Me and HM3 Peter Rona in Bahrain during Operation Desert Shield

My wife gave me a critique of my blog a week or so ago. She said that it sounds like I have anger issues with regards to my weight. I laughed, because it struck me as so off-the-mark, but I reread my posts to make sure I wasn’t missing something.

It dawned on me that she’s a civilian, and like many who have never been around Marines when they are in “Leatherneck Mode,” it’s easy to perceive our motivation for anger. The tone, to the uninitiated, may appear similar, but is actually rooted in different areas.

When Marines are motivated, they are angry at the problem they are tasked with solving. They channel that anger into creating solutions. Those solutions can be anything from finding the best way to solve the problem to charging right into the problem and finding a solution from within. It is our drive, determination, and desire to solve the problem that fuels what people refer to as motivation.

Ever notice how serious we look when we’re working? My daughter used to say I have a “Mean face” whenever  I work, whether it was at my job or making dinner. I told her that it was just my resting face, but it later occurred to me that I was using my old Marine Corps moto (short for motivation).

So, perhaps my blog is angry, but only to civilian eyes. Marines and other service members will recognize it as motivation and seriousness, as I’m treating my new lifestyle with the utmost respect and giving it my 110% to succeed. There is no option to fail. I will not let myself and those who care about me down. I will succeed.