Marines

Photo Information

U.S. Marine Cpl. Michael C. Thweatt, combat engineer with Bridge Company C, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, practices using a nail gun at a construction site during exercise Red Dagger at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., May 19, 2018. Exercise Red Dagger is a bilateral training exercise that gives Marines an opportunity to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures as well as build working relationships with their British counterparts. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Melanie Wolf/Released)

Photo by Sgt. Melanie A Wolf

Hometown Heroes of exercise Red Dagger 2018

22 May 2018 | Sgt. Melanie A Wolf Marine Corps Forces Reserves

The heart of a servant, and the mindset of a warrior. Cpl. Michael C. Thweatt is a Reserve Marine from Horn Lake, MS, who has the passion to protect, defend, and assist his fellow citizens and community. Thweatt serves not only as a Marine, but also as a law enforcement officer.

“I worked for the Oxford Police Department as a Reserve Officer,” said Thweatt. “I attended training at the Lafayette County Law Enforcement Training Academy and search and rescue at the Desoto County Sheriffs Department.”

Thweatt is a combat engineer based out of Millington, TN with Bridge Company C, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, and is participating with his unit at exercise Red Dagger 2018 at Fort Indiantown Gap in the state of Pennsylvania, May 12-24, 2018.

The skills and knowledge that Thweatt received during this annual training exercise will assist him as he pursues his career path in law enforcement.

“Red Dagger has taught me valuable skills, especially during the MOUT and urban warfare training,” Thweatt said. “Especially with law enforcement, I will have to go into peoples houses and serve search warrants. This will assist me with my aspirations for SWAT and be valuable skills which could potentially save my life one day.”

Last year’s annual training for Bridge Company C, was conducted in Belize rebuilding and reconstructing a hospital. Thweatt played a vital role, as a combat engineer.

“My group cleared vegetation and trees around the hospital,” said Thweatt. “We operated heavy equipment to construct a parking lot. We poured cement to build the foundation and literally built it from the ground up.”

As a hobby, Thweatt loves to scuba dive. He wants to take his passion for scuba diving and use it to perform under water search and rescue missions.

“I love scuba diving; it’s like being in outer space, but under water,” said Thweatt. “I want to tie my knowledge and experience with scuba diving, to my passion for search and rescue. If I can learn to help with under water search and rescue mission, I will really be broadening my skills.”

The Marine Corps played a valuable role for Thweatts perseverance in search and rescue.

“I am proud to say that the skills I learned in boot camp assist me in search and rescue operations to this day,” said Thweatt. “It has a lot to do with land navigation. We look for lost children out in the woods, people who have gone missing for quite a while. The ‘land nav’ from the Marine Corps has given me a great edge on being able to go out and conduct these searches.”

Thweatt has a tremendous amount of passion to help others and to serve his county honorably. He can now take the skills and tactics he has learned from exercise Red Dagger and add them to his toolbox to help build his career in whatever law enforcement path he chooses to take.