Meet the U.S. Marine Corps officer competing in #Rio2016 #OpeningCeremony

Greg P. | 6:40 PM on August 05, 2016

Awesome.

Meet 2nd Lieutenant David Higgins of the United States Marine Corps who will be representing Team USA in Rio as a member of the rifle team and will compete in 50-meter prone rifle shooting:

Of course 2nd Lt. David Higgins is at the #OpeningCeremony in Rio… for rifle qualification.

Semper Fi, Sir! pic.twitter.com/xbSHYTROyZ

— U.S. Marines (@USMC) August 5, 2016

Good luck, Lt Higgins. We're rooting for you in Rio. I know you'll represent USA and our Corps. #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/TWAfnnORvY

— David H. Berger (@CMC_MarineCorps) August 5, 2016

Higgins graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy this year and has cross-commissioned into the USMC. He was supposed to start with the Marines on June 28, but thanks to qualifying for the Olympics he’ll report in September. From TeamUSA:

For Higgins, whose father is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving his country has been a long-term ambition. After graduating from Air Force, he plans to cross-commission into the Marine Corps starting this fall.

“Growing up on Marine Corps bases all across the country, I always knew I wanted to be in the military,” Higgins said. “I’m drawn more to the ground-side of things, and you get more of that in the Marine Corps than you do in the Air Force or another branch.”

His Olympic berth did, however, cause some adjustments to his post-graduation schedule. While he was previously slotted to begin Marine Corps service in midsummer, USMC leadership agreed to postpone the start date until after August’s Games.

“I was supposed to start June 28, but the Marine Corps has moved it back now to September – they were great about that,” Higgins said. “It will be really cool to start my career having been to the Olympics.”