AL ASAD, Iraq -- Ever since Cpl. Mickey Lovy’s grandfather immigrated to the United States from Hungary, military service has been a family tradition. His grandfather served in the U.S. Army during World War II and his father was a U.S. Army doctor during the Vietnam War.
Lovy, the supply noncommissioned officer in the logistics department of Marine Wing Support Group 27, picked a different service, but he’s keeping the tradition alive.
A graduate of Holly High School in his native Holly, Mich., Lovy joined the Corps in September 2002. “After high school I worked odd jobs until I realized I needed a change and went full blast into it,” he said. “I decided to go for the real deal and join the Marine Corps.”
As the unit’s supply NCO his duties include ordering supplies for the squadrons in the group, dispersing the supplies and staying in contact with supply representatives in the squadrons here and Al Taqaddum to let them know their supplies are on the way or already here.
“I make sure that supplies the squadrons order from the United States get to them in a timely manner,” he said. “I also check the reports that state what gear the squadrons have so I can figure out what they need. My job is to check the reports for inconsistencies and make sure they get the gear they rate.”
Lovy orders everything from insect repellent to shields for gunner stations on the humvees that units in the group use to conduct convoy operations throughout the Al Anbar province. Though he served in Okinawa, Japan, for a year until March 2004 before reporting to MWSG-27 in Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C., this is his first deployment in support of real-world operations.
“I joined the Marine Corps to make my family proud,” he said. “I wanted my life to go in a different positive direction and I knew the Marine Corps was the most extreme change I could do for the better.”
According to Lovy, out of his parents’ seven offspring he is the youngest and only to join the military. He said that his father, who left the Army’s 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as a captain after serving in Vietnam, is proud of him regardless of having joined a different service.
“The Marine Corps is not only associated with being an elite military service, it’s also associated with values, honor and a level of discipline the other branches don’t really offer,” he said. “The Corps has done nothing but better myself. It helped me keep my good attributes and added and built on them. The leadership and mentors I’ve run into in the Corps have definitely made it worth it.”
Lovy’s plans after his return to North Carolina next year are to leave the Corps and pursue a career in accounting. During his stay here he’s focused on getting the ‘beans, bullets and band-aids’ needed for the Marines in MWSG-27 to continue assisting the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) forge a brighter future for the people of Iraq.
- For more information about the Marine reported on in this story, please contact Sgt. Juan Vara by e-mail at varaj@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil -