Introducing Lt. Col. Thomas Coyle and Master Gunnery Sgt. Darry Cross: MCD command team

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Bowman
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs

Semper Fidelis, always faithful. The deep seated belief at the core of the corps. At what point in a junior Marine’s journey do they become the highly skilled warriors ready to fight on air, land, or sea we know them to be?

For Marines working in signals intelligence or fire protection, that transformation happens at Marine Corps Detachment Goodfellow. The MCD Goodfellow mission is to continue the transformation of entry level Marines into firefighting and intelligence professionals.

The detachment instills the core values of honor, courage, and commitment, by ensuring they conduct themselves with fairness, discipline, and dedication, while they provide junior Marines with the foundations of their technical knowledge.

“My goal as commander is to lead the development of both students and staff,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Thomas Coyle, MCD Goodfellow commander. “Our unit will proactively seek out opportunities to improve and optimize our training and instruction so that we maximize the quality of Marines we graduate to the fleet and supporting establishment.”

The detachment has been conducting training on Goodfellow Air Force Base since 1966, when they moved their signals intelligence training to West Texas. The partnership between MCD Goodfellow and the 17th Training Wing expanded yet again when the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy was moved to the base, and the Marine Corps joined the rest of their sister services in training all expeditionary firefighters at Goodfellow AFB.

Today, MCD Goodfellow facilitates training for over five military occupational specialties with a weekly student load upwards of 400 junior Marines operating under the guidance of their commander, Lt. Col. Thomas Coyle, and their senior enlisted advisor, Master Gunnery Sgt. Darry Cross. Coyle took command of MCD Goodfellow, June 24.

“It’s our solemn duty to take care of our Marines and their families,” said Coyle. “Our first and foremost priority is training them in their individual MOS. Our number two focus is on continuing professional development for our 92 permanent party Marines, as well as facilitating the transformation of student Marines into fleet ready Marines.”

The MCD Goodfellow command team described the opportunity to lead these junior Marines as the greatest honor of their careers. They take great pride in seeing Marines graduate, and encourage their troops to carry that pride with them as they move on to their permanent duty station.

“Seeing a Marine that is well trained and fully developed, and sending them off to the fleet Marine Corps, that’s the greatest part of this whole job,” said Cross. “Having a hand in developing the next generation of Marines, who are going to be on the ground executing the mission is incredibly rewarding.”