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STAMFORD, Conn. While President Barack Obama announced efforts he has made to help the people of Afghanistan on a political front Tuesday night, Stamfords Raymund Calvar has done so physically.
Calvar is a lance corporal in the 9th Engineer Support Battalion in the U.S. Marines and is stationed in Afghanistans Helmand province, a Department of Defense article said. He serves as a turret gunner and watches over other soldiers who are building roadways for the Afghan people, who are happy to have them there.
You see how appreciative they are, Calvar, 22, said.
He decided to join the Marines after graduating from Stamford High School in 2009. Calvar knew it would be a big commitment, but it was one he wanted to make in order to make a difference in himself. I wanted to be a part of the greater good, he said.
His friends and family were nervous about him joining the Marines, the hardest branch, as Calvar said. But he said it is their safety and well-being that motivates him to keep working hard every day. I want them to walk the streets without worrying, Calvar said.
Being family oriented helps Calvar while he is on duty, watching over the other members in his platoon. He has become close to them over the past few months, and they have learned to rely on each other, Calvar said.
Before being deployed to Afghanistan last November, Calvar was first sent to Okinawa, Japan, as a supply Marine, where he trained as an assistant gunner with an MK-19 heavy machine gun, the Department of Defense release said. He became a turret gunner when he arrived in Afghanistan.
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