“He was a real Marine,” part two of four
December 15, 2006
I remember an old Colonel giving a speech to all us young officer recruits back in boot camp. He told us about the Marine Corps and what being a marine was all about. This talk always stuck in my mind because he said, “There is an easy way and a hard way. Marines always take the hard way. Marines don’t take shortcuts, we work harder, fight harder and think smarter.” 
This was new to me and seemed wrong. High school and college was about finding a better and easier way to do everything. Our teachers and society pushed taking the path of least resistance. I didn’t know exactly what he meant at first. The Col. gave examples using past wars where U.S. Marines made tough decisions, and won battles that changed American history. He pointed out that many times their decisions made it harder on those Marines. Sometimes they even lost more lives when faced with a tough choice, but they always accomplished the mission and followed their orders.
I can’t remember the name of the Colonel who gave us that talk, but it might as well have been Trane. He never took shortcuts. He always knew what the Marine Corps rules and regulations were, and he always kept us on track. He was calm and cool in all situations and nothing ever seemed to ruffle his feathers.
In time I came to understand better what the colonels was saying, but I have always been a rebel. The Marine Corps is hard on rebels. They want team players that will work hard, follow orders, be smart about things, and do their duty. That’s why the Corps was so good for me. I learned to depend on other people. I learned that no matter how good I was if I worked with others I could accomplish much bigger things. By myself I was helpless on the battlefield.
By the time I met Trane he already knew these things, and he is a big reason I learned some of these lessons. Now, I don’t want to paint a picture of Trane as some robot that just said, “Yes sir.” He was far from that. His last name is McCloud, which is Scot Irish, and he was VERY stubborn. If you were doing things right he never said much, but if he thought you were not doing it the best way he would calmly give you his thoughts. The thing we loved about Trane was he didn’t care if you were a fellow Lt. or the commanding general, he wasn’t afraid to speak up and correct you.
We had this captain who wasn’t a very good commander. This drove me crazy, because, back then I always had a better idea of how to do things and I liked being in charge. This guy made following orders very difficult for all of us.
As a junior officer I learned there are a lot of politics in the military. To be promoted you have to be ranked high by your commanders. As you can imagine this caused a lot of what we called, “butt kissing” by some officers. For me this was no problem. I joined the military to help win the first war against Iraq. By the time I joined the Corps and graduated from officer school the war was won even without my help Trane had seen to that. I was focused on making sure my unit was ready for combat and learning as much as I could that would help me be successful after I finished my four-year tour. So making a captain or colonel mad wasn’t a big concern for me.
Remember, Trane wanted to stay in the Corps and make a career out of it. He should have been focused on keeping the commanders happy and getting credit for anything good he could. But that’s not Trane McCloud. Trane wanted things done right. He was a perfectionist. He had been in a war, and he was more concerned with doing things right than getting promoted. I worried about him. He was just the kind of leader we needed to stay in the Corps and be promoted. Even though I was getting out, my Marine Corps time showed me how important career military professionals are to our countries security.
I used to get so frustrated thinking I had to take orders from this Captain who clearly couldn’t lead the local boy scout troop in a parade through Marble Hill without messing it up. While a real leader like Trane might not get promoted because he had the courage to question orders and offer suggestions.
Fortunately Trane was promoted and my faith in Corps was restored. He had a great career. After we returned from our six-month float he went to some specialized recon training and went back out with the 24 MUE (Marine Expeditionary Unit) for another six-month float. As a new captain he was assigned to be a public affairs officer where he reported news for the Marine Corps and Navy. During this time went back to college and earned a masters degree in Journalism.
Like all Infantry Officers he wanted to get back into the fleet and command marines. He was then chosen to be a company commander and soon after was promoted to Major. As a Major he was assigned to be the Assistant Operations Officer for the 2nd battalion 3rd Marines (2/3). He then commanded the Marine Security Element for the Joint Special Operations task Force-Pacific in Zamboanga, Republic of the Philippines.
