Sergeant Major Idris N. Turay hails from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and immigrated to the United States in 1995. He enlisted in the U.S.
Marine Corps in June 1998 out of Rockville, Maryland, and subsequently completed basic recruit training at Parris Island, South
Carolina. Following his initial training, he attended the School of Infantry at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, where he earned the
military occupational specialty of Infantry Rifleman (0311). In October 1998, he checked into the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st
Marine Division, at Twenty-nine Palms, California. During this assignment, he served as a Team Leader, Squad Leader, and Platoon
Guide, earning a meritorious promotion to Corporal in 2000 and a promotion to Sergeant in 2002 following two Unit Deployment
Programs. His next tour of duty took him to Okinawa, Japan, where he served under the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF)
Headquarters Group as an Operations and Training Noncommissioned Officer. He participated in numerous combined and joint level
exercises and contingency operations with allied and partner nations within the Indo-Pacific Command.
Upon his promotion to Staff Sergeant, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, at Marine Corps Base
Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. In September 2006, he deployed to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in support of counter-insurgency operations,
serving as an Infantry Platoon Sergeant (0369) with 2nd Platoon, Fox Company. In November 2006, while conducting dismounted
patrols, Staff Sergeant Turay and a squad from his platoon were caught in a complex ambush, during which he was critically wounded
by enemy sniper fire. Refusing to leave his Marines, he demanded to stay with his unit and returned to his area of responsibility the
following month to continue combat operations until the unit completed its mission in April 2007. He was later transferred to the
School of Infantry, Detachment Hawaii, where he served as a Combat Hunter Instructor, Martial Arts Instructor, and Operations Chief.
In December 2010, he was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant and executed orders to the Marine Corps Security Force Regiment, joining
the 3d Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST) Company as the Company Gunnery Sergeant, while also serving in collateral duties
as a Martial Arts Instructor Trainer. Gunnery Sergeant Turay received Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders in May 2013 to the
1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, at Twenty-nine Palms, California, where he served as a Combined Anti-Armor Team
(CAAT) Platoon Sergeant with Weapons Company. In January 2014, he was frocked to the rank of First Sergeant and received a
Permanent Change of Assignment (PCA) to Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. From September 2014 to
April 2015, he deployed as part of the Ground Combat Element (GCE) in support of Operation Inherent Resolve 15.1. Upon returning,
he requested PCA orders back to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, to serve as the Company First Sergeant for Charlie Company,
deploying again with the GCE in support of Operation Inherent Resolve 16.1 from October 2015 to May 2016.
First Sergeant Turay executed PCS orders in June 2016 to Camp Pendleton, California, where he served as the Company First Sergeant for both Charlie Company and Headquarters and Service Company within the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, while continuing his role as the unit's Martial Arts Instructor Trainer. In February 2018, he was frocked to the rank of Sergeant Major and executed PCS orders to Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. In this role, Sergeant Major Turay played a pivotal part as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader during the squadron's redesignation and transition from F/A-18 Hornets to an F-35B Lightning II squadron in October 2020. He was then reassigned to the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, from June 2021 to January 2024, serving as the Regimental Sergeant Major and participating in several service-level and joint exercises. Following this tour, he executed PCS orders to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing, serving as the Group Sergeant Major until May 2026, when he assumed his current billet as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton.
Sergeant Major Turay's personal awards include the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon.