Suffering from a heart attack at the age of 18 could have adverse affects on anyone, but Brian Newbury, now a 28 year old college student at CSUSM, feels this experience lead him to serve in the United States Marine Corps.

After recovering from his heart attack, Newbury worked in construction with his brother to pay off hospital debt.

“A friend from a place that I had worked just momentarily calls me and says, ‘Hey, the Marines want to challenge me to a paintball duel, do you think you and your brother can come help me?’” he said.

It was during this duel that a Marine inquired when Newbury planned to join, to which he thought “Wow, I would never join something like that.”

Despite his initial reaction, he was eventually drawn to serve.

“I had a bit of a calling in my life. I wanted to serve in some great, grandiose way, I just didn’t know how, and so I ended up jumping right on that.”

A recruiter told Newbury he’d “be a really good candidate” for the Hunter Program. “They taught guys survival skills…and they translated them into these combat skills.”

He used his expertise to train other Marines when he served as the Armory Chief/2111 Small-Arms Repair Technician in Japan, where he ran the Supply Battalion from 55 percent readiness to 92 percent in just two years.

Newbury said that his experience was worthwhile.

“It wasn’t always pretty, wasn’t always pleasant,” he said. “[I have] nothing but thankfulness for that experience.”

Newbury currently serves as the Veteran Affairs Officer of the ASI. He said that the organization is a place to voice concerns and support the needs of veterans on campus.

In addition to his position as the Veterans Affairs Officer, Newbury also holds the title as President of the Student Veterans Organization (SVO). He plans to launch a campaign this semester to bring awareness to three organizations called Got Your 6, which is a campaign he describes as the “demystification of the American veteran, The Mission Continues, which is an organization that sponsors veterans who serve through community projects and Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization started by veterans. For more information on SVO, visit http://www.csusmsvo.com.

Due to his military background, Newbury encourages others who are thinking about joining the military to ask veterans for advice.

“It’s valuable to go and talk to other people and to hear their stories…but everyone is gonna have a different experience.” His best advice is that those who are absolutely certain about serving should “prepare mentally, physically and spiritually” for the “unknown.”

Despite all of his achievements and devotion to serving his county, Newbury just wants to be treated like an average person.
“I put my pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else.”