Following his fleet tour he went back to a desk job, and was selected for the Congressional Fellowship Program, which put him in Washington D.C. He worked for congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina. I was able to visit he and Maggie during his time in Washington. He did a great job for the Corps and made some good connections while working on Capitol Hill, but like all good Marines he wanted to get back to the fleet with the troops.
In April he received orders stationing him and the family in Hawaii, and somehow he managed to get a slot as the operations officer for his old battalion. 2/3 was scheduled to deploy to Iraq last august. The interesting thing about this job is he really didn’t have to do it. One thing that helps you get promoted in the Marine Corps is doing different jobs at each rank. As I mentioned before he had already spent time as a battalion operations officer. At the time he was headed to Hawaii he was in the zone to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. His plan was to go out, do a float, keep his men alive, keep us safe and come back home. Then he would hopefully be promoted and have the chance to command a battalion of his own.
That’s the kind of Marine Trane was. He volunteered to do a job he didn’t have to do, because he cared about his men and he always tried to accomplish the mission. He loved his wife, he loved his children and even though the hardship of being away from them for so long was tough, Trane knew the men in 2/3 and wanted to do his part.
While he was in Iraq he was selected to be promoted to Lt. Colonel. First you have to be in the zone, then you get selected and finally they officially promote you. Trane was posthumously promoted to Lt. colonel after his death.
So far I have told you a little bit about Trane’s military career and tried to give you an idea of the kind of person he was. I know we all say nice things about those who have passed on but with Trane it’s all been true. The worst I can say about him is he was headstrong, but he was always headstrong at the right time for the right reasons.
This is a guy who prayed before every meal, never lost his cool, always had good advice for you and never had to be the center of attention. He is the kind of person who makes the very best of friend. As I talked to others at his funeral that had served with him they all felt just like me, that he was their best friend.
As good of a Marine as Trane was he was an even better husband and father. He loved kids. Cassie and I used to take our kids over and let Trane and Maggie watch them we were at camp Lejune. The both loved kids and we were always happy to have someone take them for a few hours and give us a break back then.
He and Maggie had three children, Hayden, Grace, and Meghan. Every minute he was not doing something for the Corps Trane was with his family. He applied the same work ethic to his family as he did to the marines. I only wish I had the wisdom to find the balance between career and family Trane did.
They met in Washington, D. C. where she worked for a congressman. Maggie is a democrat from New York and Trane was a Republican from Tennessee. She is a great lady and they were deep in love. I can’t remember how long they dated before getting married but I know he was very happy to have her as his wife.
They were separated a lot at first because were on floats and she still worked in Washington. Camp Lejune is in North Carolina so when we were home they did quite a lot of driving to be together. Trane was fortunate to be stationed in the D.C. area a few times during his career, which worked out great for raising a family and allowing Maggie to keep working.
Even though she was very successful at her work she was always willing to pack up and move around the country with Trane and the Marine Corps. She told me once that being on base and having the time to spend with the kids and Trane when he was home was even more rewarding than work. That’s how they both were. Work was important and they both were very successful at their jobs but the kids and family came first.
Losing a good friend like Trane is hard, but knowing that he was a true professional and did his duty to protect our country makes me proud. I have good memories and he taught me things about life I will never forget and can carry with me forever.
His children don’t have that opportunity. The saddest thing about losing Trane is knowing his children will never get to ask their dad for advice. That Maggie will have to bear the burden of raising three kids all by herself. He was such a good man. He gave them a good start, but to not have him around to see them through is one of the saddest things I can imagine.
Maggie is a strong woman and a great lady. Like all Marine wives she has taken care of the home front through all the deployments and absences. But each time Trane went away there was always hope and happiness waiting for the day that he would return. That has been taken from them now.
Pray for Maggie and pray for her family as well as all the families who have lost loved ones to this war. Only the Lord can provide them with the comfort and peace and strength to keep going each day.
