Lt. Col. Rhonda Martin's mandatory retirement date is in January 2026, but her retirement ceremony will be held on September 30, 2025, exactly 42 years from the day she enlisted in the Marine Corps, making her the longest currently serving Marine. Not a bad career run for a girl who accidentally wandered into a recruiting office thinking it was the Peace Corps back in 1983.
When Martin was 19 years old when she attended Wright State University, but wanted to do something more and wanted to see the world. That was what interested her in the Peace Corps. However, when she stumbled into the Marine Corps recruiting office, she was instantly struck appreciating their professional demeanor. She joined the Marines in 1983 under an open contract.
"Boot camp was very different back then," she said candidly. When she was assigned as an administrative specialist and got to the fleet to see what the Marines were all about, she was in for another shock, but it was a positive experience for her. "I learned to embrace criticism, to listen, and to grow from it," Martin said in a Department of Defense press release.
It was a different world back then. Female Marines did not receive rifle marksmanship training when Martin went through boot camp, and when she became a drill instructor a few years later she was not permitted to wear the iconic "cover" or hat that they are known for; only male Marines could. Promoted to Staff Sergeant, she decided to become an officer next.
She was promoted to Captain and served in the 31st MEU after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. She deployed to combat in 2010, as an assistant chief of staff to the G1. "This was one of the most fulfilling assignments I had professionally," Martin said. "I participated in two real-world crisis responses in the Philippines and Nepal, planned and participated in several large-scale exercises both ashore and while afloat."
Having served in 11 different ranks over the course of a 42-year career, "to say that I came in and saw so much progress for Marines, and especially female Marines, over my time is ... it hits me really hard," Martin said. "I feel very, very good about leaving the Marine Corps knowing it’s going to be in great hands." Her plan after "retirement" is to earn a doctorate degree.