The Terminator

Captain Frank Donovan. Better known to those Marines who served in Crete, Greece, as "T3".

Our Commanding Officer. He hated that nickname, but did it ever fit him like a glove. Ran college track, and professional triathlons. While in Greece, he went North to Athens and ran in the Athens Marathon. Possibly one of the toughest marathons (lots of hills, almost entirely uphill) he placed 98th. 98th. This man, more than any other instilled in me my love of running.

Before his arrival, I ran because I had to. After he ran our dicks in the dirt 3-4 times, I started to practice my running and realized that after the first 3 miles, it was pure joy. The runner's high as it is called. After that, I began running for enjoyment and stress relief, getting up to 6-7 miles easy. This of course helped me a lot when T3 began to expand our runs further and further, and higher into the hills surrounding the base.

He was, to put it bluntly, a perfect physical specimen. Hence, the nickname. He always got his 20-80-18:00 easily. That used to be the Marine Physical Fitness Test (PFT) 100% standards. 20 pull-ups, 80 sit-ups (in under 2 mins) and under 18 minutes for a 3 mile run. He always seemed to finish his 3 miles around 15 minutes.

Capt, now Lt.Col Donovan earned a Silver Star in the first Gulf War. His platoon was literally the "tip of the spear". His platoon was the lead platoon of one of the Marine's major pushes into Iraq through the huge mine fields. His ability to guide his platoon with minimal casualties and blaze the trail for everyone behind them earned him the Silver Star.

We always knew big things were in store for Col. Donovan. Not only did he have his shit "squared away", but he also had excellent military connections. His father retired as a Rear Admiral in the Navy. Col. Donovan came from a Naval family, where I believe, all his brothers and sisters served in the Navy. Col. Donovan was the first in his family to go into the Marines.

After commanding us in Greece, Col Donovan transferred to F.A.S.T. (Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team). Sort of a lesser version of Force Recon. (Special Forces). FAST gets a lot of specialized training and equipment, but not on the same level as Force Recon. They also focus more on anti-terrorism, base security, and naval nuke security. Where as Force Recon works on everything all around.

After FAST, Col. Donovan transferred to Force Recon and served as Platoon Commander and Raid Force Commander for the 15th MEU(SOC) during a CENTCOM deployment.

Basically, to use a Marine term, he was "High Speed, Low Drag". A phrase we used for people and equipment that were above the standard.

Col. Donovan went on to serve in a few more Special Forces command billets, which is no surprise, and is currently the Battalion Commander for 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines which is currently running joint exercises in Korea.

Remember this name and face. This man will either be Commandant of the Marine Corps one day, or on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His star continues to rise in the Military community.

This man is the epitome of a Marine Officer. I would fix bayonets and charge the gates of Hell if he asked me to, still to this day.