<strong>Impressed with these Marines</strong>

Your recently published story “Billet Over Rank” by Lance Cpl. Ryan Hageali, USMC, was outstanding.

I am greatly impressed with how well he described the prestige, pressure, and immense responsibility bestowed upon those serving as a Senior Drill Instructor. I am equally impressed with the two Marines he interviewed for the story. Their desire to give back to the Marine Corps by serving in such a demanding billet at this early stage in their career is impressive.

I served my first tour as a Drill Instructor early on and all I thought at first was what did I do to deserve this? It was years later when I returned for duty again as a Senior Drill Instructor and nearing the end of my career that I grasped the enormity of the task at hand and the debt I owed to the Corps.

These Marines are a credit to themselves and to the Marine Corps. With talented, dedicated, and highly motivated Marines like Lance Cpl. Ryan, Sgt. Tellez, and Sgt. Feliciano setting such a great example, I think the Corps is in good hands. They and the Marines they train will certainly serve with distinction and add to the proud traditions and history earned by the Marines who served before. Semper Fi!

– L. Vinny Francese, MGySgt,<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

USMC, ret., Beaufort

<strong>Hunting Island needs improvements</strong>

We have just returned home from a week at Hunting Island. We have been there several times over the past few years. I found your article about the “Winds of Change” very interesting, especially about Hunting Island paying bills for the other S.C. parks.

The fee for camping there is not cheap, and the campground roads are just TERRIBLE. We travel all over the U.S., Canada and Alaska and have stayed at some very nice campgrounds that are a lot cheaper than Hunting Island.

They need to improve the roads in the campground. There are gigantic potholes everywhere. We usually have rain, and there are many campsites that get flooded. There’s a lot of improvement (other than a laundry) that needs to be done there.

– Fay Trogdon, Randleman, N.C.