D.I. of the Year

This man is the spitting image of what people generally think of when they think of a United States Marine. He is muscular, clean-shaven, square-jawed, loud, and highly skilled in marksmanship, well educated on the customs courtesies and traditions of the Navy and Marine Corps, as well as various other things. I have only known the man who I am writing this profile about for no more than seven or eight weeks, but within that short period of time the influence he has had on me has been profound. If I were to never see him again I would still be a better man and Marine thirty years from now because of him. He knows what every midshipman and officer hopeful needs to know to become a Marine Corps officer and to be successful in their careers. He is youthful, but he is wise. My only regret is that I did not meet him sooner.

Standing approximately 5’10”, 220 pounds, with jet black hair and jungle green eyes is Gunnery Sergeant Curtis Osburn of the United States Marine Corps. He has a stocky, muscular build at the ripe young age of thirty-eight. He is the definition of intimidating. If there was ever a man that someone was afraid to get on the bad side of it is this man. He is the Assistant Marine Officer Instructor—AMOI—at the University of Memphis Naval ROTC unit. When he yells, the volume of his voice is like the ear-shattering sound of a .44 Magnum being shot right beside an unwary person in the deafening silence that fills the night air in countryside areas.

Gunnery Sergeant Osburn is neither the strongest nor the fastest, but he never stops trying to improve himself. He challenges himself every day. One thing that he does to try to improve himself is running with our Captain who is a “genetic freak”. He knows that the Captain is going to smoke him, but he runs with the Captain anyway so that he can continue to push himself. Another thing that Gunney does to improve himself is something that he makes those of us midshipmen on the pull-up program do as well, which is pull-ups with a twenty-five pound vest on. Gunney is right there doing them with us every step of the way.

Gunney is in charge of the pull-up program at the University of Memphis NROTC unit. In the pull-up program we started the first week just doing as many push-ups as we could and then sets of ten. Between each set we would do twenty push-ups and thirty crunches. Then we would get back in line and do another set. Then we started doing pyramid pull-ups with a twenty-five pound vest on. What I mean by pyramid pull-ups is that we would start off with a set of ten pull-ups, thirty crunches, and twenty push-ups. Next we would do a set of nine pull-ups, thirty crunches, and twenty push-ups. We would continue that pattern down to zero.

Whenever we are doing physical training—PT—whether it be at 0530 or at 0630, Gunnery Sergeant Osburn is right there in front of our platoon, leading the way. If we start to fall out of the platoon, Gunney will be all over us like white on rice, trying to motivate us and get us back into the platoon. His way of motivation is getting right into a midshipman’s face and yelling his lungs out. When he does this his face turns blood red and his voice overcomes one like the vibrating ground and loud sound of an approaching locomotive.

During the summer when the midshipmen from the University of Memphis go home for their summer vacation or go off to cortriment, mountain warfare school, or Officer Candidate School—OCS—Gunney goes to the latter. Gunnery Sergeant may just be the AMOI at the NROTC unit at the University of Memphis for now but he is not retired, thus the Marine Corps is still a full-time job for him even during the summer months. Gunnery Sergeant is a drill instructor at the US Marine Corps Recruit Depot at San Diego and a drill instructor at the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA, which is always where the FBI Academy and the infamous Yellow Brick Road are. Gunnery Sergeant Osburn has been named Drill Instructor of the Year two different times, the latest coming in 2002.

Gunnery Sergeant Osburn knows exactly what it takes to become an officer of Marines, because at OCS not only does he instruct the new officer candidates during this thirteen week course, but he also has to go through the course himself. Drill instructors at OCS have to show up a week before the officer candidates so they can go through the course and know exactly what they will be putting these officer hopefuls through. This showing that Gunney has actually gone through what it takes to become a Marine Corps officer you may be asking yourself, “Why does he not just become an officer himself?” The answer is simple. He would become an officer, but he has his eye set on becoming a Sergeant Major. Sergeant Major is the highest rank in the enlisted Marine rank structure. Gunnery Sergeant Osburn has roughly three more promotions to get to attain the rank of Sergeant Major.

When someone takes a look at the walls in Gunney’s office, they will see tons and tons of history and experiences. When looking at all of Gunney’s accomplishments and experiences it is easy for one to become overwhelmed, but the midshipmen in the unit will hopefully be able to line the walls of their offices with as many awards and memories as in Gunney’s office. In a way it makes me think of a miniature museum of the history of the Marine Corps, but it is only about one member of the Marine Corps and his experiences.

Gunnery Sergeant may sound like a really tough, emotionless, heartless man, but in all honesty, that’s almost what it takes to become a United States Marine when one lives in this world where the warfare tactics now implemented require a Marine or soldier to do unbearable things to enemy soldiers while being able to see the enemy’s face while they do what they have to do to them. In war, the first man to show compassion for his enemy is the first to lose his life. It takes a special kind of person to be a combatant in today’s war-torn world. But like all people, Gunney does have a nicer side. I do not believe it could be called a “softer” side though. If he senses that someone is having problems, either in the unit or out of the unit, he will pull them aside and try to figure out what is wrong and what needs to be done to fix the problem. He also throws a few jokes into his tirades and speeches.

I see Gunnery Sergeant Osburn as a great role model for all Marines, midshipmen, and civilians. Aside from him being enlisted, Gunney is the spitting image of everything I hope to someday be. He exemplifies the Marine Corps’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment. Gunney displays integrity and ownership in everything that he does. When I say “ownership” I am referring to the taking credit or blame for one’s own actions and those of one’s subordinates rather than passing the blame off onto someone else. Ownership is one of the highest stressed qualities in a leader in the Marine Corps. He is great at instilling into all officer hopefuls the core values of the Corps and the qualities needed to become officers of Marines. Who would know what it takes to become an officer in the United States Marine Corps better than a man who has been training officers for many years and who has been named United States Marine Corps Drill Instructor of the Year twice?

Gunnery Sergeant Osburn is a just but fair man. He knows what needs to be done, how to get them done, and how to get people motivated to do the task, whatever the task may be. This man actually cares about each individual midshipman that passes under his authority. He does not just let them do the minimum to get by with a commission as an Ensign in the Navy or a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, especially the latter, and for good reason. Aside from the fact that letting someone get by with the minimum is downright wrong, Gunney will make a midshipman earn their commission because of an extremely good point that he makes. His point is this: (Talking to the midshipmen) “When you get your commissions as Second Lieutenants in the United States Marine Corps you will have command over me, and I am not going to be willing to carry out the orders of someone who I do not believe is a competent leader.” Every time I hear that I take it to heart, because I would not want to be in that situation either and I have friends who are enlisted. I want to make sure that they are being commanded by a competent leader and a man or woman worthy of the title of officer of Marines.

No matter where I may go or what I may do in life I will never forget Gunnery Sergeant Osburn for everything he has instilled in me. He has strongly begun to instill all of the Marine Corps’s core values in me as well as a willingness for me to fight in and for what I believe in and what I am trying to achieve, which is a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. Gunnery Sergeant Osburn is not only a great Marine, but also a great man and an indispensable asset to, not only the community, but the nation. If we had more drill instructors and mentors like Gunnery Sergeant Osburn, no one would ever hear of an incompetent officer in the United States Marine Corps.