TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Cpl. Alex T. Ruppert, an ammunition technician with Supply Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 451, Combat Logistics Regiment 45, 4th Marine Logistics Group, based in Greenville, South Carolina, is not only a Reserve Marine but is also an adjunct professor of kinesiology at University of North Carolina in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Ruppert first joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 2013.
“My entire family was in the Marine Corps,” said Ruppert. “My mom, my dad, my grandfather, and my step-dad were all Marines.”
Ruppert chose to enlist in the Reserve component so he could continue his education while still being a Marine. During his time as a Reserve Marine, Ruppert has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and a master’s degree in kinesiology from the university where he now teaches.
“I was really interested in anatomy and physiology in high school,” said Ruppert. “But I was also interested in working with my hands and being active. Kinesiology was the happy medium of that.”
When he is not teaching at the university or training with the Marine Corps, he is also a personal trainer and the director of a community exercise program on campus, which helps the elderly and post-bariatric patients.
In June, 2018, Ruppert participated in Integrated Training Exercise 4-18, with his unit, at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. This was Ruppert’s second ITX, and this year he served as the records chief for the field ammunition supply point, which is used for storage and distribution of ammunition for training.
“ITX has allowed me to learn a lot more about my MOS,” said Ruppert. “It’s been a really beneficial experience for me, as I know it has been for my fellow Reserve Marines.”
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