MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. -- There is not much to do in the town of Pittsfield, Mass., for an excited new high school graduate. An industrial town where most girls her age get married and for fun attend sheeptacular sheep exhibitions with sheep art and shepherd's-pie cook offs, according to the city's Web site. One thing she certainly could do though, is join the United States Marine Corps, and that is exactly what she did.
Sgt. Rebecca L. Wilkinson, exchange manager at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow's Marine Corps Exchange, has been selected to warrant officer and scheduled for promotion this February.
After going to college for a year, Wilkinson joined the Marine Corps to become a military policeman in 1993, she said. In 1995 she went overseas to complete a tour in Okinawa, Japan.
It was during this time of her career where she was victorious in a board competition and promoted meritoriously to the rank of corporal, Wilkinson said.
After her first four years she then went on reserve status, but volunteered for Active Duty Special Work to help with the closing of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, she said. During this assignment, she was introduced to the inner workings of the supply, logistics and exchange services on Marine Corps bases. For her efforts she was meritoriously promoted again to the rank of sergeant.
In 1999 she was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, and became a dental assistant and office manager in the city of Barstow.
While doing that, she did not feel like she was living up to her potential and decided to re-enlist in the Marine Corps in 2001, she said.
Unfortunately, when she re-enlisted she had to accept two main changes from what she was accustomed to. The first, involved changing her military occupational specialty to a Morale, Welfare and Recreation Specialist, which works with the operations, management, and supervision of Marine Corps exchanges and clubs. The second, required her to come back in as the rank of corporal instead of sergeant, said Wilkinson.
She agreed to the changes, and conveniently was stationed at MCLB Barstow when she came back on active duty, she said.
During this time she completed a bachelor's degree in management and human resources from Park University, which was an addition to her first degree, an associate's degree in criminal justice from Irvine Valley College she received in 1998.
In 2003 she deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During her time in Iraq, Wilkinson had to learn the Army, Air Force Exchange Services way of providing products to troops, she said. This helped her expand her knowledge in military exchange services. Also, this is where she met Chief Warrant Officer Carlos Holt, who wrote a recommendation letter for her to put in her warrant officer submission package.
A reason why Wilkinson chose to become a warrant officer was that she felt she could help accomplish the Marine Corps mission better as an expert in her field, she said.
Wilkinson worked for her degrees, and wants to have a positive median to apply her knowledge through.
The Warrant Officer Program was not the first program Wilkinson applied for, she said. So when she was chosen for warrant officer, she felt she finally got what she deserved.
"It's amazing, I applied for three other commissioning programs, and it felt good to know the hard work has paid off," she said.
It was not Wilkinson's individual efforts that got her chosen for warrant officer, she said. Wilkinson knew the two exchange managers before her who were selected for warrant officer, Staff Sgt. Eric A. Littlejohn and Staff Sgt. Anthony Cisneros, and they helped her realize her potential. Wilkinson also attributes a lot of her success to her husband; retired Marine Master Sgt. Richard Wilkinson, and is thankful for the support from her family and friends.
Wilkinson leaves for the warrant officer's course in February at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. After completing the 13-week course, Wilkinson will be stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.