MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii -- As Cpl. Jennifer Maybee watched her two older brothers join the military — her oldest brother joining the Air Force and the second oldest joining the Army — she knew one day she would also join the military, but she wasn’t going to follow in either one of their footsteps.
“I wanted to be one up on my brothers,” 22-year-old Maybee said. “The Marine Corps is known for their ‘sharp’ uniforms and their reputation for being the best. I wanted to be the best.”
After graduating high school, Maybee did just that. She left Palmdale, Calif., in October 2002, joined the Corps, and went to boot camp at Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.
With boot camp behind her, she did what every Marine does; she attended Marine Combat Training at Marine Corps Base, Camp LeJeune, N.C. After that training, she went to her military occupational school.
In 2003, after training to become an administrative clerk, she was sent to Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif., where she worked for the School of Infantry for almost four years.
During that time, she gave birth to her son Gage. In some ways, she said having a child changed military life for her.
“Before I had my son, the Marine Corps was easy,” she said. “Things that were so simple – like having duty, (physical fitness), and going to the range – have become difficult.”
Maybee said it is sometimes difficult to find someone to watch her 2-year-old son – especially since she moved to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, in January. However, having to deal with situations like this doesn’t dampen her outlook on the Corps.
“I have to do what I love to do … that’s being a Marine,” she said. “But I also have to make sure my son is taken care of.”
The two go hand-in-hand for Maybee. She said everything she does is for her son, and her son is the motivation that makes her want to do well while in the Marine Corps.
“I want him to be proud of his mom,” she said as she smiled.
The hardships of being a single parent haven’t caused Maybee to think about getting out of the Corps, although she is unsure whether or not she will make it a career.
She said she is going to take things “one enlistment at a time.”