Honoring those who serve in the Whitewater Valley: Garrick Joseph Miller
May 18, 2022 at 8:48 p.m.
Let us honor US Army Reserve E4 specialist, Garrick Joseph Miller.
Miller was born and raised in Liberty. While Miller had a few family members in the armed forces, it wasn't until the 9/11 attacks that he felt the call to serve his country.
“I felt like I was helpless, and I never wanted to feel that way. I wanted to be and do something bigger than myself,” Miller recalled. Miller was in 5th grade when the attacks occurred and that drive to help his country carried with him throughout his schooling, when he graduated in 2010 from Union County High School.
Shortly after graduation, Miller enlisted first in the Marines in 2010 and left for Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Deigo, California in early December. This was Miller's first time traveling outside of the state and his first time on an airplane.
“When you land, you have three or four gentlemen who approach you and ask if you are here for MCRD training. After you get in line, they left us with one form of identification, our recruiter's business card and our social security cards. They had us put everything else in a bag, that we didn't get back until after basic training,” Miller explained.
While the demands of basic training were hard physically, Miller recalled the psychological demands of training to be the most difficult part. “Marines take pride in our crisp movements; we would run drills and sometimes if your elbow was at 85 degrees instead of 90, it meant you were getting hit with your weapon.”
After MCRD training, Miller received a two-week leave before returning to Pendleton for his Marine Corps Combat Training, also referred to as MCT. The purpose of this training was to help the recruits learn weapon familiarization about the weapon systems they would be using. All together the recruits learned between five to eight different weapons systems. During this training, Miller and the other recruits got to throw a live grenade.
“I had never held an actual grenade before, just those plastic ones,” Miller stated. “You spent the first half of the day training with dummy grenades; when we were ready, they took us to the field four at a time and we each threw our grenade. After, we went to the tower to watch the other recruits throw theirs. It was a unique experience watching the chunks of dirt fly,” he continued.
Land Navigation was also a big part of MCT training. “While it was nice to get to see the scenery, it was a completely different challenge. You never knew what you were going to be walking through, and it was important to track your steps, so you know how much distance you have and were supposed to cover in a certain direction before changing courses,” Miller explained.
In 2011 Miller was stationed at Camp Johnson, North Carolina to receive his Military Occupation Specialty training (MOS). Miller was classified as a 3521. The 35 series shows that he is in motor transportation unit and the 21 specifies that he is a mechanic. While training itself only lasts between three to six months, during this time the training was backlogged, and Miller had to wait to start his training. Miller was at Camp Johnson for a little over a year.
In 2012, Miller was stationed at Camp Lejeune, also in North Carolina. He worked as a diesel technology mechanic and maintained the military vehicles and equipment until his assignment ended on Oct. 25, 2014.
Miller then returned home to Liberty. He and his wife Amber were married on Aug. 25th, 2017, and they currently reside in Liberty where they raise their four children: Chandler, Jaxson, Able and Logan.
In 2017 Miller was looking for an extra way to support his family, so he decided to join the Army reserves. Luckily, Miller did not have to repeat training since he was already a corporal E-4 when he left the Marines. Miller attends training one weekend a month and for two weeks during the summer.
“It's a lot harder to leave now” Miller said, when asked about training. When Miller's assignment with the reserves ends in September 2023, he will have put in 10 years with the armed forces.
In closing, the Whitewater Publications staff would like to say, "Thank you, e4 Specialist Garrick Miller for your services both in the Marines and the Army Reserve. Thank you for doing your part to keep our country and community safe. We wish the best of luck to the Miller family with all their future endeavors."
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Let us honor US Army Reserve E4 specialist, Garrick Joseph Miller.
Miller was born and raised in Liberty. While Miller had a few family members in the armed forces, it wasn't until the 9/11 attacks that he felt the call to serve his country.
“I felt like I was helpless, and I never wanted to feel that way. I wanted to be and do something bigger than myself,” Miller recalled. Miller was in 5th grade when the attacks occurred and that drive to help his country carried with him throughout his schooling, when he graduated in 2010 from Union County High School.
Shortly after graduation, Miller enlisted first in the Marines in 2010 and left for Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Deigo, California in early December. This was Miller's first time traveling outside of the state and his first time on an airplane.
“When you land, you have three or four gentlemen who approach you and ask if you are here for MCRD training. After you get in line, they left us with one form of identification, our recruiter's business card and our social security cards. They had us put everything else in a bag, that we didn't get back until after basic training,” Miller explained.
While the demands of basic training were hard physically, Miller recalled the psychological demands of training to be the most difficult part. “Marines take pride in our crisp movements; we would run drills and sometimes if your elbow was at 85 degrees instead of 90, it meant you were getting hit with your weapon.”
After MCRD training, Miller received a two-week leave before returning to Pendleton for his Marine Corps Combat Training, also referred to as MCT. The purpose of this training was to help the recruits learn weapon familiarization about the weapon systems they would be using. All together the recruits learned between five to eight different weapons systems. During this training, Miller and the other recruits got to throw a live grenade.
“I had never held an actual grenade before, just those plastic ones,” Miller stated. “You spent the first half of the day training with dummy grenades; when we were ready, they took us to the field four at a time and we each threw our grenade. After, we went to the tower to watch the other recruits throw theirs. It was a unique experience watching the chunks of dirt fly,” he continued.
Land Navigation was also a big part of MCT training. “While it was nice to get to see the scenery, it was a completely different challenge. You never knew what you were going to be walking through, and it was important to track your steps, so you know how much distance you have and were supposed to cover in a certain direction before changing courses,” Miller explained.
In 2011 Miller was stationed at Camp Johnson, North Carolina to receive his Military Occupation Specialty training (MOS). Miller was classified as a 3521. The 35 series shows that he is in motor transportation unit and the 21 specifies that he is a mechanic. While training itself only lasts between three to six months, during this time the training was backlogged, and Miller had to wait to start his training. Miller was at Camp Johnson for a little over a year.
In 2012, Miller was stationed at Camp Lejeune, also in North Carolina. He worked as a diesel technology mechanic and maintained the military vehicles and equipment until his assignment ended on Oct. 25, 2014.
Miller then returned home to Liberty. He and his wife Amber were married on Aug. 25th, 2017, and they currently reside in Liberty where they raise their four children: Chandler, Jaxson, Able and Logan.
In 2017 Miller was looking for an extra way to support his family, so he decided to join the Army reserves. Luckily, Miller did not have to repeat training since he was already a corporal E-4 when he left the Marines. Miller attends training one weekend a month and for two weeks during the summer.
“It's a lot harder to leave now” Miller said, when asked about training. When Miller's assignment with the reserves ends in September 2023, he will have put in 10 years with the armed forces.
In closing, the Whitewater Publications staff would like to say, "Thank you, e4 Specialist Garrick Miller for your services both in the Marines and the Army Reserve. Thank you for doing your part to keep our country and community safe. We wish the best of luck to the Miller family with all their future endeavors."