Name: Charlie Benbow
Age: 19
Location: Lexington, VA
Hometown: Concord, NC
Occupation: Cadet, Marine
School: Virginia Military Institute
Grade: cadet third class (college sophomore)
Major: Computer Science
Hobbies: Flyfishing, paintball, hiking. camping
Favorite music: Just about anything. I'm even learning to like
country.
Future plans: Pursuing a commission in the Marine Corps to fly
F/A-18 Hornets.
Quick run-down: Not much significant happened before I graduated from high school. I graduated from Concord High School on 6 June, 1997. It was one of the better days of my life, not because high school was difficult or anything, but because I couldn't stand that blasted school. I feel that I've changed a lot since I left Concord, maybe I'm wrong. I'll leave that up to my friends and family to decide. I spent the summer of '97 with the Carolina Crown drum and bugle corps, one of the most unique experiences it is possible to have in life. We lived off of tour buses, slept in high school gymnasiums, ate out of the back of an 18-wheeler, and practiced constantly. It was absolutely incredible, though, to step out on that field at the Drum Corps International Finals in Orlando, FL. As soon as that ended, I turned around and left again, this time headed for the Virginia Military Institute. I matriculated with 460 other men and women on 18 August, and we entered the Ratline on the 20th. 7 months later, 380 of us broke out of the Ratline, and became the Class of 2001. A few months later, I got on a van and left for Marine Corps Recruit Training at MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina. I graduated on 14 August, almost exactly a year after I entered the Ratline. Boot camp was hot, and it was challenging, but I felt like the verbal and mental abuse that I underwent at VMI wasn't as present at PI. Maybe it's just due to the preparation that I got at VMI, I don't know. I do know they PT'd us harder at the island, and it was kind of nice to be undergoing actual military training, rather than an initiation ritual like the Ratline. Anyways, I'm back at the "Mother I" now, and looking forward to a year that is going to put me to the test academically, and I fully plan to step up to the plate, and hit it head on.
More to come later...