friend who recently enlisted in the Army and is currently in the midst of basic training. Morgan has become friends with other members of Slinger’s graduating class who also plan to enlist in the Marine Corps, such as Noah Mezera and Jesse Rickert. In addition to peer influences, Morgan also has several family members who were members of the military. This includes a few cousins, one of which was in the infantry of the Marine Corps and fought in Afghanistan, and another who is a member of the Air Force.
Because she is surrounded by so many people who are involved in the military and because she is personally enlisting in the Marine Corps, it makes sense that Morgan believes it is a duty that is incredibly important. When asked about joining the military, Morgan responded, “If you’re willing-like I’m willing to do it-and if you’re able, why not?” She feels it is important to join because military members are the ones who, on a daily basis, protect the United States and defend the freedoms that citizens sometimes take for granted but always hold close to their hearts. However, she knows that not everyone is interested in joining a branch of the military and certainly cannot be forced to, but she acknowledges the fact that simply supporting the forces is a way of being a patriotic and loyal citizen of the United States.
