Sgt. Larry Shead Talks About Life as a Marine

The week of Veteran’s Day at Cy Ranch is both celebratory and somber. The patriotic streamers and flags embellishing Main Street are a stark contrast to the respectful mood infused into the students and staff as they reflect on those who have and are currently fighting.

Soldiers in the Armed Forces are known for their determination and patriotism. Serving in the military, however, is about more than simply being proud of your country. Sergeant Larry Shead visited Cy Ranch recently to explore what being in the Marine Corps has taught him about life, hard work, and himself.

Shead said he was drawn to the Armed Forces when he was a 21-year-old college student. Before that, though, the military wasn’t even on his radar. As an all-star athlete at a Denton, Texas high school, Shead from an early age had been drawn to action.

“I played football, basketball, track, and rugby,” he said. “Pretty much anything to get out of my parents’ house.”

When he enrolled in college, Shead worked toward a degree in criminal justice. He said he was drawn to the high-action lifestyle of a cop or SWAT team member–a thirst for action that later drove him to the Armed Forces at the age of 21.

For Shead, choosing the Marine Corps was an easy decision, and one he doesn’t regret.

“I looked at every branch before I joined,” he said. “I joined the Marine Corps because they are the best.”

After joining in 2006, Shead was launched into boot camp, and with that came a lifestyle that would change his outlook on life and himself.

“It was definitely a big adjustment,” he said. “It wasn’t like being at my parents’ house or my own apartment, where I could shower and eat when I wanted to.”

The difficulties Shead experienced during his recruit training were a stark contrast to his prior lifestyle, but he said that everything he went through was worth it. Shead recounted a certain moment during recruit training when he was ordered to swim a mile in full uniform within 80 minutes. Though the task seemed impossible, Shead accomplished it with minutes to spare.

“When I swam that last lap, I had this feeling where I looked back on it and realized that this was a task I just defeated that I never thought I could defeat,” he said. “It throws more tools in your toolbox. You can look back be like: hey, maybe I can do a little more than I thought if I put my mind to it.”

The most difficult part of recruit training for Shead was the transformation of his character and the breaking of his prior habits as junior in college.

“There’s a higher standard of everything: the discipline, the professionalism, and the higher standard of mental capacity,” he said. “That was the hardest adjustment.”

Shead continued and said that his character shift was integral to his place in the Marine Corps.

“A big part of being a Marine isn’t what a Marine does when everyone is watching,” he said. “What does he do when nobody is watching him at all? That’s what shows true character.”

When Shead left recruit training and began serving in the specialized branches of the Marine Corps, he became an aerial gunner. According to him, his most memorable experience was taking the Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WIT) course required to prepare him for this position.

The 3-month course is considered one of the Marine Corps’s hardest, with its 6-day weeks full of intense 8 to 12 hour days in the air and its intense academic rigor. Shead said that his success is one of his most treasured accomplishments.

“To do well and succeed is something I’ll take with me always,” he said. “Everything you learn in the Marine Corps can always translate outside the Marine Corps.”

Learning valuable skills and amassing experiences aren’t the only things Shead has taken away from his time in the Marine Corps. The sense of brother- and sisterhood that is created between Marines, he said, is priceless.

“No matter where I go, I have a brother and sister next to me, and we’d do anything for each other,” he said. “It’s almost like an extended family. We come from different houses and upbringings, but I would say that since we all went through the same training, we all have the same standards. We’re the same, but we’re different.”

Decorated across Shead’s chest are the physical incarnations of his experiences in the Marine Corps. Medals and ribbons depict a colorful story of his time serving, during which he has traversed the world from Hong Kong to Dubai.

One such tour awarded him his most prized medal: the Humanitarian Aid medal, which he earned while saving lives when Pakistan flooded in 2010. Shead and his fellow Marines delivered over two million pounds of flour to impoverished citizens and evacuated over 10,000 people from the flood-stricken country.

“[The Humanitarian Aid medal] is the one I enjoy the most,” he said. “It shows what America is truly about: America is the land of the free. Helping other countries that are impoverished or have a natural disaster–that is true freedom.”

While Shead’s time in the Marine Corps has earned him these accolades, he said that receiving medals isn’t what the Armed Forces is truly about.

“I didn’t join the Marine Corps to get a medal,” he said. “I joined for the brotherhood, and for that extra something special.”

Overall, Shead’s transformation from being in the Marine Corps in incomparable and invaluable, he said. It has led him to a higher standard of living–one that makes him better in both his professional and daily life.

“[Being in the Marine Corps] affects me because no matter where I go, I’m always striving for excellence,” he said. “I don’t accept average. No matter what I’m doing, I’m always pushing for that top spot.”

To Shead, the Marine Corps is a facilitator of greatness. Being in the Armed Forces has sharpened his personal character, which he said is the largest thing he has taken away from his service.

“You find out a lot about yourself. You find out that you can push yourself a lot harder than you really thought you could,” he said. “You do some things that you never thought you could do. ”