Instead of my usual fare, I’m going to work on graduation pictures and the effect these events have on us as family. It not just about reaching milestones, it’s about taking that first cautious step towards adulthood. For some of these young people, that transformation will come sooner than later – the Few, the Proud, the Marines.
Milestones – 30May26
Yesterday my oldest grandchild, Scott, graduated High School. That milestone was a bit of a stunner for us when it finally kicked in. His mom was in tears at the graduation, as was my wife – his Nana. I think I saw a tear in his father’s eye. Even his younger brother seemed solemnly lost in thought. I’d already seen this process three times now, so the emotions were in check with me…for a minute. I thought it sweet the rest of us felt it that deeply.
My true reaction came later. You see, in July, he reports to Marine boot camp in SoCal. I’m still processing that one. It’s turned out to be a lot harder than I thought.
When you know firsthand what it means to step into that world, the perspective changes. It’s a distinct, sharp brand of anxiety when these milestones hit; knowing the realities of a uniform and watching someone you love step toward it. You know it’s a void that has swallowed generations of young. Out of the entire military force, 13% are Marines and they are almost always the first to trouble.
When looking at active-duty personnel across the Department of Defense, the U.S. Marine Corps is structured as a leaner, more specialized expeditionary force compared to the other major combat arms branches.
According to official data from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), there are 170,304 active-duty Marines.
To see how that footprint compares across the entire active-duty military, here is the breakdown of personnel by branch:
Active-Duty Military Strength by Branch
| Branch | Active-Duty Personnel |
| U.S. Army | 454,784 |
| U.S. Navy | 346,786 |
| U.S. Air Force | 320,097 |
| U.S. Marine Corps | 170,304 |
| U.S. Coast Guard | 43,463 |
| U.S. Space Force | 10,283 |
Key Takeaways
- The Scale: The Marine Corps makes up roughly 13% of the nation’s total active-duty military force.
- The Comparison: It is roughly one-third the size of the Army, and about half the size of the Navy or the Air Force.
This smaller footprint is intentional, keeping the branch agile and built primarily for rapid global deployment and amphibious operations rather than large-scale, sustained land occupation.
Popi being Popi
In short, there is certainly reason to fret for all of us. He’s our superstar grandson and he’ll be standing at the tip of the spear for at least four years.
The instinct to act as the pillar for the family is automatic, but hiding that level of worry creates its own kind of isolation. You carry the weight silently because you carry the fear that if you show a crack, the rest of the house might fall down with you. Trying to process that while maintaining the daily grind leads straight to a wall. The mental bandwidth just runs out, leaving you staring at a blank page, burned out before you can even get the words down. I decided the news reports could wait a day. This was a more important task for me to process.
I knew how Brie-Anne felt (my daughter and Scott’s mom). I wondered about Ken, his father. He’s pretty much a stoic, so you can’t ever tell his feelings. I had a moment with him. I looked him in the eye and asked. That’s when I saw what I think was a tear. He couldn’t vocalize what he really felt. Instead he said, “It’s like he was made for this.” He couldn’t say more. In retrospect, I got the same impression months ago when I talked to Scott about this choice/decision. There was no hesitation. No little boy following in his hero’s footsteps. He was already a Marine in everything but legal terms.
I’ll simply have to pray a bit more.
A Little Perspective: True perspective isn’t about masking harsh realities with hollow optimism. Sometimes, it is simply recognizing that endurance has a cost. When the horizon looks heavy and the internal bandwidth runs low, the “good news” isn’t a grand global shift. It is found in the quiet, gritty resilience of the people who keep showing up anyway. It’s the volunteers, the neighbors, and the steady hands who keep moving forward, even when carrying an unspoken weight. It’s also those brave few who step into the quagmire in our name – and their dear mothers.
God, please keep our soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, coasties and space force, in the protective embrace reserved for the righteous among us.
As always – be well, be alert, be informed. Popi sends…
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