Conflict: Iraq/Afghanistan
Branch: Marine Corps
Rank: Major
Biography
Major John McDermott served in the Marine Corps for a total of 23 years between enlisted, reserve, and commissioned service. Following an early obsession with aviation, McDermott joined the Civil Air Patrol while attending Embry Riddle University. Eager to get started, he decided to enlist in the Marine Corps as an aviation maintainer. In his spare time, he earned several professional maintenance certificates and his pilot’s license. During his enlisted service, McDermott completed a number of overseas tours in Korea, Japan, and the Philippines in addition to working across the United States before leaving the Marines to finish his degree at Embry Riddle while in the reserves. Upon graduation he returned to the Marines and was commissioned as an officer. Major McDermott’s second stint as a Marine focused on aviation maintenance and took him across the world until a final placement at the pentagon before his retirement in 2009. He remains a member of the Civil Air Patrol and currently works for a defense contractor.