River Road alumnus Rolan Smith loves helping people.
That’s why, after graduating from high school, he took the route of service to his country.
Rather than trading in his purple and gold for those of the typical college or university, he picked up the prestigious colors of the United States Marine Corps. It’s also helped him learn new things, see the world and grow as a person.
He learned jiu jitsu under the tutelage of renowned mixed martial artists, enjoys reading history books and has traveled to Japan for training. Smith, currently a corporal with the Marine Corps, returned to Amarillo this past week to visit with family and friends while on leave.
Before returning home, Smith was part of a security response team while most of the 5th Marine Regiment was stationed in Singapore.
For Smith, who is a machine gunner and rifleman, it sounded too easy. When he returns to his unit, he’ll head back to Camp Pendleton in California.
“I like being able to get out and go,” Smith said.
In his time with the Marines so far, Smith has enjoyed the brotherhood within his unit.
“My favorite part is the camaraderie,” Smith said. “We go through a lot of stuff that isn’t that exciting. We’ll go on field ops, so we’ll be hiking up to 30 miles with over 100 pounds of gear on your back. But once you get there, you’re just sitting there and messing around the boys.”
Of course, he’s a huge fan of firing off the heavy machine guns.
“It’s another favorite part of mine,” said Smith. “I was a machine gunner in my first unit. You’re more respected being a machine gunner, because you do way more than everybody else. You have to go the same distance, but you’re carrying more gear. You’re carrying a 30-pound gun versus a normal M4, which is like four pounds.”
In his time with River Road, Smith was a steady hand in the rushing game as well as defensively for the Wildcat football team.
The 2022 graduate rushed for 521 yards during his career with four touchdowns, averaging 12.4 yards per gain. At linebacker, Smith compiled 290 total tackles, five tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hurries and two sacks. He also collected one fumble recovery and one field goal block.
According to Smith, his time playing football and engaging in high school athletics set him up for success with the Marines.
“Sports, in general, is a great thing to do while you’re young,” Smith said. “It’s going to prepare you for being an adult in life. Your coaches are going to hold you accountable and it gives you discipline. I also feel like Texas breeds the toughest people. It gets super hot and it can be an unforgiving place. Once I got to the Marines and got to Cali weather, I was having an easier time breathing.”
“You also learn about a bunch of adversity and teamwork in sports,” Rolan continued. “Sometimes, it’s not about talent. You can be playing a team with all these big time athletes, but you’re just a better team, then you have a better chance of winning. It’s because you know how to work together. The Marines aren’t all big time studs. The biggest thing is just everyone does their job.”
For high school students interested in joining the Marines or any other branch of the United States Armed Forces, Smith has plenty of advice to give.
“Focus on being disciplined,” said Smith. “In the military, I feel like one of the biggest things is learning how to just keep doing things that you don’t want to do and to ’embrace the suck.’ You wake up every morning and you go run for six miles. Almost every morning, you’ll have to go through a 30-mile hike at 3:30 in the morning. It’s about getting good at doing stuff you don’t want to do.”
“Sports is a good baseline for that stuff,” he added. “Before football games, I’d have the biggest jitters. It teaches you how to handle playing under pressure. In the Marines, like everything you do, there’s a lot of pressure on you. You have live rounds, and you’re trusted with your buddy’s life next to you.”
Smith is also a huge proponent of the Marines. According to him, the Marine Corps is the greatest team assembled.
“The Marine Corps, as a whole, is probably the greatest fighting force that world has ever seen,” Rolan said. “It’s the only branch of our military that can fully support itself. We have our own aviation, and we have our ground troops. We have amazing guys, and we can get around on water.”
“Our logistics are awesome,” he continued. “We’re smaller than the Army, so we’re able to maneuver a lot better. We’re just the best at the basics.”
When he’s not going on field ops and enhancing his craft, Smith found plenty of hobbies.
“When I was in Japan, I got into jiu jitsu,” Smith said. “It’s pretty fun. I also love to read books, particularly history and post-apocalyptic books.”
The titles he had gotten into were “Black Autumn: A Post Apocalyptic Saga” by Jason Ross and Jeff Kirkham and “Devil’s Guard” by George Robert Elford.
“(The protagonist in ‘Devil’s Guard’) joined the French Foreign Legion, and he was a machine gunner,” Rolan said. “I just finished reading the book, and it’s really good.”
Smith also delved into Sun Tzu’s “Art of War,” along with other works.
“It just gives you a perspective on what the enemy’s thinking,” Smith said.
During his venture into jiu jitsu and MMA, Smith worked out at the same gym as retired MMA fighter Ian McCall and Senior Grand Master Brian Adams.
“It’s pretty cool, and you meet a lot of cool people out in California,” Smith said. “Martial arts is huge out there, so the pool is pretty competitive. There were a lot of great fighters at the gym I was training at.”
The biggest takeaway from the Marines, according to Smith, is the diversity within an already versatile branch.
“It’s kind of like a giant pot of American gumbo,” he said. “You get people from different walks of life. You have guys who dropped out of college, guys who went and they’re all super smart guys. A lot of people don’t realize some of the greatest Marines look like total nerds. They may be little, but they have one of the best shots. Or they’re squad leaders.”
“I had a squad leader like that before,” Rolan continued. “He’d be 130, 140 pounds. We’d go out on this field op, and we’re hiking, 10 miles through the mountains and everyone’s kind of dying. This guy’s just trudging along. He had great endurance, and he knew his stuff. He has a great shot and knows everything about comms and casualty combat gear. He was just an absolute genius.”
At the moment, Smith is still weighing on his future. He thought about staying in the military, depending on what’s going on in the world. He also thought about exploring the realm of law enforcement.
“I’d love to be able to serve my community and protect all of the good people I live by,” said Smith.