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| U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Trotta enters a Humvee during a combat mission near Camp Blessing in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. Trotta, from Orange Park, Fla., is company gunnery sergeant of Headquarters and Service Company of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Courtesy photo |
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U.S. Marine Corps
Gunnery Sgt. John Trotta |
| Marine Keeps Promise, Enlists to Fight for Country |
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By Marine Sgt. Joe Lindsay
Task Force Lava Public Affairs |
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, April 21, 2006 — “I always told myself that if my country ever went to war, I would join the military and fight for her,” said Gunnery Sgt. John Trotta. He is the gunnery sergeant for Headquarters and Service Company of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment here.
In February 1991, as U.S. forces rolled into Kuwait and as millions of Americans stayed glued to their television sets, Trotta kept his word, reporting to the Marine Corps recruiting office near his hometown, Orange Park, Fla.
“I walked in there and told the recruiter I wanted to be in the infantry and that I was ready to sign up right then and there,” Trotta said. “Not surprisingly, he was very accommodating.”
Two weeks later, he was standing on the yellow footprints at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, S.C.
“The Gulf War was over by the time I got out of boot camp, so I never got to serve in combat in Kuwait, which was my intention when I joined,” Trotta said. Yet, he said, “I had no intention of getting out just because we weren’t at war anymore.”
He eventually found his way to combat zones in the Philippines, in Bosnia, and finally in Afghanistan, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
“From my first day at Parris Island, I knew the Marine Corps was for me and that I would make a career out of it. From Day 1, I was hooked,” Trotta said.
“I am still that young guy itching to get out on the battlefield when my country needs me,” said the 34-year-old Marine. “I still feel young. I just don’t look it anymore.” |
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Throughout most of his current deployment to Afghanistan, Trotta served as the operations chief at the 1/3 Marines forward operating base at Camp Blessing in Nangalam. He recently left Camp Blessing for Jalalabad.
His comrades at Camp Blessing were sorry to see him go.
“Gunny Trotta took the security level at Blessing to a whole new level,” said Capt. Thomas Kisch, company commander of A Company of the 1/3 Marines. “He developed a security plan and rebuilt the fortifications. He was always on the ball with all phases of combat operations, whether it was coordinating patrols or making sure we were presenting a hard target.
“He is just a stellar Marine and a phenomenal gunnery sergeant,” added Kisch, a native of St. Louis Park, Minn.
Camp Blessing’s loss was Jalalabad Airfield’s gain, said Capt. Ty Barger, the Headquarters and Service Company commander.
“Gunnery Sergeant Trotta is doing an exceptional job as company gunny,” said Barger, a native of Lincoln, Neb. “He is … a natural leader.”
Whether in Afghanistan or elsewhere, Trotta said, he is “living the Marine Corps dream.”
“It’s even better than the American dream, because I’m doing it for my country, not because of my country. I love it. It’s what I was meant to do.” |
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