I was in the Active Duty Marine Corps from 2004 to 2009 and stationed in various places, but my main duty station was Jacksonville NC, on Camp Le Jeune North Carolina. I was assigned to 1st Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, a light infantry Battalion as a Communicator.
My Father was in the Military in Nicaragua during the overthrowing of Somoza with the Contras, and later came to the United States under political asylum. He joined the Army and has since retired.
Before the Marine Corps I was a troubled youth growing up in the streets of New York City, I rebelled and gave my mother a hard time. I got kicked out of school for fighting, so I emancipated myself, went to a military academy, graduated valedictorian at 16 and got my diploma from the governor, and joined the Marine Corps, which shaped my perception of my world around me, and has continued to influence me as a man. The rest is history.
I lived for months on end in this vehicle during the most extreme of environments this world has while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve driven them across thousands of miles of changing terrain, and had to critically maintain them with my brothers teaching me along the way. Like many vets, today and throughout history, at the end of my tour of duty I found it hard to make the transition back into civilian society. Combat changes you. I found it hard to gain employment. At interviews, I’d be asked about my experience. When I told them about my time in combat, their eyes would just glaze over. They weren’t interested. All they cared about was what skills I had to offer the company. I’ve spoken to many veterans since, only to discover they have had the same kind of issues— and then some!
When I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2004 as an Infantry communications Marine, I never imagined that I would find myself in combat giving my brothers-and-sisters-in-arms haircuts in the most hostile and dangerous environments in the world. But that’s where life took me.
These marines and comrades are resting in the haircut waiting line during 2008 in Afghanistan. I kept a visual log of these cuts, and the memories they bring are of both joy and sorrow. To this day, my battle buddies still track me down and reminisce with me about those “Combat Cuts”. I remember how great they felt after a simple haircut, when most times we couldn’t even get a shower.
Cutting for over 10 years at this point the barbershop, I’ve since been splitting my time between upstate NY, and New York City with clientele of veterans and civilians and events. I am also a NY state prison barber, and go to different prisons each month. This mobile ability not only exemplifies the novelty but also my mission of helping all walks of life by not being help down by brick and mortar.
In my more ambitious moments, I see this as the beginning of a Movement: A call for not just veterans but for all people who feel they’ve been squeezed into a tight spot. If we could all just learn to ask and offer each other help, we would be living in a Utopia. There would be no war, if we all simply helped each other. This is my life’s new mission. I am forever dedicated to helping others. I was meant to do this. I’m proud to have people keeping our legacies alive so that the public can know, that we aren’t social outcasts and war stricken monsters that could snap at any given moment. I’ve learned in my brief life on this earth that traumatic situations can be disabling to the mind body and spirit. But once one learned to harness that fear and guilt into a force of positivity, that the symptoms we call “ptsd” are not in fact a disability, but a superhuman ability, a human that has evolved into having extra honed sensory awareness, Shepard’s who can make sure the lambs are safe, not hearding them about, with the pure safety of the general public and areas around them in mind, it keeps the wolves that find the they’re way to power at bay.
With your help, I can start doing my part to change the world—to wake people up and start a nonviolent revolution—one haircut at a time…
A Lakota chief and Korean/Vietnam Marine, that took me under his wing, taught me this of many other things.
“Warriors are the ones that bear the weight of the people, that translation is the same in any warrior based indigenous society. You were predestined to do this, because you were made strong enough to from birth..”
Chief Leonard “Crow-Dog” Singer
Thank you all. Semper Fidelis.
~Nicolas “Neekz” Martinez, Afghanistan Veteran & Traveling Barber gofund.me/TheCCB?pc=tw_cr_n …
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We are grateful to Nicolas for sharing his personal story with Comes A Soldier’s Whisper, where we are all connected.
God Bless all who serve and keep us safe.
