He’s one of the few, the proud

In March, Joe Galante, an Elmont resident three months shy of his graduation from Sewanhaka High School, made the decision to serve his country by joining the Marines. He was the only student in his class to do so.

“I was never recruited,” Galante said. “I just walked into the office and signed up.” He joined, he said, because he wants to fight for his country.

He took a written exam as well as a physical fitness test. The exam, called the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, is similar to the SAT, testing a candidate’s basic knowledge and helping to determine his or her job placement. Galante was placed in the infantry. “Eventually, I want to be a scout sniper,” he said. “Going in for infantry means I can train to be a sniper at the same time.”

For the physical fitness test, men are required to do five chin-ups and at least 55 crunches, and finish a 1.5-mile run in no more than 12 1/2 minutes. Recruits are required to complete the testing twice a month in the interest of improving their scores.

During the training, Galante met Kaitlin LaBarca, who lives in Lynbrook and was preparing to graduate from Lynbrook High School. LaBarca helped motivate him, he said, with a passion and drive that was addictive.

And he had a similar effect on her. “Galante has the ability to make everyone happy,” LaBarca said. “When we’re working out, he motivates everyone just by being his entertaining self, and making any experience more enjoyable.” LaBarca and Galante have become fast friends, and even attended Lynbrook’s prom together in June.

“This is something that he’s always wanted to do since he was young,” Joe’s mother, Michelle, said of her son. Initially, she admitted, she was nervous about his safety — he is her only son — but she is proud all the same and happy that Joe is fulfilling his dream. When he was in high school, she said, he went to a Civil Air Patrol boot camp in Scotia, N.Y. The Civil Air Patrol is a branch of the U.S. Air Force.

“They gave him a taste of what it’s like to be in the service, and he liked it,” she said. “When he came out he was incredibly excited and wanted to join the Marines even more.”

Galante will continue to train until he leaves for boot camp in Paris Island, S.C., in December. After 13 weeks there, he will come home for 10 days and then leave for a month of infantry school, where he will learn, among other things, to “shoot the big guns,” he joked.

When he completes his basic training, Galante will head to military occupation training. “Basically, after I’m done with my school, I want to be, and will be, deployed,” he said. Signing with the Marines is an eight-year commitment, at least — four active and four non-active years of service.

“I definitely want to fight for my county,” Galante said. “After my time is complete, I want to continue that by becoming a police officer.”

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