SAN DIEGO -- Going through difficult life circumstances, such as being homeless, can quickly be demotivating. However, one Marine chose to use that challenge to drive and motivate him to be the best Marine that he can be.
Lance Cpl. Clayton M. Howard, Platoon 1062, Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, was determined to become successful and strived to create a better life for himself and his family.
Howard grew up in San Antonio and faced many challenges at a young age. He didn’t have a strong father figure and a stable home wasn’t something he counted on.
“I have bounced around between living in our family car and staying with friends or at the homes of my people from my church,” said Howard. “My mom did the best that she could while raising us given we didn’t have a lot of stuff.”
Although Howard was never really bullied for being homeless, he explained that while he was in middle school, he was not exactly liked. That began when he reached the 9th grade.
“When I reached high school, I started gaining a lot of respect from the people I went to school with,” said Howard.
Howard attended Winston Churchill High School where he joined the school’s Army Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps and achieved the rank of cadet major, winning cadet of the year for his district. He was also the commander for the Blackwatch drill team that took part in local and national competitions
While in high school, he attained straight As and maintained a greater than 4.0 grade point average. Even though he had exceeded the necessary prerequisites for most colleges, Howard still wanted to join the Marine Corps.
“I’ve always wanted to join the Marine Corps,” said the young Marine. “I wanted to live a better life and be able to help my mother and my girlfriend, and the military was the only guaranteed way that I could do that.”
In June of 2014, he met a Marine recruiter who started him on the path of becoming an enlisted Marine.
“To me, the Marine Corps was the best, and that’s all I wanted, to be the best,” said the lance corporal.
Howard shipped to recruit training on January 5th and became a part of Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion.
“The hardest part of recruit training is adapting to the lifestyle,” said Howard. “It was a lot different then what I was used to, and I wasn’t really prepared for what was coming.”
Howard was quickly noticed by his drill instructors and was chosen to be platoon guide, a position of leadership in the platoon, within the first few days of training.
“I was appointed guide two days after pickup,” said Howard. “The drill instructors knew about my leadership experiences from high school, so they decided to give me the first shot.”
During the course of recruit training, Howard enjoyed being the guide, although it was difficult at times. However, he proved himself able and remained guide throughout the duration of recruit training.
“I loved helping my fellow recruits and being in a leadership position to begin my time as a Marine,” said Howard. “For anyone who aspires to be guide, just have patience and don’t be harsh on your recruits.”
In recruit training, each platoon within a company has its own guide and at the end of the training cycle, the guides compete for company honorman. Howard won the competition and was meritoriously promoted to lance corporal prior to graduation.
After he graduates, Howard will move onto Marine Combat Training at the School of Infantry at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and then will travel to his military occupational specialty school to continue training in the field of communications. Eventually he plans on pursuing the path of becoming a Marine officer.