MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- The Recruit Training Regiment awarded its NCO of the Year at Support Bn. Headquarters and its Marine of the Year at the 4th RTBn.
Conference Room Dec. 2.
Sergeant Josh McClure, an assistant recruit special screener at Naval Security Group, Support Bn., and Cpl. Christopher McNeal, a personnel administrator at 4th RTBn. S-1, were named RTR's top Marines after winning their respective boards at the regiment level.
McClure and McNeal, who were both awarded Navy Achievement Medals during their respective awards ceremonies, got the opportunity to compete for the boards after recommendations by their staff NCOs and reviews of their Service Record Books. This was not the first time the two Marines had been honored for their superior job performance.
McClure was named NCO and Marine of the Year at his previous duty station, working for Collection Site Intelligence, Company A Marines in Denver.
McNeal was recently named RTR's Marine of the Quarter for the fourth quarter. After achieving first-rate marks in his SRB and earning the respect of his fellow Marines at 4th RTBn., he said he was not surprised by the nomination.
"My staff sergeant says I'm a good Marine," said McNeal, who was also meritoriously promoted to corporal during his award ceremony. "People know they can count on me. I guess I'm what you'd call a go-to person."
Not only is McNeal good at his job, but he also goes above and beyond the call of duty by volunteering for things outside of his everyday tasks. He received a Certificate of Commendation for volunteering to help raise the National Colors at the Depot's Iwo Jima Monument on the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks.
When he is not volunteering for extra duty, McNeal said there are several things that keep him striving for excellence in the workplace.
"We're here to please," he said of his shop. "Drill instructors [that come in here] could be having a good day or bad day. They come to us to get things done and that motivates me to do my job well. When things get accomplished, it makes their day and my day go a lot easier."
Making things happen for 4th RTBn. personnel is just one part of his job, however. Being a Marine comes first, according to McNeal, who feels he has the recipe for success down to a science.
"You have to have a good-to-go attitude, and I just do what I'm told when I'm told to do it," said the Starkville, Miss., native. "Lead as if you're the next rank. Now that I've been promoted, I'll have to act like I am a sergeant."
For the NCO of the Year, McClure has mastered being a sergeant and is ready to move on to the next phase of his career. The Greenville native recently put in his Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program package.
In the meantime, McClure said he plans to continue business as usual and to be sure not to let this recent award change his work ethic.
"I don't want it to go to my head," he said. "I try not to think about it too much. It's certainly a great accomplishment, but I don't want it to affect whatever it was I did to get here in the first place."
Although he appreciates the accomplishment, McClure said he was never concerned with receiving re-cognition for simply "doing what I'm supposed to do."
"I'm just being a Marine NCO, plain and simple," he said.
Humbled by his latest honor, McClure credited the Marines in his shop for putting him into a position to be considered for such an award.
"I depend on these guys just as much as they depend on me," he said. "I mostly supervise, so when I get the opportunity to help them out, I do as much as I can. They probably deserve this more than I do."
Both McClure and McNeal said they plan to retire from the Marine Corps. McNeal, who hopes to some day inspire junior Marines as a sergeant major, said becoming a Marine was a lifelong goal. While McClure found that it was the only job that seemed to suit him.
"I don't think I could ever do anything else," he said. "This is the only place I fit in."