Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Hawkins currently serves as the enlisted conductor of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band. In this capacity he assists the director in the musical development of the band and directs, trains, and manages the musical performances of the full band. Staff Sgt. Hawkins supervises the management and development of the band’s various small ensembles and manages the music library and historical records of the band.
Staff Sgt. Hawkins holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from the University of Northern Iowa, where he studied percussion under Randy Hogancamp.
Staff Sgt. Hawkins enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2014 and completed Recruit Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California and Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, California. He completed the Basic Music Course in 2015 at the Naval School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Staff Sgt. Hawkins served as a percussion instrumentalist in the following fleet Marine bands: Marine Band San Diego (2015-2018); and the Quantico Marine Band (2018-2021). As do all fleet Marine musicians, Staff Sgt. Hawkins served in a variety of music, collateral duty, and leadership roles, to include platoon leadership.
From 2021-2024, he served as a recruiter with Recruiting Station Milwaukee.
Staff Sgt. Hawkins attended the Unit Leader Course in 2025 and is a graduate of Sergeants Course.