NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, Bahrain -- A financial management resource analyst with U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command Forward received a pleasant surprise to kick off his time here in Bahrain, when he found out he was selected as MARCENT’s Marine of the year, Feb.28.
Annually, units across the Corps recognize Marines for exemplary performance in physical fitness, proficiency in Military Occupational Specialty and demonstration of Marine Corps values and leadership traits. And, the Marine selected embodies all of these qualities and consistently goes above and beyond what is required. This Marine stands out among his peers while influencing those around him both below and above his own rank. This year Cpl. Colin B. Kennard was one of those Marines selected.
"My time with Cpl. Kennard has been short, but once he arrived, he really hit the ground running,” said 1stLt. Calvin Patton, MARCENT Fwd’s deputy comptroller. “Sgt. Johnson, his predecessor, set a very high bar, and Kennard is already meeting that standard. I expect he will soon exceed it. His knowledge and competence within our technical MOS is much more advanced than any finance Marine I've ever worked with. In fact, I'm learning things from him every day.”
Kennard has been with MARCENT since March 2012, and he said he is honored to receive this award; especially among the high grade of Marines that were competing on the board.
“It's humbling. This makes you believe that hard work really doesn’t go unnoticed,” he said. “And, I am honored that I was chosen amongst such high caliber Marines.”
The Baltimore native credits his win to his leadership and their ability to see and understand his dedication to his craft, he said.
“I thank my leadership, because they recognized the passion I have for what I do, and the time and effort I put forth in doing it. I appreciate that they took the time to prepare a package for me that illustrated that,” Kennard added.
According to Patton, this honor shows more than just dedication and passion. This honor is prestigious and deserves to be acknowledged.
“Sometimes we as Marines get wrapped up in certain aspects of our job and focused so much on mission accomplishment. We forget to recognize those who played such a substantial role in achieving a unit's success. Marine of the Quarter is impressive; Marine of the year is outstanding,” Patton continued. “This achievement should prove as a good predictor of the knowledge, skills and abilities Kennard has to offer to the MARCENT (Fwd) family. I know I'm excited to see his capabilities and have him on our team.”
As another year passes, another Marine can stand tall in history amongst the few and the proud and give thanks as he is recognized for excellence. Cpl. Colin Kennard is that Marine. He is MARCENTS’s Marine of the year.