Reporter Comes in from the Dark Side, Joins the Marines

Matt Pottinger was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and made a career decision that will undoubtedly put him in a very small group - maybe even by himself:

Matt Pottinger was a reporter, but he's no longer so sure that the pen is mightier than the sword.

The 32-year-old former Wall Street Journal reporter has joined the U.S. Marines.

"The life of a reporter versus the life of someone in the military -- it is a radical departure," he mused.

In seven years covering China for The Wall Street Journal, Pottinger got a sense of how American liberties are a rarity in the world -- especially when he got arrested for writing about corruption.

"I was standing over a toilet," he recalled, "with a bunch of Chinese policemen standing around me shredding my notebook, page by page, and flushing it down a toilet."

Pottinger was inspired by Marines he watched during the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, and the gruesome death of his WSJ colleague Daniel Pearl, and during a visit to the Intrepid museum in New York, wound up talking to a Marine recruiter. After much training and effort, he qualified as an officer candidate and graduated two weeks ago.

An officer at the ceremony congratulated Pottinger by quipping, "It's an honor, you know, to get somebody from the dark side to come over to our side."

Pottinger is not idealistic about his role in the Marines. He knows there may be some tough days ahead:

Pottinger realizes the consequences of trading the pen for the sword.

"There's a war going on right now, and there's a very good chance that I'm going to end up in Iraq," he said. "I'm a bit scared. But I think anyone who would end up facing combat would be scared."

Pottinger's life will change in 2006, and he hopes Americans will change too -- by becoming less complacent and more prepared to conquer new economic challenges.

"Get off our sofas and get involved," he said. "Start improving ourselves. We're competing now. Â… We can't take our eye off the ball. This is going to be a big 10 years. A lot's going to change in the world over the next 10 years. And we've got to be on our toes."

Guys like Pottinger are a rare breed, and our country's defense is in good hands with men like this.