Robert Solano

"Marine Corps Sergeant Major Retires After 21-year Career"

On a hot, muggy June morning at a drill field in North Carolina, an honor guard, a 36-piece marine corps marching band, and an audience of fellow marines, friends and family joined Sergeant Major Robert Solano as he retired from the Marine Corps after a 21-year career. The festivities were held at the home of Marine Air Control Squadron 2, a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control squadron. The squadron provides aerial surveillance and air traffic control for the II Marine Expeditionary Force.

During the ceremony, Sergeant Major Solano was awarded a Bronze Star for “achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy while serving as the Sergeant Major, Marine Air Control Squadron 2, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

Lieutenant Colonel Von Pigg, Sergeant Major Solano’s former commander, offered a few personal comments and his best wishes for Sergeant Major Solano and his family.

“We’re here to celebrate his career in the Marine Corps,” Lieutenant Colonel Pigg said. “You were always looking out for the welfare of the marines, contributing to their success. You were very involved in operations in Iraq and made a huge impact on the marines because they knew you cared.”

Sergeant Major Solano was a member of the unit for approximately 18 months and his service was appreciated by the men and women he served. “Your loyalty was impeccable,” Lieutenant Colonel Pigg said. “You were a huge part of the success of this squadron. You don’t make Sergeant Major by accident. You do it with hard work. You do it with dedication and determination to ensure that our customs and our traditions are carried forward. And as you leave here today, please leave with a sense of accomplishment and a sense of pride for a job well done.”

At the end of the ceremony, Sergeant Major Solano addressed the audience.

“I worked with some outstanding marines,” Solano said. “Marines I will remember for a lifetime. I’ve been at numerous billets. It was the best way of life -- infantry, communications, tanks, the air wing, the drill field. Making marines and winning battles, that’s what we do. Truly I am honored to have served this unit. I enjoyed serving the marines in this unit. They truly motivated me. This medal that I wear is your medal, because you got it for your efforts, for what you did. You were successful.”

Almost 30 years ago, Robert’s life was not heading in a direction that seemed would lead him to a distinguished career in the military. At the age of 12, he was headed down a path that involved gang activity, violent behavior and multiple brushes with the law in Los Angeles, California. “I was a thug with tattoos and an attitude,” he said. Fortunately for Robert and his mother, Boys Ranch changed his life.

Robert will never forget the day he arrived in Texas. “The minute I stepped off of the plane (in Amarillo) I smelled cattle,” he said. “It was weird. I’d never been outside the city. And as I was riding out to the Ranch I remember thinking, ‘What am I getting myself into?’ The Ranch was in the middle of nowhere.”

He has many cherished memories of his four years at Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. “But it’s the little things I remember,” Solano said, “prayer at mealtime in the dining hall, birthdays in the home with birthday cake and gifts from the town office.”

Robert graduated from Boys Ranch High School in 1986 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1987. The rest is history.

“The person I am today is because of my mother, Boys Ranch and the Marine Corps,” he said.