MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Like a contestant on Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice,” 17-year-old Florencio Bermudez sat across the kitchen table from his parents in the El Paso, Texas, home he grew up in and tried to make a power play deal that would alter his life forever.
All he needed was their signature, and he would be headed off to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, to report for basic training and realize his childhood dream of becoming a U.S. Marine. The year was 1998, and Bermudez was about to graduate from high school a year ahead of his peers.
“They were very reluctant to sign, to say the least,” recalled Bermudez. “They basically said, ‘No.’”
It was then that Bermudez laid his cards on the table.
“I told them that the day I turned 18, I was just going to do it anyway, and that I might as well get a jump on it,” commented Bermudez. “I wasn’t bluffing, and I think they sensed the logic behind that argument, so they both agreed to sign.”
Two weeks after graduating high school, Bermudez found himself on the “yellow footprints” of MCRD San Diego.
“I was a skinny, shy kid, and had no leadership capabilities whatsoever,” said Bermudez as he recalled the first few months of his Marine Corps career. “Even after boot camp and SOI (school of infantry), I remember being scared to get to the fleet because of all the stories I’d heard about hazing in the infantry.”
Those stories turned out to be unfounded, and Bermudez said he compares them to the urban legends he’d heard growing up in El Paso.
“You know, like the stories about that kid eating those ‘Pop Rocks’ candies and then drinking a soda and his stomach exploded,” said Bermudez. “The stories turned out to be about as true as that. I’ve never seen such a group of professionals as in the infantry, and seeing the NCOs above me and how hard they worked made me want to be like them someday.”
Bermudez first arrived at MCB Hawaii in the winter of 1998 when he received orders to serve as a rifleman with 1/3. Now, seven years later, he finds himself back with the Lava Dogs, this time as a squad leader for 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company.
“I did my whole first enlistment with 1/3,” said Bermudez. “They turned me from a boy into a man. Then, after I reenlisted, I received orders to do a tour as the range and management chief here on K-Bay, which I held for the past three years. I always hoped I would one day get the chance to return to the grunts (infantry), though. Now, I’m getting my chance. The Lava Dogs are like my family. I’ll be a Lava Dog for life.”
If the Lava Dogs are his family, then it could be said that Bermudez is a big brother of sorts to the younger Marines in his company.
“Myself and the younger Marines in Bravo really look up to Sergeant Bermudez,” said Pfc. Alden Luchtefeld, a rifleman from Vincennes, Ind. “He’s always there for his Marines.”
“He’s the type of sergeant that we all aspire to be someday,” added Lance Cpl. Joshua Jones, a 1/3 squad automatic weapons gunner from Livingston, Ill.
Pfc. Andre Davis, a 1/3 rifleman from the Manhattan borough of New York City, spoke of Bermudez in a similar vein.
“He’s one of the best NCOs I’ve ever seen,” said Davis. “He treats us firm, but fair. You can tell he’s been in our shoes before. He doesn’t play mind games with us. If it’s time to relax for a minute, he lets us relax. If it’s time to work, we work hard. When we need to get disciplined, we get disciplined. He gives us respect, and he gets respect back. We all look to him for leadership in Bravo Company, and Sergeant Bermudez delivers. You can really tell he puts his Marines’ needs before his own. All of us are going to follow him into battle with no reservations whatsoever.”
One Marine who Bermudez said he wished he could lead into battle is his younger brother, Alex, a lance corporal currently serving in Iraq as a radio operator with Regimental Combat Team 2, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
“My little brother is on the front lines in Iraq right now, and I’m about to deploy Afghanistan,” said Bermudez. “It’s a little hard on my folks, ‘cause we’re both going to be in combat at the same time, but they are proud of us for serving our country. Sometimes I wish we were stationed together, so I could look out for him, but I know he’s a tough kid, and he has the best training in the world behind him — just like all Marines.”
Lance Cpl. Bermudez joined the Marines in 2003, shortly after his 18th birthday.
“It made me proud that he followed in my footsteps,” said the elder Bermudez. “He’s turned into an outstanding Marine.”
Being an outstanding Marine seems to run in the Bermudez family, as 1st Sgt. Stephen Smith, first sergeant, Bravo Company, 1/3, pointed out that Bermudez is a “go to” Marine.
“As a company first sergeant, it is extremely important that I have Marine NCOs that I can count on,” said Smith, a native of Ontario, Calif. “Sergeant Bermudez is one of those Marines. The work he does, bringing along our younger Marines, is vital. He works with the Marines extensively and ensures they are taken care of in every way. NCOs are the backbone of the Marine Corps. Sergeant Bermudez exemplifies that.”
Bermudez, who’s current contract was due to end in July 2006, recently extended so that he could be with Marines from his squad during their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, putting his job plans with the Drug Enforcement Agency on hold.
“Right now I’m in the process of applying to the DEA,” said Bermudez, “but I just didn’t feel right about getting out just before a combat deployment. If that affects my application, then so be it. I’m a Marine first and foremost.”
If indeed Bermudez’s application is affected by the deployment, he said he would have no regrets.
“I’ve been stationed in Hawaii for my entire Marine Corps career,” said Bermudez. “I met my wife, Misty, a local girl from Waianae, here. We now have two beautiful daughters, Isela, 3, and Ivette, 1 — both of whom were born at Tripler. Plus, this is the home base of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, the greatest battalion in the Marine Corps. I love it here, but the pull of home is strong for me, too. After we take care of business in Afghanistan, it’s time for me to go back to Texas. It’s time to go home.”
Despite plans to leave active duty, Bermudez said he was looking at joining the Marine Corps Reserves.
“I know that once you’re a Marine, you’re always a Marine, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to totally walk away,” said Bermudez, who also mentioned that he would apply to be a border patrol agent should the DEA job fall through.
Bermudez is also currently working on a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice through Chaminade University in Honolulu and plans to complete his degree at the University of Texas at El Paso.
“No matter what education I get or what career path I end up in, the main thing is — I just want to continue to serve my country,” explained Bermudez. “There’s just something about being a Marine. It’s hard to define, but ask any Marine, and they’ll know exactly what I mean.”