Leatherneck Magazine - October 2008

EVENTS & FAMILY NEWS
Leatherneck Line
Edited by Mary D. Karcher
Marine Cadet Program Gives
Inner City Kids Ray of Hope

Leathernecks from 2d Supply Battalion, Second Marine Logistics Group, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., escorted the Marine Cadets of America du ring a field trip to the base, July 28-Aug. 2. The trip allowed the cadets to experience the confidence course, Marine Corps Martial Arts demonstrations and other Marine Corps training activities.

The Marine Cadets of America was f ormally recognized in 1985 when it branched off from the Young Marines into a group focused primarily on the Marine Corps t raditions and way of life.

Captain Anthony DeBiase, the commanding officer of Marine Cadets of Amer- ica, Company A, 1st Bn, said the program helps to keep inner city school kids on a path toward a successful life.

“[The goal of the program is] to keep kids drug-free, keep them in school [and] keep them out of jail,” DeBiase said. “[We] teach them the value of education. [We] teach them family morals and hope that whether they go in the Marine Corps or any place else, they had a fairly good start, as far as people who were guiding them.”

Master Sergeant Norman Agustin, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the General Account Section, Supply Ma n-agement Unit, has been involved with the Marine Cadets since he was stationed in New Haven, Conn., eight years ago.

Agustin said the Marine Cadets’ training is completely different from the Young Marines program. “The program really re-

lies on active-duty Marines rather than vol- unteers,”Agustinsaid,“[because]theyhave a really good sense of what the Marine Corps is doing now.

“These are inner city kids, and a lot of these kids that we’ve been documenting come from a tough background, so they need that ray of hope. These guys see when they come out here, there’s life outside of where they live.”

Agustin and five other Marines from 2d Supply Bn volunteered to escort the kids to and from different training evolutions. Throughout the visit, they took the opportunity to talk with the cadets about life in the Marine Corps and their personal experiences. Havinghadsimilarchildhood experiences, some of the Marines were able to relate to the cadets on a personal level.

“When they come into the program, they talk to actual Marines who’ve been there before, because some of us have [also] had [family] problems,” Agustin said. “The younger Marines … they can tell those kids, ‘Hey, it”sgoingtogetbetter,’andthat”s the most important thing.”

Tyrone Ewing, a 15-year-old Connecti-cut native, said he joined the Marine Cadets two years ago to give him something to do. He said his favorite part about the program is the different training exercises they pa r-ticipate in at the different bases they visit. “[The program] helps keep me positive,” Ewing said. “[It] keeps me out of trouble.”

Eleven-year-old Travis Doheny said he really enjoys the physical training and learns from the lessons they teach.

“They really teach you to do the right

thing,” Doheny said. “And [they teach you to] stay away from the bad things, like ... drugs[and]smoking. Theyreallytaughtme [to stay away from] any of that.”

The Marine Cadets of America program teaches kids more than just saying “no” to drugs. The lessons of self-discipline, team- work and never quitting are lessons that Agustin hopes the kids will remember for the rest of their lives.

Cpl M. Bravo PAO, 2d MLG

A cadet with the Marine Cadets of America from New Haven, Conn., maneuvers over an obstacle on the Confidence Course at Camp Lejeune, N.C., July 28. The Cadets spent a week at the base participating in different Marine Corps training activities and learning about the Marine Corps way of life.

Memorandum Ensures Troops
Receive Access to Airports

The Department of Defense, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will give military personnel, DOD civilians and contractor personnel access to commercial airports as they are transiting to and from combat zones.

The memorandum is a response to an October2007 incidentat Oakland International Airport. A chartered aircraft carrying about 200 Marines from Iraq back to their home station in Hawaii landed for fuel and food. Citing security concerns, airport officials shunted the plane to a remote location at the airport. The Marines were allowed to deplane and stretch their legs, but were not allowed to enter terminal areas, where some had arranged to meet with family members.

Thememoensuresthatallpartiesunder-standspecificrequirementsasmilitaryper-sonnel redeploy from combat zones and that weapons are not introduced into commercial terminals. It allows troops to get off the airplane and use the facilities at the airport if the stop is going to be more than one hour, according to Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mike Holmes, assistant for transportation policy at the Pentagon.

CPL M. BRAVO

The memo lists what troop commanders must do to ensure security needs are met. Included is posting weapons monitors at all aircraft exits at commercial gates. It also includes monitoring all ground support personnel performing catering, cleaning andmaintenanceservicesduringthestops.