A Marine Guard Tore Up My Visitor Pass At Quantico—His Commandant Snatched It Back And Saluted Me
I’m Major General Marina Howerin, 48 years old, and I have spent 26 years in the United States Marine Corps, becoming the woman my father said girls could not become. For most of that career, I let him be wrong about my job, because the alternative was watching him try to be right about it. But the morning I reported in as the new director of Marine Corps intelligence at Quantico, a 20-year-old Lance Corporal at the visitor gate tore up my pass before I had finished a sentence, and the commandant of the Marine Corps walked in behind him, and I made a choice that changed everything that came next.
Have you ever been dismissed by someone who decided who you were before you opened your mouth? If so, tell me your story in the comments. You are not alone.
Before I get into what happened, let me know where you’re tuning in from. And if you’ve ever had to stand up for yourself after being underestimated, hit that like button and subscribe. The first ribbon I ever won, my father moved into a drawer.
I was 8 years old. It was a second place science fair ribbon from my elementary school in Wilmington, North Carolina. The project was a poster about how barrier islands move during hurricanes.
My mother had helped me cut out the construction paper waves. The ribbon was blue and white with a gold seal in the middle that said Wilmington Elementary second place, grade three. I came home with it pinned to the front of my dress.
My father was at the kitchen table reading the Wilmington Star-News. My brother, Knox, 11, was at the counter eating cereal in a youth football jersey. My mother was at the sink with her back to us.
I stood next to my father’s elbow and waited. He turned the page. He folded the paper into thirds.
He looked at the ribbon. He said, “Good,” and put his hand back on the paper. My brother showed him his fifth-grade football trophy from the same week.
My father stood up, put on his work boots, and took my brother out into the front yard to throw a football. The screen door slammed. My mother turned around and dried her hands.
She looked at the ribbon. She looked at me. She picked the ribbon off my dress, and she walked it down the hallway to the bookshelf in the den.
What happened next changed everything… continues on the next page.
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