Photo Information

Sergeant Emily Rowe, Mounted Color Guard Horseman, receives the NCO of the Quarter award for the third quarter from Stacey McCray, Pacific Marine Credit Union, during the Quarterly Awards Breakfast aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., Oct. 30.

Photo by Jack J. Adamyk

The neighs have it again for NCO of the Quarter

9 Nov 2018 | Keith Hayes Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

For the second time in 11 months Sgt. Emily C. Rowe is named the Noncommissioned Officer of the Quarter for Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.

Rowe is a member of the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard, who was picked as NCO of the Quarter for the third quarter and was also the NCOOTQ for the first quarter of 2018.

She said she does not perform her duty with winning any awards in mind; she just wants to do her job.

“I try and set a good example for the junior Marines, not just do as I say, but also do as I do,” Rowe said.

Corporal Jeremy Gauna with the MCG, who is also the Marine of the Year for 2018, said Sgt. Rowe is an excellent leader who pushes the junior Marines to their limits and beyond to make them better. “She gives 100 percent of herself to leading us and making us grow as people and Marines,” he said.

She was an experienced horse handler before she arrived, which is not the norm for Marines assigned to the exclusive detail.

Also, Rowe’s path to the MCG was not the usual one. Most Marines do not usually ask for the duty. Rowe said once she heard about the MCG she applied for the posting and didn’t stop until she got it.

That also meant Rowe had to unlearn some riding habits so she could ride the way the MCG wanted her to ride, but even that has a silver lining. “Riding with the Mounted Color Guard has made me a better rider and made me appreciate the finer points of handling a horse,” she said.

Even though she has become use to the crowds who turn out to watch their riding team’s performances, she still finds their reaction gratifying. “The support and good reactions from people in the audience is humbling and I’m happy to see it.”

The native of Billings, Mont., has been to 10 states on more than a hundred visits since she arrived at the base in January.

Rowe said any Marines applying for the MCG must be prepared to work.

“I recommend that they have a strong work ethic,” she said. “It’s not just some fun and games where you ride around on a horse and call it a day. There’s a lot of time and effort spent on the ground before you even get on the horse.”

She appreciates being named as NCO of the Quarter twice in one year and urges others to work toward that goal.

“Somebody should be trying to get me off that wall and get their face up there instead.”

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