What I’ve Learned: Kyle Ramthun

Twentynine Palms -- > I grew up in Braham, Minn.; it was a small town with a community atmosphere; everyone got along. I had the opportunity to go to the basketball state tournament.

> Playing basketball allowed me to go to many different places as a teenager. I also played football, but I wasn’t as good at it as I was at basketball.

> I lived with my mom, my stepdad, Brian, and my four brothers. My oldest brother is Dean; my second oldest is David, who is in the medical field; my third oldest is Daniel, who served in the Marine Corps; my youngest brother, Dylan, is a sophomore in high school.

> My role model is my mom. She is my best friend and the one I always look up to. I always stuck to her hip as a kid until I joined the Marine Corps.

> I joined the Marine Corps because I saw the joy it brought my brother. It is the best decision I’ve ever made. When I was recruited, Provost Marshals Office was my first choice for my [military occupational specialty]. If I could choose my MOS again I would definitely choose to work in PMO.

> I work in Physical Security for PMO. What that means is that I handle anything that involves the protection of the assets that are within this installation.

> I’m a D.A.R.E. teacher, which means that I teach kids about drugs. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance and Education. The D.A.R.E. program is a ten-week program in which I go to a school and I give the kids a total of ten lessons.

> I teach first through seventh grade. After the lessons, they have to write an essay about what they learned in order to graduate. I’ve read some of the kid’s essays and a lot of them learn a great deal from my lessons. Sometimes kids come up and thank me for teaching them about drug abuse and its negative effects.

> I’ve been going to school using tuition assistance. I’m working toward a degree in business management and marketing. After the Marine Corps, I’m thinking of going to work for a homeland security business. After I get enough money, I want to be able to start my own business.

> Advice I would give to junior Marines is that ‘knowledge is power’, be it in or out of the Marine Corps. You can use tuitions assistance to get a degree while in the Marine Corps so that when you are out, you can start up your own business or work for a company that you always wanted to work for.

> The thing I will miss the most about the Marine Corps is the people. By facing adversity and good times together we are able to build camaraderie that will never falter; you won’t find that kind of brotherhood anywhere else.