Domenech and Team-5 of the Foreign Military Training Unit, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, held their Operational Readiness Exercise here recently and the soldiers of the 448th Engineer Battalion and 313th Postal Group, who were holding their annual training, served as students.

“This has been a great learning experience for me,” said the 20-year-old. “These guys have been real receptive to the training, and I feel a special bond between us (like between Iraqi war veterans).”

Domenech spent his childhood in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, a place he described as beautiful and peaceful, with his mother and her family before moving to Tampa, Fla., in 1999.

“My mom wanted me to have a better education and to be near my father, while she got a better job,” he said. “It was a culture shock when I moved here-the people, the environment and even the school system-but I adapted quickly.”

He joined the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in high school when he was only 17.

“I was one of the first male members of my family to graduate high school and I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and have a successful military career,” said Domenech, a 2003 graduate of Chamberlain High School in Tampa, Fla. “But I also wanted to be the best.”

After all his initial training, he found himself deploying with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II from July 2004 to January 2005. He received a purple heart for injuries in combat during Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah before returning to the United States.

Shortly after returning stateside he received orders to report to the newly-established FMTU, then under the command of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism), for his language and combat skills.

“This is a new opportunity for me to learn new fields and instruct others on what I have learned,” Domenech said.

Domenech’s role in the 11-man team of “scholar-warriors” is as a basic infantry combat instructor and the ORE was his first real-world experience as a teacher.

“I like the hands-on approach to teaching and I try to keep all my lectures shorter so they can do more practical application,” Domenech explained. “You can teach patrolling for hours, but until they get their feet dirty you won’t know if they learned anything.”

Sgt. Bobby Threadgill is the lead instructor and Domenech serves as translator-instructor. They give a period of instruction that features basic formations and organization, immediate action under fire, assault, identifying and crossing linear danger areas, cross compartments, security halts, fragmentation orders and rally points.

“We are not trying to convert them to Marine Corps tactics, but just add another tool for their toolbox,” Domenech said.

At the end of their POI, they perform practical application exercises and prepare to take the soldiers on patrol.

“We pass out the ‘frag-O’ and we execute the patrol that will test everything we have taught,” Domenech said. “So far they all have done it well.”

After his mission was accomplished, Domenech saw his family and got to see his homeland before boarding the plane to continue his mission with his unit.

“It feels good to be home. I missed it and I know I will miss it when I leave,” Domenech said smiling. “But this trip is a little more special because I also got to not only help my Army brothers and sisters, but also my fellow Puerto Ricans who look over home when I leave.”