Marine Officer - Capt Vincent Stigall

Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003)

<span> <p> <img style="float: none;" src="http://assets2.marines.com/assetmgr/image/disp/inline/size/460x259/id/4362" alt="Capt Vincent Stigall <br /> Air Support Control Officer" /><h2>A Firm Decision</h2>Stigall1BecomingAMarine :47<br /> <br /> Capt Vincent Stigall:<br /> When I first made the decision to be a Marine Officer, I remember I called my mom. This was at the end of my freshman year, actually. And I said, "Hey Mom, I decided I want to go ahead and try and join the Marines." And she kind of dropped the phone. You know, I didn´t relent and said, "Well, Mom, this is, you know, kind of my decision, I think this is the way I wanted to go." So, I´ve gone through my POC, junior and senior, went through TBS and graduated and they showed up for graduation. They said that they noticed a considerable change in me, a change in my attitude, the way that I carried myself. And they were actually really glad that I went through it. My mom brags about it all the time, I mean, all her friends, "My son´s a Marine Officer." And she´s, she´s loving it. So they´re very proud of it.<br /> <hr /><h2>Guiding Air Support</h2>Stigall2MOS :40<br /> <br /> Capt Vincent Stigall:<br /> My MOS is, I´m an Air Support Control Officer. I work in the direct air support center. It´s not exactly being an air traffic controller, but a lot of things that they do, we can also do as well. What´ll happen is, there may be a ground unit that may need a troop resupply or medivac or even a[n] air strike. They´re only controlling the aircraft from that airfield to five miles outside of the fixed operating base or far from that point; that´s where I´m controlling that guy procedurally to the objective area.<br /> <hr /><h2>Readying for Deployment</h2>Stigall3Deployment :45<br /> <br /> Capt Vincent Stigall:<br /> My first deployment was pretty much two, three months after I finished my MOS school. I´m all of 22 years old and I´m in charge of, you know, six or seven Marines and my officer in charge, we´d gone through multiple exercises before, and you know, he just sat me down and said, "Hey, look, Stigall, you can do this. It´s really not as hard as what you think it is." You know, and actually I was able to go ahead and perform the mission and we did a very good job.<br /> <br /> Well, going back for my second deployment, I had a lot more, I, I guess you would say, insight on what it was that I needed to prepare for. I was a little more confident just because I have already been there and I had done that. By the time I got to the third, it was a breeze.<br /> <hr /><h2>Taking Responsibility</h2>Stigall4Leadership :49<br /> <br /> Capt Vincent Stigall:<br /> You´re the guy that´s in charge; all eyes are on you. Whether that detachment or platoon, squad, company, you know, fails or succeeds, that´s, that falls squarely on your shoulders as the leader. You know, that, that´s when I, you know, it finally sunk in that, wow, I´m actually, you know, doing what all the commercials and posters say that I´m going to do. You know, I´m a leader of Marines. And it was my responsibility to train these Marines; it was my responsibility to make sure that they came home safely. It´s definitely something that, you know, hits home, something that touches your heart. <br /> <br /> So it´s definitely a big, a heavy burden to bear, but definitely one that I would never, I would never shuck that responsibility. I love it. I love having that responsibility, I love working with my Marines, and, you know, I wouldn´t trade it for anything.<br /> <hr /><h2>Accomplishing More as a Marine</h2>Stigall5Advice :23<br /> <br /> Capt Vincent Stigall:<br /> Being an expeditionary force, that means we´re able to pick up and go and be America´s force in readiness. Whenever America needs us to go anywhere, we´re there at the drop of a dime. It doesn´t matter where you´re from; all they´re asking is, you know, someone who´s willing to lead, someone who´s mentally tough, physically tough. You can do more than what you think you can do. You, you can accomplish more than what you think you can accomplish. You know, the sky´s the limit on this.<br /> <hr /> </p> </span>

Just knowing that my commander had confidence in my abilities helped to instill confidence within myself.
—Capt Vincent Stigall

Commissioned: 2003
Commissioning Program: Platoon Leaders Class
Education: Hampton University, Embry Riddle

For Captain Vincent Stigall, becoming a Marine Officer was an easy decision. It took his parents a little longer to understand, but after seeing the transformation in their son they quickly became the proudest parents on the block. That confidence to stand by his decisions would later serve him well as a young Marine Officer.

At age 22, Capt Stigall deployed in command of a team of Marines, running a detachment airfield during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has since completed three deployments, gaining new confidence and abilities each time. His experience has helped him to fearlessly take on new challenges and responsibilities.

He is now an instructor at Officer Candidate School, training and evaluating future Marine Officers.

Marines. The Few. The Proud.

Capt Vincent Stigall
Air Support Control Officer

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Marines. The Few. The Proud.

Capt Vincent Stigall Air Support Control Officer

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Capt Vincent Stigall
Air Support Control Officer