5 Questions: Pendleton's Top Enlisted on Her 30 Years of Service

Next year, Sgt. Maj. Ramona D. Cook has served in the Marine Corps for nearly three full decades. In 1982, she enlisted as a radio operator and, since then, has served as a drill instructor and deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. She is now the base sergeant major. Patch caught up with her to ask her about her service.

PATCH: Why did you join the Marine Corps?

Sgt. Maj. Cook: I was in my second year of college and I just got a little bit bored. Things were good and I just wanted to do something different.  I wasn’t one of those folks who got patriotic and said, “Oh, I want to be a Marine.” I didn’t know anything about the Marine Corps. I got the pamphlet from the recruiter and I wanted to try it and it was the best decision I ever made.

PATCH: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your career?

Sgt. Maj. Cook: One of the biggest things that has changed is the opportunity for female Marines. When I came in, our opportunities were pretty limited. And that’s one of the things that I regret — that I haven’t been able to serve on ship and a lot of our young females [have]. They’ve got two or three deployments on ship. By the time they started authorizing females to serve on ship, I was kind of senior and I didn’t have the opportunity to serve on a billet that was able to get out and do a wet pack or something like that. But that’s the biggest thing that I see. The sky’s the limit for the things they want to do.

PATCH: In 2005, the Congressional Caucus for Women recognized you as the Outstanding Female Marine senior noncommissioned officer for May 2004 through May 2005. Why did the caucus choose you?

Sgt. Maj. Cook: It was probably because of the fact that I was a sergeant major for a CH-53 squadron. We had  two very successful deployments, one to Iraq, one to Afghanistan — back to back and, at that time, there were not a lot of female sergeants major being put in that type of billet. We had a very successful deployment. We brought everyone back alive and no accidents and there were quite a few aviation accidents in the start of the war — Operation Iraqi Freedom.

PATCH: What has kept you in the Marine Corps?

Sgt. Maj. Cook: Probably just being the pride of being a Marine, which is one of the toughest things I have to deal with when I get out. It’s like a brotherhood and a sisterhood. I know, when I retire, and I see someone driving by with a Marine sticker, it’s just going to be like, “Wow!”

It’s just like a brotherhood of being a Marine — when you see the commercials, when you see the news reports and you see the things Marines are doing, it feels good to be a part of that. I mean, I’ve been a Marine almost my entire adult life, so that’s going to be a big change for me. But, I love the brotherhood and I love how a Marine can be anywhere and see somebody else in an area that isn’t even near a base … and you strike up a conversation. It’s just a brotherhood; it’s much different than the other branches of the service.

PATCH: Do you have plans yet for your retirement?

Sgt. Maj. Cook: I did have plans but things change. We did have some plans, but with the way the economy is, I think I’m just going to have to reevaluate my plans. My husband and I actually wanted to open up a restaurant and I’m actually kind of nervous about that because of the way the economy is and, plus, it’s kind of hard work. I kind of want to relax a little bit and not go into another area where I’m working 10-hour days and that’s what it’s going to be like when I retire. I’m going to relax for the first three months; I’ll tell you that, so I can kind of do that transition and understanding that your active duty days are over. That’s going to be very hard.