edition - young marines

EditionOnline Online

2 | ESPRIT Vol 4 2021ESPRIT Vol 4 2021

National Headquarters StaffWilliam DavisNational Executive Director/Chief Executive OfficerWilson LeeDeputy Director/Chief of StaffJeremy JonesDirector of OperationsPatricia BorkaDirector of AdministrationFelice SavaDirector of FinanceAbra HogarthDirector of Strategic CommunicationsKathy HoweDevelopment OfficerMichael HoffRegional Support OfficerKayla NakanoTraining and Education ManagerKaylyn WoodDrug Demand Reduction Officer Storme DiGiovanniTraining CoordinatorHeather KnopikAssistant Operations OfficerJocelyn SoergelAssistant Operations Officer

Division CommandersRobert Dittrich, Division OneGeorge Biedenbender, Division TwoJohn Gionet, Division ThreeTammy Williams, Division FourJeff Porta, Division FiveLeigh Dick, Division Six

2021 - 2022 National Young Marine of the YearYM/SgtMaj Mario Koch Division Young Marines of the YearYM/SgtMaj MaKayla Barstow, Division OneYM/SgtMaj Ian Ross, Division TwoYM/SgtMaj Jason Glaskox, Division ThreeYM/SgtMaj William Jenson, Division FourYM/SgtMaj Mario Koch, Division FiveYM/SgtMaj Keira Base, Division Six

www.youngmarines.org

Our SupportDES, Inc.Database Developer Vanguard Industries Supply DepotXpert Media Management, LLC Esprit Magazine, Website & Marketing

Combined Federal Campaign CFC11954

Chairman of the Board - William SmithVice Chaiman of the Board - Richard YoderTreasurer - Melissa CraneBoard Secretary - Tom CraigGeneral Counsel- David S. JonasMCL Liaison- SgtMaj Angela ManessAppointed Member-Beverly J. Harrington Appointed Member-Zach JohnsonAppointed Member- Sheryl Murray

Appointed Member-SgtMaj Gene OverstreetAppointed Member-MajGen Angela SalinasAppointed Member-Howard Snow, PhD-ABDAdvisor-Dennis BiddickAdvisor- Andre HollisAdvisor- Terri Laskey

Executive Director - Mike Zeliff

OUR LEADERSHIP

ESPRIT Volume 4 | 2021By Young Marines For Young Marines

EditionOnline Online

YOUNGMARINES.ORG | 3

Young Marines, What an amazing year of fortitude. As we con-tinued to work through COVID restrictions, Young Marines kept motivated and engaged across the country with the support of our Adult Volunteers and families. The pages of Esprit are again filled with wonderful stories of positive engagement, lessons learned, friendships forged, high achieve-ments, and our enduring support to our local com-munities and veterans. I want to start by thanking our 2021 Divi-sion Young Marines of the Year. They were busy throughout their areas, staying engaged as much as able by any means possible, and setting posi-tive examples wherever they went. I was excited to have them all join us at National Leadership Academy to help pass on the legacy of leader-ship instruction. We are now welcoming our 2022 Division Young Marines of the year which was announced across our social media channels at the end of the year. You will hear more about them on our social media and in the next Esprit. I also want to congratulate all Young Marines who were selected at the unit, battalion and regimental levels. These youth leaders will continue to inspire and motivate all the Young Marines at each level. I encourage all of our Young Marines of the Year at every level to share your lessons learned and mentor other Young Marines to be ready for next year’s boards. Young Marines around the country are staying busy over the holidays. As I write this article, there are two Leadership Academies going in Califor-nia and Louisiana. I spent yesterday with a group of Young Marines at the Adventure Links Winter Camp in Northern Virginia. The Young Marines

