Dylan Gurl Commissioned as Officer in Marine Corps
Dylan M. Gurl of Pelham, was commissioned as a United States Marine Corps Second Lieutenant on May 15th, 2025 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Gurl, a dual economics and public policy major, was one of nine William & Mary College graduates who took the Army and Marine Corps oaths of office in a commissioning ceremony occurring on commencement weekend.
William & Mary College President Katherine Rowe and Chancellor Robert Gates, a former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Secretary of Defense, presided.
In September, Dylan will report to Quantico, Virginia to attend the Marine Corps officer training course called The Basic School (TBS).
TBS is six months of all-around combat training that teaches newly-commissioned 2nd Lieutenants skills like leading combat fire teams, weapons qualifications, and land navigation.
After completing TBS, 2nd Lieutenants receive at least three additional months of training in a chosen specialty (e.g. Infantry, Field Artillery, Intelligence, Aviation, etc.). Upon completion of his training Dylan, who wishes to serve as an infantry officer, will be assigned to a post and begin his four-year active-duty commitment.
This will be Dylan’s second stint at Quantico; he spent last summer completing the grueling 10-week USMC Officers Candidate School program there.
Pelham Memorial High School
Graduate
Dylan, son of Anthea Perkinson and Shaun Gurl, grew up in Pelham and graduated from Pelham Memorial High School in 2019.
At PMHS, Dylan held leadership roles in the band and the Military History Club, was a member of the National Honor Society and received both the Campbell Whitford Scholarship Award and the Lt. Joseph G. Leavey Memorial Scholarship upon graduation. He was also an active member of the Boy Scouts Troop 1 as Senior Patrol Leader and later earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
When Covid disrupted his freshman year in college, Dylan put his studies on hold. He first worked in a warehouse and as a school janitor. He then was accepted into the AmeriCorps National Civil Community Corps and performed service projects in communities throughout the Midwest. Dylan subsequently joined the AmeriCorps City Year program for six months, working long but fulfilling days as a teacher’s aide and after-school program manager in a public middle school in the Bronx.
Family Footsteps
Dylan is following in the footsteps of his grandfather, John T. Gurl, who graduated from Officer Candidate School in Quantico in 1959 and was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer upon his own college graduation in 1960. John Gurl spent six years on active duty as a Marine Corps aviator before becoming a commercial airline pilot with Eastern Air Lines. Gurl continued to serve as a pilot in the USMC Reserves, eventually retiring with the rank of Major.
Commissioning Ceremony Traditions
Dylan’s May 15th 2025 commissioning ceremony highlighted several traditions. One is “pinning”. As each new officer was introduced, family members were invited on-stage to pin 2nd lieutenant bars onto the new officer’s uniform epaulets for the first time. Dylan asked his parents to pin his bars.
The second tradition honored is “first salute”. Each new officer receives the initial salutes of their military careers from a chosen enlisted member of the armed services. This honor is given to someone who has been a significant supporter; as part of the tradition, the officer gives the enlisted man a silver dollar as a symbol of gratitude for their mentorship. Dylan chose Master Sergeant John Bornhoeft, a senior military science instructor in William & Mary’s Army ROTC program, to give Dylan his first salute.
Marine Corps Officer’s Oath
The USMC officer’s oath is a solemn pledge to support and defend the Constitution, bear true faith and allegiance to it, and obey the lawful orders of the President and commanding officers. The oath is a public declaration of commitment to the nation and its foundational document:
“I solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.”