Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz, center, makes a surprise visit to a corporals course graduation ceremony at Camp Johnson, N.C., on June 5, 2025. Ruiz was there to congratulate Cpl. Andrew Hundley, who unexpectedly became a Marine Corps celebrity in April after a routine email featuring his name was accidentally sent to a mass distribution list. (Alexander Lesko/U.S. Marine Corps)
Cpl. Andrew Hundley became an unexpected Marine Corps celebrity several weeks ago, after a staff sergeant’s routine email about a simple certificate for Hundley accidentally was sent to most of the service’s members.
The Hundley buzz was reignited Thursday when the service’s top enlisted leader, Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz, made a surprise appearance at Camp Johnson, N.C., for Hundley’s much-anticipated graduation from a monthlong leadership course.
A cyberspace warfare operator from the Camp Lejeune-based 8th Communications Battalion, Hundley was marking completion of the standard corporals course, a required leadership school for promotion eligibility.
“The Marine Corps gods have called upon me,” Ruiz said as he entered the packed graduation room, a video posted to his official Instagram page Thursday shows. “Where are you at, Hundley? Raise your hand.”
Ruiz personally handed Hundley his certificate as he crossed the stage, capping off the viral journey with a moment of recognition, which was met with a chorus of cheers from the audience.
Ruiz’s in-person congratulations were the showstopper in a saga that began April 16, when Hundley’s staff noncommissioned officer attempted to email a prerequisite certificate he needed to attend professional military education course.
Instead of reaching the intended recipient, the message was mistakenly sent to the entire 8th Communications Battalion distribution list, which inadvertently also contained many of the service’s email addresses.
In classic Marine Corps fashion, the reply-all storm that followed quickly spiraled into chaos. Hundreds of Marines chimed in with jokes, congratulations or desperate pleas to be removed from the thread.
Cpl. Hundley is “a hard charger that took responsibility for his career and leadership skills by completing the (online prerequisite class) for the Corporals Course Distance Education Program,” one r/USMC Reddit user said in April.
Amid the chaos, Hundley’s name became a running headline as he was celebrated for completing his online course requirements.
Marines who weren’t on the original distribution list quickly became curious, eager to uncover why Hundley had suddenly become a Corps-wide sensation.
“For three or four days as I traveled the Corps, the question was not about barracks or quality of life; it’s ‘Corporal Hundley,’ ” Ruiz said at the ceremony. “And that’s why the gods have called me to see you graduate.”
Ruiz had received the April 16 email, and he was aware of a Change.org petition to have the Corps’ top leaders attend the ceremony, Military.com reported Thursday.
“I didn’t want this kind of thing to take away from the experience of all the other corporals that were going in that course with me, because they worked so hard,” Hundley told Military.com.
“They deserved more fame than I ever got from it, even just that little bit,” he added.
