CSUB marks ‘full-circle moment’ for student veteran

Colon believes her experience as a Marine helped prepare her for the logistical and educational challenges she has faced at CSUB.

She spent her first eight years in the corps working in California and North Carolina as a finance clerk before opting to switch gears and become a drill instructor in 1987 at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, South Carolina, where she helped oversee the basic training of recruits.

"I like the challenges of physical fitness in being a Marine, but it's not my character to be tough. I consider myself more easy-going," she said. "I felt imposter syndrome, because that wasn't me, but you have to get tough to be a good drill instructor. You have to be able to do everything the recruits do but do it better."

Colon initially struggled with her transition into the life of a drill instructor but ultimately found the experience to be very rewarding, especially in seeing the impact that she was able to have on recruits.

"It was good because you saw the beginning and the end, because you're with them 24/7," she said. "You see how they didn't know anything when they got there and by the end, you see the change in them."

Colon returned to working in finance during her second tour, this time as a travel auditor. She spent three years in Okinawa, Japan, where she would meet and marry her husband, Ildefonso Colon Jr., who was an infantryman at the time. After her three years in Japan, Colon was promoted to gunnery sergeant.

Colon returned to the Parris Island drill field in 1993 and this time was tasked with supervising around 30 drill instructors.

"It's like just training the recruits - making sure they were staying up to date with their training, making sure they had all the resources they needed," she said.

Colon finished her second tour there before being assigned to Hawaii to continue her work as an auditor. During this period, she was selected for promotion to first sergeant.

Then the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks happened, which changed everything. Colon had to prepare for the possibility of going into combat for the first time. She received combat training at Camp Pendleton before being deployed to Iraq in January 2003.

"We weren't prepared for war at all. We'd been in peacetime for such a long time, so it was scary," she said. "But we were all in the same boat. You've got your team, and you know that they know what they need to do."

Colon served in a combat service support battalion, which is responsible for providing services such as mail, mortuary affairs, supplies, food, fuel and more for the infantry. As first sergeant, Colon was responsible for around 280 Marines in the battalion.

The battalion would typically travel in a convoy behind the infantry that were making their way to the capital of Baghdad. Colon recalls shots being fired at the convoy during their travels as well as one time when the support unit got caught in a nighttime sandstorm that was so severe it caused all vehicles to stop for a time due to low visibility.

"That was so scary," Colon said. "You couldn't see clearly in front of you. Everything around you was this orange-red color."

The scariest situation she experienced happened in April 2003 after Baghdad was taken over by U.S. forces and shortly before President George W. Bush prematurely declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.

Colon's unit was preparing to be deployed back to the U.S. Instead of taking the unused ammunition with them, Colon said a controlled burn was authorized to dispose of it, which was considered a cheaper option than transporting it.

There was just one problem: The wind picked up on the day the burn was scheduled to take place, causing the fire to spin out of control.

"There was a big explosion. All the windows shattered," said Colon, who at the time was in a building participating in Easter services.

Colon ran out of the building and into a nearby vehicle with three other Marines. As it began to move, additional explosions rattled the vehicle and forced Colon and the other Marines to exit and run for cover.

"We thought we were being attacked, so we went to grab our weapons. We had no idea what was going on," she said. "I saw these Marines running around, and you could see the fear in their eye."

Colon helped get her fellow Marines to safe distance as the fire continued to consume ammo and equipment and damage the surrounding property.

"That was really scary because we all could have been blown up," she said. "Being in a combat environment, you never know if today is your last day, but you do it because you love your country."

Colon finished her tour in June and, a few months later, decided it was time to retire from the military. While her final tour was stressful, Colon said she's grateful for the experience she had in the Marine Corps.

"I enjoyed being in the military because it changed me as an individual," she said. "I was very shy, very timid. That's not the person I am now. I'm a lot stronger."

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