On a deployment that required constant readiness for crisis response with relationship building and diplomacy, he was his commanding officer's eyes and ears on the ground.
Now Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rick Choquette is the 2015 recipient of the Hulbert Trophy, an annual award presented by the Marine Corps Association and Foundation recognizing one Marine gunner each year for excellence in his field. The award is named for Capt. Henry Lewis Hulbert, a prior-enlisted Medal of Honor recipient who served in Samoa and World War I and is believed to be the Corps' first gunner.
Choquette, 37, said he learned he'd received the award early the morning of April 22 as he prepared to depart for Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms to train ahead of his second European deployment in two years. He wasn't even sure he could make the awards ceremony, to be held May 14 near Washington, D.C., until members of his command promised him they'd make it happen.
A gunner with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, Choquette was nominated for the award by the unit's previous commanding officer, Lt. Col. Trevor Hall following a high-profile deployment with the Black Sea Rotational Force. It was the first time BSRF had been restructured to fall under Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa, and the battalion found itself supporting both entities.
Over the course of the 2014 deployment, the battalion's India Company would be called to facilitate an emergency embassy evacuation from Tripoli, Libya, and the unit would remain on high alert for much of the deployment. Choquette, meanwhile, found himself acting as an advance party representing his commanding officer as the battalion traveled throughout Europe conducting high-visibility military partnership engagements.
The Hulbert Trophy is awarded each year to an outstanding Marine Corps gunner.
Photo Credit: Marine Corps Times file photo
"What I primarily did was act as the CO's directed telescope, moving from one country to another setting conditions for success," he told Marine Corps Times.
The battalion would conduct nine bilateral exercises and between 40 and 50 military-to-military engagements over the course of the deployment. Ahead of events in countries including Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania and Georgia, Choquette would engage go ahead, engaging military counterparts from the host nation and inspecting training ranges and live-fire courses to ensure that conditions were safe before the exercises began.
The task brought to bear not only his weapons expertise, but also his talents in diplomacy and building friendship.
"It's just a peoples' game," he said. "The only way to set the U.S. up for success was to be personable, be professional, and hold the Marine Corps standard."
And the work paid off. Visitors to the unit during the partnership engagements included Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the assistant commandant, Gen. John "Jay" Paxton, and an array of Marine Corps general officers.
"We knew what we were doing, and we executed it flawlessly in my opinion," Choquette said.
Since he learninged he would receive the award, Choquette said he has heard from many in the Marines' small, and tight-knit circle of gunners community.
"The gunner community is a brotherhood; we consider ourselves lucky men to be able to be in this position where we can influence our little piece of the pie," he said. "It's a privilege to actually be in the community with a bunch of guys who are hard workers. They care about the Marine Corps, and they love infantrymen."
Choquette also credited 3/8 for its work in Europe as it broke in the concept he described as "the new norm," with a joint crisis response unit operating in Europe and Africa.
As he prepared to embark on another pre-deployment training package, he said he was grateful to his wife, Christina, and three children for their love and support.
"I'm hoping to just progress from where we left off last year," he said. "I've been blessed with another great team. We've got some good resident knowledge from last deployment. We'll take the same mission and get at it with a good attitude, and focus on elevating the training."