were learning survival skills and were making utensils out bamboo and wood to use to boil wa-ter and to be able to eat. More on that next issue! More training and adventures will keep rolling throughout the new year. We will have our first training session with the new DYMOYs over the Martin Luther King Day weekend, along with our Division and Assistant Division Commanders. We have a great year planned for everyone and I look forward to joining you at events this year around the country that are advertised in this issue. Make sure to go to your leadership school as soon as you are able so that you can participate in these national events. I am always motivated and excited to see Young Marines across the nation continue to support their local communities in ways as numerous and unique as our program. Whether donating time and/or money to the Toys for Tots program so every child can get a toy for Christmas, supporting our nations veterans or demonstrating and educat-ing other youth on the importance of a drug-free lifestyle. Your impact is so amazing and many times you do not know how you may have helped a person having a bad day. Make sure to embrace every opportunity to make a positive impact with your fellow Young Marines, thank your Adult Volun-teers, and show your appreciation to the people who help you in life. So many stories are included here, and I encour-age you to send more stories throughout 2022 to share in celebrating all you do as Young Marines. You are setting the example for youth leadership, healthy lifestyles, and community engagement. As always, stay safe, stay motivated, and keep staying healthy and drug-free.Semper Fi,Col Davis

• From Our National Executive Director

Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/usyoungmarines and our national homepage www.youngmarines.org

NLA Moto Run: 2021 DYMOYS, 2020 NYMOY, 2021 NYMOY, 2020 D6 DYMOY, Edgar Huff and YM Board

Chairman Bill Smith all finished the NLA 2021 Moto Run in fine form and after extra pushups!

Backstage at American Veterans Center Awards: Jimmy Trimble Scholarship Winners and the

Master of Ceremonies, Rob Riggle.

4 | ESPRIT Vol 4 2021

• National Young Marine of the YearBy YM/SgtMaj Mario KochNational Young Marine of the Year2021-2022 Hello Young Marines! From Division Young Marine of the Year training in February to Pearl Harbor in December, it has been a very exciting and busy year. I am so glad and feel ex-tremely fortunate that I got the opportunity to travel and meet all of you. My favorite part of traveling around the country has to be seeing how diverse and unique we all are. We may be from different parts of the country, but we all have one thing in common; the Young Marines. We all share the common morals to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, and to be the best version of ourselves. This year I also had the pleasure to meet some of my closest friends, the 2021 Division Young Marines of the Year. We were all friends right out of the Washington-Dulles Airport in February, and we have been supporting each other ever since. I admire their work ethic, and how much they care for their Young Marines in each of their Divisions. I have learned so much from them throughout the year, and I am so grateful to have been Division Young Marine of the Year with them. Making new friends can be one of the most rewarding benefits of the program, and our relationship with one another proves that. As their terms come to an end, I would like to take a moment to thank them for their constant hard work in their Divisions, and for the Young Marines program. With that being said, they will be passing the torch to the new Division Young Marines of the Year for 2022. These Young Marines are very compassionate, and there is no doubt that they will help improve the program over the course of the next year. I am so

excited for these Young Marines, and the opportuni-ties that they will be presented with. I have been so blessed to have attended many events this year, including National Leadership Acad-emy, multiple encampments, birthday balls, and most recently, the annual trip for Pearl Harbor Remem-brance. In the beginning of December, many Young Marines from across the country flew to the island of Oahu, Hawaii to commemorate those who had lost their lives in Pearl Harbor. We participated in a ceremonial wreath laying at the Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and we also got to learn about Hawai-ian culture and the environment. It was my first time in Hawaii, so I had an amazing first adventure to the islands. I also got to spend some time with some Young Marine units and do some fun activities with them. It was a great change of temperature com-pared to Ohio, and I had an amazing time there. As 2021 comes to an end, I am proud to have seen so many Young Marines across the country seize ev-ery opportunity given. If you remember from my first Esprit article, I told you all that “the time is now” to take every opportunity given in this program. If you have not, it’s okay! 2022 is a fresh start. It is a new year to fully exert yourself to become a better Young Marine, a better student, and a better individual. I believe we all can push ourselves to take advantage of everything this wonderful program has to offer to us and each other. Lastly, I would just like to tell you all to cherish the people you love. Spend time with all of those people, and do not take a moment for granted. I wish you all a wonderful 2022 and hope you all had a safe and happy holidays with your families, and remember, the time is now!


