A MOTIVATED MARINE'S STORY

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Shane Kruse, a Conrad, Iowa, native, decided to follow in his parents' footsteps and become a Marine. Now a driver and machine gunner with the Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, Kruse is now serving in Afghanistan on his first combat deployment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mark Garcia

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEVENSE

Face of Defense: Motivated Marine Serves in Afghanistan
By Marine Corps Cpl. Mark Garcia
Regional Command Southwest

MUSA QAL'AH DISTRICT CENTER, Afghanistan, Dec. 11, 2012 - Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Shane Kruse decided as a senior in high school that he wanted to join the Corps.

Growing up in the small town of Conrad, Iowa, Kruse had a graduating class of 48 students. He had the opportunity to receive a college education while on scholarship for either football or baseball, but the urge to become a Marine was greater. Kruse was on his way to recruit training four months after graduating from high school.

"Both my parents were in the Marine Corps," said Kruse, a driver and machine gunner with the Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7.

"My cousin was a Marine and was involved in the early stages of Iraq. I figured it was in my blood," Kruse said. "I felt like I needed to become a Marine. I've always been driven to be the best and the Marine Corps offered me the opportunity."

Kruse is currently serving on his second deployment; his first was with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

"I joined the Marine Corps because of 9/11, and I wanted to serve my country," Kruse said. "I wanted to be the best and I saw the Marine Corps as the best branch of the military that I could have joined."

Kruse noted the risks involved with his current deployment compared to his previous one.

"This deployment is a lot more serious," Kruse said. "It's more dangerous, this deployment. You just have to take things more seriously because you're in life-and-death situations out here. This deployment is a big eye-opener. It's something you've been training for and preparing for the past two-and-a-half years, and it's finally happening. When you first get blown up or you first get shot at it gives a different perspective."

Kruse has enjoyed his current deployment because of his unit's ability to accomplish its mission in a combat environment.

"This deployment has been nice compared to the MEU," Kruse said. "It's nice to know that you're contributing to the war effort and to your country directly. I feel like we've been doing good things this deployment."

During this deployment, Kruse has had to cope with the difficulties associated with leaving a spouse at home.

"It's a growing experience," he said. "It's part of growing up. It's hard coming straight out of high school and going into the adult world, especially in the military. But you learn to deal with it and take it day-by-day until you can see your loved ones again."

Recently Kruse participated in Operation Helmand Viper, which took place during October in Zamindawar, a known insurgent hotbed between Musa Qal'ah and Kajaki. Kruse is referred to as the Tony Hawk of the drivers in his unit because of his ability to maneuver through dangerous terrain that's sometimes laden with improvised explosive devices.

"Lance Cpl. Kruse, in my eyes, is one of the best machine gunners and drivers we have," said Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joseph Dalbec. "He's a great asset to this team and our company. Not only that, but he's a great friend of mine. He's been my best friend for almost three years."

Although Kruse is undecided on whether he will re-enlist, he plans on striving forward during his time in the Marine Corps and answering his nation's call whenever needed.

THE MARINE PHOTOGRAPHER

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Aaron Belford with his collection of photographer cameras in Yuma, Ariz., Sept. 15, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Zachary Scanlon

Face of Defense: Marine Lives Life Through Eye of Lens
By Marine Corps Lance Col. Zachary Scanlon
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2012 - For many, the decision to concentrate on a profession takes years. For Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Aaron Belford, it came in a flash.

"Photography has always been in my life," said Belford, the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron substance abuse control officer and a Minneapolis native. "My mom was a commercial artist, and she used to do ad campaigns, so she would work with a ton of photographers. I would go to work with her, because she was a single mom who couldn't afford a babysitter. This is where I first saw a bunch of styles of photography."

Belford said he "stole" one of his mother's cameras. "From then on," he added, "I just went around and took photos of everything."

The 9/11 attacks were the biggest factor in his 2004 decision to enlist in the Marine Corps, Belford said. "A tradition of my family is when your country needs you, you serve in the military," he explained. "This is why I joined."

Once Belford joined the Marine Corps, he didn't stop with this hobby. Instead, he used his service as a way to broaden his photography skills. "The Marines was a great choice," he said. "It gave me opportunities to shoot new, interesting things."

When he deployed to Iraq in 2006, he did just that.

"We didn't have Combat Camera out there," Belford said. "I did all the camera work there with military operations. I was basically a mini Combat Camera."

After his deployment, he turned his hobby of photography into a profitable profession. He also began a family, he said, and balancing the Corps, his hobby and his loved ones is a challenge.

"It's hard to have a family, the Marine Corps and my photos," said the father of a 2-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. "It takes balance to handle them all and is really challenging. That's where the principle of 'adapt and overcome' comes to play."

The Marine Corps has given him a valuable skill, Belford said, one of many he has integrated into his photography.

"I have learned something as simple as project managing," he said. "I can see an end product and know how to reverse engineer to get to that end result. ... I can focus on my task but still watch everyone else. Before the Marine Corps, I would never have been able to do that."

One piece of advice has helped him become successful, Belford said: "Try to find the craziest dream you have and do it. Look at why you can do it, and not why you can't."

Belford is slated to leave the Marine Corps Oct. 1 and plans to open a business based on action photography.

"I want to be hanging out of a helicopter upside-down, going 300 mph, shooting photos of an all-terrain vehicle," he said. "That is the kind of photography I want to do."