COD Student Veterans Make Service to Country and Community their Career

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College of DuPage

May 12, 2015, 01:00 ET

GLEN ELLYN, Ill., May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- College of DuPage students and former Marines Mike and Kevin Xu have done more than their fair share of service to country and community. As new recruits in the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy (SLEA) at COD, they will continue their tradition of service into their long-term careers as law enforcement officers.

Since they were in middle school, the identical twin brothers have known exactly what they wanted to do: join the military and eventually work in law enforcement.

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Mike and Kevin Xu in the Homeland Security Education Center at COD in front of the College's permanent memorial to 9/11, a ceiling beam taken from the Twin Towers. College of DuPage was one of only a few educational institutions to receive a relic from the Twin Towers following 9/11.
Mike and Kevin Xu in the Homeland Security Education Center at COD in front of the College's permanent memorial to 9/11, a ceiling beam taken from the Twin Towers. College of DuPage was one of only a few educational institutions to receive a relic from the Twin Towers following 9/11.

"We like to travel and we like adventure," Kevin said. "In the Marines, we received both of those things, but we also joined the Marines to build character and get an experience we could never get in the civilian world," Kevin said. "We knew it would help prepare us for our future careers."

Mike added that their path of service also reflects their passion to "help people and to be remembered as heroes."

Currently residents of Bloomingdale, the Xu brothers were born in Harbin, China, where they lived until coming to the U.S. at age 11. After graduating high school in 2007, the brothers immediately enlisted in the Marines, attended boot camp and went on to receive specialized infantry training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego, California. Temporarily separated to different companies as "Thundering" Third Battalion, First Marine infantrymen during further training, Mike and Kevin later ended up serving in the same deployment and in the same unit fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Deployed during the Spring Offensive of 2010, the brother's unit was directed to "clear, hold and build" – clear the area of enemies; hold the area; and build the infrastructure and economy of the area. During their deployment, the brothers were faced with a number of dangers and trials, including 130-degree temperatures, dehydration, sand mites, strategically placed improvised explosive devices (IEDs), heart-breaking civilian suffering and intense firefights with Taliban combatants. Despite the hard work, challenges and danger of their mission, the brothers enjoyed their time in the Marines, describing it as an experience that has shaped them in adulthood and enabled them to appreciate the basic things in life they might otherwise take for granted.

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SOURCE College of DuPage