A Leap That Keeps Paying Off

As a teenager in a small North Carolina town, Thomas Hill didn't have much on his mind except skating by doing as little as possible, and maybe seeing how many laughs he could get. Then one day, while sitting on the couch, he saw something that changed his life.

"I was watching TV with some buddies when this commercial came on — a guy on a white horse locked in battle. Then, when he jumps off the horse, his suit of armor becomes dress blues. He's a Marine," he recalls. "I knew right then and there, I wanted to be that guy."

The commercial was called "Knight" and it debuted in the early 1990s. Now, nearly 13 years after seeing that battle, Staff Sergeant Thomas Hill will come full circle. During the NBA Finals, Thursday June 5th, the Marine Corps aired a new commercial called "Leap" that tells part of his story.

"I can actually see people watch this commercial and say, 'I can do that, too,'" he said. "I can see someone else make that change. Even if it's just one person, I'll know I've done something important."

As a matter of fact, SSgt Hill knows he does something important every day. He is a Senior Drill Instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island. It is appropriate that his 12 ½-year career in the Corps has landed him here just as this commercial debuts.

In the commercial, SSgt Hill's voiceover recalls the challenging moments during recruit training as he stood at the edge of a diving platform scared to jump in. It was his drill instructor who gave him the motivation he needed to take the plunge.

"He said 'Look at me,' and he was looking me right in the eye. He said, 'If you quit now, you'll always quit.' I knew he was right, so I took that step off," he said. The importance of the moment is clear in his voice, even now, more than a decade later.

"When I hit the water my training just took over. Once I got to the side of the pool and came out, this confidence just came over me. I knew I could do anything that I put my mind to. I had this swagger I'd never had before."

It's a story he's told new recruits many times. He knows that sometime during their 12 weeks of training each of them will face his or her greatest challenge. For him, it just happened to be swimming.

"People think the challenge here is the physical part. And for some of these kids it is — the running, the rifle range or The Crucible," he said. In the background one of the recruit classes was in mid-run, shouting cadence in unison.

"You can get through the physical part. We'll push you," SSgt Hill said, "but the real test comes when you do something that you are not familiar with at all. When you have no idea what's going to happen. When recruits conquer that, you can see it in their eyes."

That's why SSgt Hill volunteered to tell his story when he heard the Corps was doing interviews for a new commercial. He wants others who approach life the way he did to understand what being a Marine can do for them.

"There's a brotherhood here that changes everything. It doesn't matter what your color is, what your gender is or anything else," he said. "We look after each other. That's what keeps me in the Marines."

With four reenlistments under his belt, SSgt Hill is fully committed to a career in the Marines. After his tour at Parris Island, he'll ship to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, N.C., less than an hour from where he grew up.

But before he leaves Parris Island, SSgt Hill hopes to see at least one recruit come off the bus motivated to be there by a commercial about a Marine facing his fears.

"That's my favorite part of the 12 weeks—when they first get here. You see in their faces how overwhelmed they are, and scared," he said, "but you know that in just three months their faces will tell an entirely different story. It is amazing; no matter how many times you see it."

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