MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- There are some who say they joined the military to get ahead in life and to serve their country. According to one Sailor, assigned to Marine Air Logistics Squadron 24, joining the Navy was the best decision he has ever made.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Bradley J. La Fontaine, a Navy aviation electronics technician and the leading petty officer for MALS-24, joined the Navy in 1998 after attending college for one year.
“I was sitting in class, and I was wondering what to do with my life — because college was sort of the hard route to life,” admitted La Fontaine. “My family has a long line of military in it, so I quit college and joined the military.”
After spending one year at St. John’s University, studying criminal justice and working at a food market, the 26-year-old went to the recruiting office and signed up to serve his country — but not without guidance from his family.
“I was actually originally going to join the Marine Corps, because my grandfather was a Marine in World War II,” said the Edison, N.J. native. “But he told me not to join the Marine Corps. So then I walked into the Navy office, because my father was in the Navy, and he tried to talk me out of it, but I joined anyway because it was something that I really wanted to do.”
After being stationed at Lemoore, Calif.; Virginia Beach, Va.; and Pensacola, Fla., La Fontaine received orders to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.
“This is my first time being stationed on a Marine Corps base, and it’s a lot nicer than my previous duty stations,” he said. “It’s a new experience for me — working with people from different branches of service. It’s just been great for me.”
When it was time for La Fontaine to choose where he would go after Naval Air Station Pensacola, he said he was determined to get orders to Hawaii.
“I gave my last command an ultimatum,” said La Fontaine. “I told them that if I did not get orders to come here, I was getting out, because I didn’t want to be stationed on the mainland again. To me, no matter where you get stationed on the mainland, it’s all the same. I just wanted to spice up my military experience.”
Since joining the Navy, La Fontaine has been deployed twice to the Persian Gulf. The first time was to take part in Operation Southern Watch, during his second tour he participated in Operation Enduring Freedom — one deployment he said he was glad to have been part of.
“I was home on leave on Sept. 11. I was outside, and I could see the planes hit the towers,” he remembered. “I then got a call from my command telling me to go back to Virginia Beach, because we going to leave for the Persian Gulf. I was really charged to go because after seeing what I saw. I was in shock, which soon turned to anger, because it was like being attacked in my own backyard.”
During his deployment to Afghanistan, La Fontaine was a flight-deck troubleshooter and was very proud of his squadron for their role they played in the conflict.
“It felt good to be apart of something like that,” he said. “My dad and sister were very proud of me when I got back. They were waiting for me at the pier when I got back — waving the flag for me and everybody else.”
Since coming back from Operation Enduring Freedom, La Fontaine retired from the single life, after meeting his wife, Erica.
“I went to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving one year and saw this picture in their house of this beautiful woman,” he said. “So his wife called her up for me, and we started talking.”
But it wasn’t until Christmas that the two actually met because he was stationed in California and she lived in Ohio.
La Fontaine now has a family with whom he spends as much time a possible. He has two daughters, Deija, 6, and Ireland, 1. La Fontaine said he loves to take his children to the park and beaches.
The seasoned sea-service veteran was recently named Junior Shore Sailor of the Year for Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 2. As a former Junior Sailor of the Quarter for the wing, La Fontaine was automatically entered into the competition for Junior Shore Sailor of the Year and competed against other JSOQs for the JSSOY title.
“It was nothing but a month and half of boards that I had to be on,” he said. “I had to always make sure that my uniforms were top notch. I had to drill myself with as much knowledge as possible to be able to answer the questions the members of the board asked. But I’m very proud of myself, after it was all said and done.”
La Fontaine recently earned his associate’s degree in justice administration from Hawaii Pacific University and is currently working on his bachelor’s degree in human resources.
After he receives his degree, La Fontaine said he plans to apply for an officer program and hopes to one day go to Officer Candidate School.
“I want to be an officer, because I want to be able to fly jets,” he said. “I used to go to air shows with my dad, and fell in love with the Tomcats and always wanted to fly them.”
Though he said he has a great time in the Navy and plans to go for the full 20 years, he had to do it for somebody.
“My mother passed away in the year 2000, so I have dedicated everything I do in my military career to her,” said La Fontaine. “I have also dedicated everything I do in my career to my wife, for all the support she has given me.”