San Diego, Calif. -- “My father always told me ‘giving up isn’t an option’,” said Pvt. Richard A. Faler. “I come from a prideful family, and they helped me get to where I am at today.”
When he first spoke to a recruiter, Faler weighed 305 pounds, and had a long way to go before he could consider joining the Marine Corps.
“I didn’t always weigh that much,” said Faler. “Nowhere near it, actually.”
Growing up, Faler was active in several sports such as wrestling, baseball and soccer at West Central High School in Francesville, Ind.
“My senior year of wrestling, I wrestled at 130 pounds,” said Faler. “After high school, I doubled my weight and then some.”
Once Faler graduated, he moved to Hopedale, Ill., to live with a friend and start the next chapter of his life.
“I got a job at a gas station but that obviously wasn’t my dream job,” said the new Marine. “I wanted to go to school to become a nurse.”
Faler’s dream of becoming a nurse soon started to fade away once he starting playing video games, eating more and a lack of physical activity.
“After 3 years of sitting around, you can imagine how easy it was to put on the weight,” said Faler. “My parents and brother came to visit me, and that’s when my brother talked to me about losing the weight. That day I went and purchased a scale to begin tracking my weight.”
The Francesville native moved back to his home in Indiana and began working a factory job where he lost the first 40 pounds.
“I was focused on working out and losing the weight, but I still needed to find a career because working a factory job isn’t my dream, either,” said Faler. “I decided to call a Marine recruiter to see if joining could be an option for me.”
After driving two hours to the recruiting office, Faler talked to his recruiter and left knowing that being a Marine was something he needed to do, he explained.
“My max weight to join the Marine Corps is 191 and I was walking around at 250 pounds by then,” said Faler. “I had already been losing weight, but I knew I needed to step it up if I had any chance of joining.”
Faler began working out twice a week at the recruiting office and with his younger brother as well.
“My brother promised me that if I made the weight, he would join the Marine Corps with me,” said Faler. “He’s my motivation and a large part of helping me become a Marine.”
However, Faler’s little brother Recruit Christian A. Faler, Hotel Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, finds it an honor to follow the steps of his older brother.
“Me and my brother becoming Marines together is feeling I can’t put in words,” said the younger Faler, who graduates from recruit training Aug. 5. “I’m proud of him for losing the weight and continuing to better himself on this journey.”
Today, Faler weighs approximately 150 pounds and has earned his title as a Marine.
“Standing on top of Reaper Mountain and having the Eagle, Globe and Anchor placed on my hand is something I’ll never forget,” said Faler. “This is such a huge accomplishment for me, and I plan to continue progressing my physical fitness and becoming a well-rounded Marine.”
Now that Faler has earned his place among United States Marines, he will continue his schooling at Marine Combat Training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then on to his military occupational specialty school to learn his profession of communications.