Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. -- What has been the most significant change to the air station since you were stationed here 30 years ago?I would say it is the base housing. It is much nicer. The family housing in the past was very limited. It makes me wish that it was available to me when I was a young Marine -- a lot of Marines had to live out in town.What was your most rewarding tour as a Marine? Why?It was my assignment as the battalion sergeant major for 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, from 1995-1998, because of the camaraderie. It is a very hard life for the infantry battalion and its Marines, and yet there were never any complaints or whining about the work we had to do, mostly because of the leadership we had. Being able to serve with those courageous young men who make up an infantry battalion, and knowing that the infantry is what the Marine Corps revolves around … and just knowing that you’re at the tip of the spear, is really very rewarding. On the same note, since you have been so many places, what tour had the best liberty?The best liberty as a young Marine was in places such as Korea, the Philippines, Australia and Hong Kong. There were a lot of water sports and lots of shopping. What are some of your hobbies?Golfing. I have taken it up very seriously late in my life. And working out, little bit of free weights and running. I will tell you, I have a rough time because I am a very physical guy and you can’t apply all that brute force to golfing. I run a lot by myself … up until I started this job I used to get out about six days a week. Now, I am lucky if I get out three or four days a week because of my schedule.What is the funniest thing that happened to you or that you have seen during your career?I was a series gunnery sergeant at Parris Island from the 1987-1988 time frame. I had a series on deck from 3rd Battalion and we took them out to the swim tank. There were about 400 or 500 Marines in that series and they had to change over to their physical training shorts to go swimming. One of the Marines out of that massive amount somehow came out on the deck with only his jock strap on, just his jock strap -- and he had it on backwards … I had to go outside and laugh about it until I regained my composure and came back in.What are some suggestions on how to become the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps?I really don’t have any suggestions. I never knew I was going to be the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps; it was never one of my goals, never. I think, “how did I get here?” as look back at it. I would think, just working hard at whatever job the Marine Corps assigned me to do. I just did the very best at that job; it might be mess duty, guard duty, FAPed somewhere in my military occupational specialty. I would recommend to any Marine … have goals. I can’t really tell you how to get there, I just say work hard and take care of your Marines.Speaking of your goals, what has driven you, as a man, to succeed?I think it was a few significant things that made me the man that I am today. First of all, I was born in a small country called Trinidad down in the Caribbean. I grew up in a third-world country with no running water, no electricity and stuff like that for the first 14 years of my life. What I learned from that, after I came here at 14 years old, was … if you work hard you can probably succeed at just about anything you want to do. That drives me because I remember where I came from and I would like my kids to have a better life, which they do. Who was your hero growing up or who is your hero now?If there was one person that had a significant effect on who I am today, it would be my grandfather, with whom I lived for a few years of my life. I learned a lot from him and how to respect other people, even though they had different opinions. I learned not to be materialistic from him … and I learned to appreciate things. He will always be my hero. Do you have any new heroes now?The heroes for me today are the young Marines who have had the courage to serve during this time in our nation’s history. They are heroes to me because there is a war going on. You hear a lot that this generation we have today is all about themselves. Young men and women who decide they want to serve in the Marine Corps today, knowing there is a war going on -- those are heroes to me.Just one more question, if you could be any animal, what would you be and why?That is a good one. I think Marines would get a kick out of this right here. I would want to be the lion. The lion is the king of the jungle. Nobody wants to mess with the lion because he would just tear them up. Human or other animals, there is that respect for the lion.