Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego -- Recruits received discipline from drill instructors from the very beginning of training, but it takes self-disciple for recruits to acquire initiative and ambition. For Pvt. Jacob A. Clark, Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, that ambitious attitude came easily.
“I was sitting on my couch in my underwear eating a bowl of cereal and thought, ‘what am I doing with my life?’” said Clark.
Clark grew up in the small town of Hampton, Ark., and enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating high school.
With adulthood quickly approaching, Clark realized it was time to take the idea of enlisting seriously and make his childhood dream a reality. In less than a week, he found himself speaking with a recruiter and getting the information he needed to enlist.
The year Clark graduated, his small town high school had less than 40 students graduate.
“[My recruiters] told me if I got referrals, I could get promoted,” said Clark. “Out of those 40, I got one to enlist, which is a lot.”
Before, and throughout recruit training, Clark proved himself to be full of ambition. Despite the vigorous drive within himself, he managed to remain humble during recruit training.
“When I got here, I never stepped up as squad leader,” said Clark. “I like to make sure I’m all right first.”
He believed that before he could efficiently lead anybody else, he needed to make improvements on himself.
The more time he spent in training, the more he stepped up and started correcting the recruits around him and encouraged them to be more squared away.
“My senior drill instructor started noticing,” said Clark. “I didn’t care if he noticed or not, I just wanted my platoon to do well.”
The Arkansas native was very competitive, but more so with himself than with others. He believed in the Marine Corps leadership principle of knowing yourself and seeking self-improvement.
“My brother told me anyone in the Marine Corps can pick up a rifle and be in the front lines, but if you really want to help out, lead, and lead well,” said Clark.
The new Marine believed his fitness scores at the beginning of training needed to improve, and although by the end of training his scores improved significantly, they were not good enough for him.
He turned to a recruit who was knowledgeable about body building for help. The recruit provided him with a workout plan and list of books to read. He plans follow the workout plan and read those books while on his ten days of leave after recruit training. Clark said that if he is going to do anything, he is going to be the best that he can be, but there is always room to get better.
“If you stay the same at something throughout your whole career, you’re really not that great,” said Clark.
The ambitious new private is aiming to complete his enlisted contract and become an officer as soon as he can.
“I know if I do well in the Marine Corps, I can make my family proud,” said Clark.
The Golf Company Marine looks forward to seeing his mother and father on graduation day, and when he gets home, he looks forward to seeing the Marine Vietnam veteran he worked with while in high school.
Following recruit training, Clark will report to the School of Infantry at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., to complete Marine Combat Training, and then to his military occupational specialty school to become a motor transportation operator.