To whom it may concern,
During a training event in 29 Palms California I was in a terrible accident that left me with 2 herniated discs, and a bad concussion. I was told by the doctor that I would need to have surgery which would take six months of recovery.
At the time I was getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan so surgery was not an option.
Due to the current mission that was going on in Afghanistan I was told that I would have to wait until after my deployment to get the surgery that would fix my back.
When I was released from the hospital I was so weak that I needed two Navy Corpsmen to help me get back into the van that would transport me back to the training site on 29 Palms. When I got back all I could think was how my mission would be affected by my injury and how much of a liability I would be to the Marines around me due to not being able to keep up with the pace of everyone else.
I was so worried about this, but when I told Brian Perkins my concern his immediate reply was “I already talked to the chain of command and I will be going in your place instead, you worry about healing up.”
It was crazy to think that a man who I have known for only two years at this point was ready to step up to the plate and make sure I was taken care of. I know family who would not even be this ready to take on a burden this big, but here was Brian Perkins who was more than willing to go in my place to a combat zone and risk his life so that he could execute the mission of the Task Force that was sent out there to the best of their abilities.
Not only did Brian Perkins thrive on the deployment, but when he rotated back to stateside and was back with the Marines who stayed behind, he took charge and began to lead us.
He only took the required leave that he was forced to take, but as soon as that was over he came back to us and began teaching us everything he learned. We were a much stronger unit because of him.
He was able to take our strengths and weaknesses and turn the whole shop into a well oiled machine that was able to continue working in such an efficient manner that our Officer and Warehouse Chief both got awards once our assignment at 8th Marine Regiment was over.
On top of Brian Perkins being a Marine, he was still involved with his community back home in Connecticut. The very few times he took leave to go home he would be helping out the people of Ansonia.
Brian Perkins is an excellent human being with the highest morals and greatest character. Even till this day I personally still live by many of the leadership principles that were taught to me by Brian Perkins. I have implemented many of his ideas to my new units and we have had nothing but success.
Brian Perkins is a great person who deserves nothing but respect from all the Marines that were under his charge.
Sincerely,
Sgt. Aryan S. Uppal
USMC Active
