Matthew Kutilek

Transcription

Capt. Kutilek: I wanted to go into infantry from the first time I met a Marine. The Marine officer instructed at the Citadel when I was a student there, was a Marine officer. And that's all I ever knew was infantry. And that's what I wanted to do.

I think when Americans see a Marine, they automatically envision a Marine infantryman who's out there in the front lines carrying a heavy load, going hand-in-hand with the enemy at the forward edge of the battle area, the forward edge of wherever the combat may be. And that's who they envision. And that's what I wanted to get involved with, you know, as far forward as possible against the enemy forces.

Your job is to learn infantry skills and to employ your Marines in a training environment to learn the skills necessary to have an impact around the world in a combat situation. And so you're training them. You're mentoring them, honing their skills as a collective team effort to go out and accomplish the mission.

All Marines are part of a larger picture. And if we start worrying about our own self, our own achievements and worrying about our own hardships, we're going to fail. But if you start looking at how we fit in the larger picture, the mental and physical toughness becomes a little bit easier.