MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Virginia --
On the day before the U.S. Marines celebrated their 240th birthday, a former Marine and Marine Corps Systems Command employee celebrated his birthday in a very special place.
Kevin Scott was born on the second floor of Naval Hospital Quantico, located on historic Hospital Point and now headquarters to the Marine Corps acquisition workforce. Today, you'll find him working two floors below that birthing room as the head of manpower, personnel and training for Program Manager Combat Support Systems. Scott supports the program teams by developing and evaluating acquisition training products against Marine Corps standards. Scott never imagined his career path would take him full circle to where he was born.
“I find it neat to say that I was born in this building and now I work here,” said Scott.
Kevin’s father, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Robert Scott was a combat engineer on base when he and his wife Nova welcomed their second son into the world.
“Growing up, I remember going to the emergency room and the pediatrics all the time to get bones fixed,” said Kevin.
The former hospital was built in 1939 and commissioned as a Naval Hospital on July 1, 1941. During WWII, the hospital expanded with an inpatient capacity swelling to over 600 beds. Today, the old emergency room is the Riverside Café, where employees who work on MCSC’s Hospital Point campus frequently go for breakfast and lunch.
As he got older Kevin followed his father’s example, receiving a commission as a Marine Corps infantry officer in 1980.
“I can honestly say that my father was my idol growing up,” said Kevin. “Not a sports legend or sports guy or anything. My father was my idol—I always wanted to do better than he did.”
While serving thirteen years in the Corps, Kevin, his wife Lisa (a former Navy nurse) and their two children saw the country, living in such places as Hawaii and Maine.
After years away, he completed his service in 1993, and returned to Northern Virginia to be closer to family. Kevin eventually rejoined his Quantico family as well, taking a position writing training standards at Marine Corps Training and Education Command. In 2004, he accepted a position at MCSC and has served the past 11 years as a civilian Marine in the very building where he was born.
Kevin said he seldom thinks about the fact that he now works in the same building listed on his birth certificate, but his lifetime in the Marine Corps—both as a child and adult—left a lasting impression.
Nova Scott said she is proud of the man her son has become.
“When we were raising our children we wanted to instill in them to be truthful and respectful,” she said. “But it had to be a learning experience. I think we did a good job.”
As the Marine Corps only systems command, MCSC oversees the development, acquisition and lifecycle logistics of Marine Corps ground weapon and information technology system programs.