By YM/Pvt Naomi SinoMountain View (CO) Some people had the choice to or to not join the Young Marines, but for me joining the Young Marines was mostly my parents' decision. Part of it was my decision. Here’s why. When I first started to understand Eng-lish, I made some friends. They talked to me about Young Marines, I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was curious. In my head I had this idea of a summer camp, like on TV, but where you get to do military things or where they help you improve and learn skills. I wasn’t really sure about what to expect, but I want-ed to know and for that I wanted to join. From what I heard joining would mean that I would have to push myself harder and do lots of physical stuff that I don’t like to do, but nothing could stop my curiosity.

After hearing the presentation, I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I had to at least try my best at everything. Also, there were things that made me excited not only about the community service, but also the uniform. As they say “every inch of this uniform, you will have to earn it.” Hearing this made me more and more confident to join the Young Marines. After the talk, I realized that earning the uniform would be a confidence booster for me, so I decided to do it. In conclusion the reason why I joined the Young Marines was not because of my parents, not even be-cause of my curiosity, but because I needed to. As a Young Marine, I improve my confi-dence by pushing myself to do better each day. I feel that I have accomplished a lot, and will continue to do better in the future.

UNITMYYM

By YM/LCpl Michael HernandezChesty Puller (OH) I am a member of the Chesty Puller (OH) Young Marines. On Memorial Day, I had the honor of reciting the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae. I felt nervous because I didn’t want to fail those who had fought for our freedom. After my performance, I began to think about how

nervous the troops must have felt before and during deployment. At home, I realized that we are lucky to have 1.4 million people willing to sacrifice their lives in the blink of an eye just to protect us from harm.--Submitted by James Hilverding, Adjutant, Chesty Puller (OH) Young Marines

Memorial Day: A Poem Recalls Sacrifices

Honor Guards Learn Respectful,Correct Handling of the FlagBy YM/PFC Gabriel HamiltonRocky Mountain (CO) Being in the honor guard was an experience that I really enjoyed. My first time being in honor guard was the beginning of the summer. I was told by my mom that I should go, so I went. When I got there, our First Sergeant told me and three others that we would be in the honor guard. During practice, before the flag retirement ceremony, he taught me my role. It wasn’t folding the flag like I thought at first. I was holding the flag, keeping it off the ground and helping get the folds to fold in the right spot. The next time I was in an honor guard, I actually folded the flag and realized how helpful the flag holders are. Overall, being in the honor guard is a fun and exciting privilege that I really enjoyed.

Why I Chose to Join the Young Marines? I Felt I Needed To

As a Young Marine,I improve my confidence by

pushing myself to dobetter each day.


MYYMUNIT

On September 11, 2021, 19 4th Battalion Young Marines from the Miramar (CA) unit marched in the 2021 Poway Day Parade. This year marching behind a Young Marines Color Guard was even more special as it was also the 20th anni-versary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The Young Marines platoon, commanded by YM/GySgt Jonathan Zhou, marched proudly behind the Colors. The Color Guard Ser-geant was YM/Sgt Olivia Kries, who proudly commanded the

Color Guard detail to the enthusiastic cheers and applause from the crowd. The Platoon Guide was YM/Sgt Tristan Vu-ong. The Young Marines were outstanding and performed undaunted by the day's 97 degree heat. They were excellent representatives of the Young Marines program. I am proud of our Young Marines.-- Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Unit Commander, Miramar (CA) Young Marines

4th Battalion Young Marines March in Poway Day Parade


MYYMUNIT

By YM/Pvt Sandro OrtegaEagle (CA)

