 Many people who joined the Marine Corps are already American citizens, but others take the oath of enlistment years before pledging the oath of allegiance. Sergeant Rolando Ventura, the non-commissioned officer in charge of Regimental Combat Team 6's administrative section, was born in El Salvador and came to the United States when he was 11 in search of a better life. Growing up, we were poor, but still we lived kind of comfortably because my mom always used to send money back, so we weren't that poor. But it was tough. I think I bought it right now. It was tough. Sergeant Ventura became a Marine at 19. When he joined the Marine Corps, he was only a legal resident and not yet a citizen. I joined the Marine Corps because I was trying to go to school, working two jobs at a factory and at a restaurant, and I didn't want to do that for the rest of my life. Sergeant Ventura became a United States citizen two years ago. It was an 11-year process, but he is proud to be a citizen. I chose to become a citizen because everybody in my family was a citizen already. My mom is a citizen, my brother, my wife, my daughter, so it was the right thing to do. I'm already serving the United States Marine Corps, so I might as well become a citizen. Even though he is deployed to Afghanistan, Sergeant Ventura makes the most of it by working out and taking college classes. Also now, I'm not sure yet, but I would love to do 20 years. I would love to do 20 years. I like what I'm doing. Although he is still unsure of what the future has in store for him, Sergeant Ventura is sure about one thing. He's proud to be an American and proud to serve the country he now calls home. For Regimental Combat Team 6, I'm Corporal Ed Gallo.