CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Lance Cpl. Mark K. Cosmas says the day he went to the recruiting office to speak to all the service representatives, the "Army of One" steered him in the right direction.
"I didn't know the difference between Army and Marines," he said. "I only knew I wanted to be the best...I asked the Army recruiter who was the best...He said, 'The Marines.'"
Cosmas says he's a "lifer."
Cosmas, an artilleryman with Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment serves the Corps with great pride.
"Being a Marine is great," said the 28-year-old from Ghana, Africa. In Ghana, military service is considered honorable and soldiers are highly respected, according to Cosmas.
The former elementary school teacher left Africa to be with his family already living in the United States. He enlisted in Washington, D.C., and has been in the Corps for 15 months.