David Weingardt

-Branch of service - USNR Merchant Marine Reserve

-MOS - Special Duty Merchant Marine (1675)

-VO2 EVENTS TAKEN PART IN SO FAR 

Current Unit Commander of Pueblo Young Marines, Managed color guards for Memorial Day Murph's (2015 to Present), Attending Tai-Chi and Crossfit.

-FUTURE VO2 EVENTS/GOALS TO TAKE PART IN 

Hoping to participate in the Memorial Day Murph 2020 and possibly join the Power-lifting Team

-Tell us about your pre VO2 struggles: 

I served my time during peacetime and was never called up to active duty in a contested area.  Due to that, I've always considered my time  with the Reserves as below the level of the service of a deployed  services member.  I came from a family that my father was in Vietnam and am a first generation Vietnamese-American.  I married a wonderful woman that from a Marine family.  She lost her uncle in Vietnam before she  was born and her grandfather was a Sergeant-Major.  I always felt that I  didn't sacrifice like they did and extremely thankful to those that  gave a part of themselves for our country in the line of duty.

-Tell us about how VO2 came into your life and helped change it:

Chris Carter introduced the Young Marines to the VO2 program and our previous Unit Commander (now Regimental Commander) now sits on it's  Board.  Through them, I've become comfortable with how I served and now understand that military service comes in many different forms.  No one  greater than the other.  While I will always feel honored to be in the presence of service members that gave up part of themselves for our country and thanks to VO2, I now understand where I fit in.

-Favorite quote:

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep  moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

–Walt Disney