Marine · Homesteader · Mississippi
Thomas K. "Sonny" Morgan II. U.S. Marine Corps veteran, now building a homestead in Monroe County, Mississippi.
I'm Sonny Morgan, Thomas K. Morgan II, and I go by trueTKactual. I served in the National Guard from 1998 to 2001 and in the United States Marine Corps from 2001 to 2010, then worked as a private military contractor and as an instructor for GLOCK Professional. My next mission is building a homestead near Amory in Monroe County, Mississippi.
1/198th Armored Battalion, Amory
M1A1 armor crewman. Army basic and advanced training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Alpha Co. · 1/5 Scout Sniper Platoon
Team and squad leader in Alpha Co. during the 2003 march to Baghdad, leading and mentoring 10 Marines.
Assistant sniper team leader with Scout Sniper team “Seminole Alpha,” providing long-range precision fire in Fallujah, 2004.
Guard Detachment, H&S Co.
Training chief and guard leadership for a 115-Marine guard force securing the Barracks.
Set up firearms and movement training at Fort Meade and served as range safety officer.
MSOAG · MSOT 323 / 8323
Primary pre-sniper instructor and CQB and special reconnaissance instructor; helped build the battalion’s first pre-sniper course.
Trained and graduated more than 230 students.
Department of State protective operations, Kabul
Shift leader planning motorcade movements, and primary designated defensive marksman protecting U.S. Embassy Chief of Mission personnel.
Later served as training manager, making sure Department of State training standards were met.
Taught the Armorer’s Courses and the Instructor Workshop to local, state and federal government personnel.
Advises on protective operations, advance work, firearms training and small-unit leadership.
Amory High School, Amory, Mississippi, 1999
I'm moving to Monroe County, Mississippi, near Amory, to build a homestead: learning the land, the soil and the seasons, working with local extension and USDA resources, and putting in the work.
For the land, the area, the climate and local resources, see Prairie & Pine LLC.
Placeholder first post. Follow along on X for day-to-day updates as the homestead takes shape.
Monroe Journal ·
Monroe Journal · · John Ward
A Monroe County citizen spoke for a group of parents about First Amendment rights and district policies at the Sept. 14, 2021 school board meeting.
Follow-up · Monroe Journal · · John Ward
In honor of the brothers who gave their lives in service. They are not forgotten.
USDA offers veterans special provisions, including loan funding preference and EQIP/CSP ranking priority.
Farmers.gov (USDA)
USDA considers anyone farming less than ten years a beginning farmer, with dedicated loans and state coordinators.
Farmers.gov (USDA)
A free, week-long NCAT training for veterans in Hattiesburg, supported by USDA NIFA's AgVets program.
NCAT
Online and hybrid programs, including Heroes to Hives.
VA News
Planning, records, finances and pricing for small farms.
Mississippi State University Extension
Business counseling, training and Boots to Business for veterans in Mississippi.
MSU VBOC
A national nonprofit mobilizing veterans to feed America, including the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund.
Farmer Veteran Coalition
I'll share clips from the land and the trail here as they're ready.
We're putting together a practical guidebook for getting a small homestead started: planning the layout, choosing what to plant and when, caring for the soil, and learning the basic skills a small acreage needs. It's an educational guide that we'll keep improving as we learn. The first public edition is free to read.
© 2026 Thomas K. Morgan, II
Send a message below, or reach me on X: @realSonnyMorgan.