Chris May began his service at Marine Barracks 8th & I as a body bearer before joining Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. After completing his second WESTPAC deployment, he reported to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion in 2001 as a team leader with Alpha Company. He later redeployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), serving as a platoon commander with Alpha Company, and subsequently joined 1st Force Reconnaissance Company in 2003, completing a fifth deployment during OIF.
In 2006, MGySgt May transitioned to Inspector-Instructor duty with 4th Force Reconnaissance Company as company operations chief. He returned to deployment in 2008 with Echo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, once again supporting OIF. His next assignment took him to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, where he served as current operations chief for Special Operations Task Force 81 and JOC NCOIC for CJSOTF-A. He later rejoined Force Reconnaissance Company, I MEF, as operations chief.
From 2013 until his retirement in 2017, Mr. May held senior roles at Headquarters Marine Corps and across key Reconnaissance units, including serving as the Reconnaissance Occupational Field Sponsor, USMC Combatant Diving Advocate, SNCOIC of Reconnaissance Training Company, and Operations Chief for 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.
