I have difficulty believing that I will ever forget Gunnery Sergeant Lemke. Honestly, how can you forget a person that has such a booming voice and an upbeat attitude? In the beginning there was a little bit of fear every time I walked into Naval Science because Gunny is not a person whose bad side you want to be on. However, as the year has gone on, that fear has turned into a large amount of respect. Gunny is a good person to talk to when you need a mentor to help you through tough times. He is someone to be looked up to, for he leads by example and does his job to the best of his ability.



You will never catch Gunny late, he is always on time, or in other people’s cases, early. His saying is “I would rather be an hour early than a minute late.” This holds true for I have never seen him late for anything. In Gunny's class his on time policy holds true; anyone who shows up late without a pass will be on the deck doing push-ups. Showing up late is one of those things that gives Gunny a
chance to show you what it means to be responsible for your actions. If you show up late, you will be
doing push-ups: it’s a way to ensure you don't keep showing up late for class. The same goes for other
things: failing to complete your homework, giving other teachers trouble in their classes, etc. He uses
P.T. Usually in the form of push-ups to help you learn from your mistakes. While it might suck at the time, it’s one of those things that you can look back on and realize that he dropped you to help you learn and grow.



While Gunny helps you not to continue making the same mistakes, he is also a role model to
help you keep positive. I have never seen Gunny in a bad mood (not including when cadets are being
disrespectful). If you were to ever ask him how he was doing he always answers with “Fantastic” which shows just how positive of a teacher Gunny is. If you were to ask him about the rain, he would respond “it’s liquid sunshine”. Gunny always looks at the bright side of life. People like Gunny have an effect on you: his positive attitude is something everyone around him gains.



While Gunny is a great teacher, he is also a Marine. This means he requires a large amount of
respect, however, give him this respect and he will always return the same amount. While in Naval
Science Gunny demands all cadets to respect and obey the orders given by the platoon leader and the
assistant platoon leader: if you don't, the whole platoon will push. The platoon leader and assistant
platoon leader represent Gunny, and if the platoon isn’t listening to the platoon leader, they are not
respecting Gunny, so he makes the platoon learn their lesson. He does this to teach freshmen that they
have to learn to grow up and listen to directions, that respect is important to everything you do in
life. Our school is a J.R.O.T.C. School, therefore we follow many military customs; Things like how our uniforms look, if we know our G.O.T.T.S. (General Orders to the Sentry), and many other R.O.T.C. Things. Gunny being a Marine means he expects the very best from everyone and will push you to reach that point.



Gunny is a teacher and instructor. He teaches you useful skills for life but also instructs you on
how to use these skills and apply them to life. Gunny is a role model, someone who people look up to, a man who leads by example. Gunny is a Marine who gives his very best and expects nothing less from
those around him. Gunny is someone who is positive and is always quick to find the bright side of
anything. Gunny is straightforward, someone who will give you his honest opinion, and someone you can talk to when you need to talk. I honestly can’t say enough about Gunnery Sergeant Lemke aside for the fact that he is not only an Educator of the Year, but of a Lifetime.