Community Corner
Local Vets: Jonathan Hicks
Branford shows its gratitude to another attendee of the Veteran Outreach Program's Take a Vet Fishing event. Jonathan Hicks, an active duty marine, takes a moment to turn from his fishing rod and explain his role in our nation's defense.
Jonathan Hicks from North Carolina is an active duty Marine, currently working in Hartford as a recruiter for the Marine Corps. He spent most of the morning of the First Congregational Church of Branford’s event finding silent areas along the rocks to cast his line. He is unsurprisingly quiet at first, but becomes much more animated when speaking about his role in the Corps.
He works as an AV8B Harrier Mechanic, fixing what he calls TMS – certain types of aircrafts – and explains that he was predisposed to this line of work after attending tech-school in Florida. He served in an MU, which he describes as an expeditionary unit: “an augmentation of marines from different backgrounds for jobs." He furthered, "They put you in an LHA or an LHD (a large amphibious ship) and you float around the Pacific responding to disasters – dangers to American interests.”
He cites providing relief in Haiti, and being deployed to remove U.S. Citizens from Lebanon during the outbreaks of violence as some examples of what he does. “We’re sort of like the ‘911’ of [International] America.”
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Though only 30 years old, Hicks has served for six years in the Marines, one tour in Iraq, and several deployments as an MU. He was assigned to work as a recruiter for three years and is finishing the last of them. Once his work in Hartford is complete, he tells me that he will be returning to his old job in the Marine Corps. “I’m excited to get back.”
Hicks ultimately wants to retire in his home state of North Carolina.
