What I’ve Learned: Ashton Harris

Twentynine Palms -- Sergeant, electro-optics ordnance repairer, Exercise Support Division

Hometown: Mt. Vernon, Ill.

>I am an avid video game player. I enjoy playing any game that is competitive, except for a few. I’m a competitive person and I can play with anyone I get to know including those who have gotten out of the Marine Corps.

>Playing video games is just one of the ways that I get to stay in touch and hang out with people who I would otherwise almost never talk with.

>Some of my favorite games are ‘League of Legends’ and ‘For Honor’. They are based more off of skill and knowing how to play the game than the rest of them.

>Another pastime I’ve grown into while being stationed here is shooting. I didn’t do it much until a co-worker of mine took me out and showed me how much fun it could be. Now I have been shooting for about four or five years.

>Guns are amazing machinery. They are great tools for defense and I really just enjoy using them.

>I usually shoot my AK-47 and my AR-15 at different ranges as part of the pistol club out in Twentynine Palms [Calif.] I like those guns because the AR-15 is America’s platform so I’m comfortable with it and the AK is the most widely used firearm in the world so they are two things I wanted to get used to and familiarize myself with.

>I love my family. I spend a lot of time with my son. We are both a couple of goof-balls so we end up making up games and messing around.

>I got married to my wife in 2010. I’ve known her since we were children. She was my cousin’s best friend so we grew up together. We then became high school sweethearts.

>I have been cosplaying for about 6 years. I started participating when I finally got into the Marine Corps and was making enough money to buy the costumes or the pieces to make them.

>I’m a really big Marvel fan as well as anything zombie related. I cosplay at these conventions and participate with the people on a different level than when someone doesn’t cosplay.

>I feel a connection with some of the characters within the universe so by cosplaying with them I get to share my love of the character with the people around me.

>A few of the people I have enjoyed cosplaying as the most are the Black Panther and Roland from the “Borderlands” game. I also have a Deadpool costume I’ll use every so often.

>I feel like cosplaying gives you a better connection to the characters and you can live action role-play as them, which can be kind of entertaining. Also the community is great. We all enjoy cosplaying so we have a good time when we come together to do it.

>I decided to join the Marine Corps because I felt that staying home was going to be a dead end. I went to the Army recruiter and I didn’t feel that it was the right fit. After talking with the Marine Corps recruiter I felt that this was the place I wanted to go even if it was for a little while.

>I’m proud of the time I have given to the Marine Corps and everything that I have experienced has made me the person I am today. This is something that I can call my own for as long as I live.

>I’m currently transitioning out of the Marine Corps. I’m going to continue to live here though and I’m going to try to get a job here in ESD.