FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, JOLON, Calif. -- Growing up in the shadow of a John Deere tractor factory and literally amongst the seemingly endless cornfields that surrounded his small boyhood Iowa hometown, he knew even at a young age that he would never end up working on an assembly line or down on the farm.
Not that there was anything wrong with that type of life. After all, his father, uncles, cousins and just about everyone else he knew from Birmingham, Iowa — population 404, he recollected according to the “Welcome to Birmingham” sign on the outskirts of town — did just that. But this boy, now 27, wanted something different; he wanted to see foreign lands and have adventures. He wanted to be a United States Marine.
“I don’t know if my mom saw a Marine Corps commercial when she was pregnant with me, or if I saw a Marine recruiter in his dress blues walk by when I was in the crib, but my earliest memories outside of my family are of a desire to be a Marine someday,” remarked Sgt. Mikael Griffin, career retention specialist for 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay. “It was always my dream, and now I’m living it.”
And ironic, according to Griffin, that his job in the Marine Corps is now to keep Marines, well … Marines.
“There was never any question with what I was going to do with my life,” said Griffin, who joined the Marine Corps through the delayed entry program the summer before his senior year in high school before shipping out for boot camp right after graduation. “I knew I was a ‘lifer’ (career Marine) from the day I stepped on the yellow footprints. That was almost nine years ago, and I still feel the same way. The Marine Corps gave me the perfect job when they made me a career retention specialist. I get to spend my days helping Marines turn into what otherwise might have been just one four-year enlistment into a rewarding career, and also to help Marines who have been in for awhile make the best decisions to further their career.”
Originally trained as an administrative clerk, Griffin became a career retention specialist after his first enlistment in 2001, when he made a permanent change of station from Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.
It was while stationed at Miramar that Griffin got to cash in on his dream of finally seeing the world — or a least part of it.
“In my mind I was thinking more along the lines of Italy, Japan or Australia,” chuckled Griffin, “but what I got was two tours in Iraq (with Marine Wing Support Squadron 373) and an upcoming ticket to Afghanistan (with 1/3). Still, that’s part of the deal, and I was proud to serve my country in combat. I’m ready and willing to do it again — at a moments notice.”
While in Iraq, Griffin traveled from one base to another, fulfilling his commitment of reenlisting Marines.
“I probably have seen as much of that country as any Marine,” said Griffin. “No matter where a Marine from the squadron was — and they were spread out a lot — if there was one who wanted to reenlist, it was my job to get to that Marine and get it done.”
While in Iraq, Griffin also served as security on convoys, manning his 240-G machine gun from turrets above Humvees.
“No matter what my MOS (military occupational specialty) is, I’ve always considered myself a riflemen first, just like any other Marine,” commented Griffin.
While on his second tour in Iraq, Griffin’s wife of five years, Riverose, gave birth to their only child, Austin, now eight months old.
“It was hard not being there for the birth of my first born son, but it made my homecoming all the sweeter to get to meet him for the first time when I got home,” admitted Griffin. “The support of my wife back in K-Bay and my family in Iowa really keeps me going throughout all my ‘travels,’ if you can call it that.”
If “travels” is the word, then Griffin continues to do plenty of that. He is currently deployed to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., with 1/3 while the battalion takes part in Mojave Viper, a Combined Arms Training Course, in preparation for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
While training along with the battalion during Mojave Viper, Griffin was recently sent nearly 500 miles away to reenlist two Marines with 1/3’s Distributed Operations Platoon, currently training at Fort Hunter Liggett, Jolon, Calif.
“It really meant a lot to me that the career planner would drive all the way up here from Twentynine Palms to reenlist me,” said Cpl. Michael Fiedtkou, a 1/3 riflemen from Queens, N.Y., currently serving as an “aggressor” against 1/3’s Distributed Operations Platoon. “It made me feel like the Corps really cares about me.”
Cpl. Sugarray Henry, a 1/3 mortarman from Mobile, Ala., currently serving alongside Fiedtkou with the aggressors, said he couldn’t agree more.
“It felt good — getting properly reenlisted like that, with a ceremony and everything,” acknowledged Henry. “Sergeant Griffin, and the Marine Corps, showed us a lot of respect by coming from so far away to reenlist two corporals. But it’s that kind of dedication that separates the Corps from the other services. I’ll remember this day for a long time to come.”
For his part, Staff Sgt. Andrew Michaelson, currently serving as 1/3’s staff non-commissioned officer-in-charge for the aggressors, said he wasn’t surprised that Griffin went the extra mile to reenlist two of his own.
“Sergeant Griffin is an ‘above and beyond’ type of Marine,” said Michaelson, an Iraq veteran and native of Gig Harbor, Wash. “He made it known by his actions that Marines training far away are not forgotten. As anyone who knows Sergeant Griffin back in Hawaii or has ever done their reenlistment through him can attest, he is a ‘mission accomplishment’ and ‘troop welfare’ Marine leader. The two usually go hand in hand.”
One Marine who said he appreciates Griffin’s approach is Staff Sgt. Philip Myers, 1/3’s administrative chief for Headquarters and Service Company.
“For me as an admin chief, it is extremely important to have a locked on career planner,” said Myers, a native of Ewa Beach, Hawaii. “Being a career planner is a huge responsibility and requires someone who can work independently, and who also has a high-level of maturity. Sergeant Griffin fits both those bills. Without motivated career planers, we would lose too many outstanding and experienced Marines to the civilian world. Career planners, every bit as much as recruiters, help keep the Corps alive with qualified Marines. I am glad we have a solid Marine like Sergeant Griffin filling that billet.”
Griffin’s reputation as a leader who goes the extra mile doesn’t appear to be limited to the Staff NCO ranks.
“To come out here in the middle of nowhere to take care of these corporal’s showed a lot of motivation,” said 1st Lt. Carl DeSantis, 1/3, commander, Distributed Operations Platoon, from Reno, Nev., following the reenlistment ceremony of Fiedtkou and Henry. “That type of effort is what makes Marines realize how much the Corps cares about them.”
According to Lance Cpl. Derek Mallow, a 1/3 administrative clerk from Oceanside, Calif., Griffin is an NCO that many junior Marines look up to as a role model.
“He’s just a great Marine. There’s no real other way to put it,” said Mallow. “He’s very accessible, and you can tell he looks out for the Marines. When my time to reenlist comes, I want Sergeant Griffin handling it.”
Votes of confidence like that are what Griffin said make him glad he followed his boyhood dreams.
“I feel like the luckiest man alive,” said Griffin. “I have a beautiful wife, a wonderful son, and I get to serve my country in the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. Being a Marine has been even better than I imagined it would be as boy.”