I have been a Young Marine for more than one year in the Eagle (CA) unit. My favorite parade of the year was when we went to the Independence Day Parade in Coronado, CA. It was very large. When we arrived, we saw hundreds of floats and horses,

people holding flags were everywhere. We drove a long way until we arrived at our location in the parade. We got all the Young Marines out of the vehicles, and then we unfolded the American Flag. As we unfolded the flag, we noticed that it kept getting larger and larger. We all realized we had our work cut for us to carry the Flag. Our Unit Commander said, “Remember, don’t let the flag touch the ground!” The Marine Corps League Bulldog Detachment was in front of our Young Marines. The temperature was about 92 de-grees and no breeze. We were waiting and holding the flag which was getting heavy. Once the parade started, the Ma-rines Corps League would ask the people along the route

to stand, if they could, to show Honor to the Flag as we marched by. The people and children watching as we passed would stand and hold their hand over their heart, they were cheering, waving their hands. Even people in wheel chairs would struggle and others would help them stand. We could see they were veterans and they had tears in their eyes. At that moment I was no longer tired of carrying the heavy flag. I realized that carrying this flag meant so much to so many, that I was only a small part of something much greater, our freedom as Americans is the symbol of this American Flag. We marched for more than an hour carrying the flag for a long distance. Finally, we came to the end and we folded the Flag, loaded back in our vehicles and drove to lunch. I’m amazed at how the Young Marines do so many wonderful activities that help us become better, understand how great America really is, and how blessed we are in America. I thank my parents and Eagle Young Marines, Adult Leaders for mak-ing me a better person.--Submitted by Duane Siegmann, Unit Commander, Eagle (CA) Young Marines

By YM/LCpl Kaden PageHeartland (IL) On the Saturday, October 23, the Heartland (IL) Young Marines experienced a basic first aid class with our unit. In the class, we went over basic procedures for medical aid. We were taught this course by our Unit Commander, Eddie Vaughn. There were a few main subjects, such as how to properly address a scene where a person may be hurt. The unit was taught that before walking into a potentially dangerous scene, to first ask the person if they are OK, and if there is no response or the response makes it necessary, to address the scene and make sure whatever had hurt the injured person would not endanger you also. Once we addressed getting to the injured person, we talked about what to do in the various situations that may occur. The first subject we went over was what to do when a person was bleeding. The unit practiced how to apply gauze, bandages, tourniquets, splints and more. We broke into duos, practicing all of these things with each other. After this, we were instructed about carrying an injured person, if the scene must be evacuated. We learned different kinds of carries in the classroom, and went outside and practiced these carries with each other. These are a few of the things that the Heartland Young Marines learned about medical aid. --Submitted by Eddie Vaughn, Unit Commander, Heartland (IL) Young Marines

Eagle Young Marines March in Independence Day Parade

Heartland Young Marines Experience Basic First Aid Class

A First for Esprit: A Tip For Getting Your Hair Squared Away!By YM/PFC Aurora CardinalImagine at North Port (FL) If you are having trouble doing your hair to the Young Marines standards, you need to read this. If you have thick hair and it's too hard to get it in a standard bun try getting an undercut. I personally have very thick curly hair, so if you're like me you need to make sure you get the right hair stuff. You need mousse, hair spray, jell and hair ties (if you have long hair you need three hair ties, if you have short hair you need one). If you have long hair put your hair in a tight low ponytail. Then put mousse on the sides to slick the frizzies back. (If you have short hair, skip the next step). After that, braid the ponytail and then twist the braid into a bun. If you have thin hair, instead of braiding your hair you can get a sock and cut the end off and use it as a bun holder. Finally, spray your hair with hair spray to slick back any frizzies, then you're done.


Jimmy Trimble Scholarship RecipientsWe Salute Two Young Marines who were awarded

Jimmy Trimble Scholarships by the American Veterans Center Young Marines Master Gunnery Sergeant Destini Bocanegra, 17, of Downey, CA,and Young Marines Master Gunnery Sergeant Eric Phung, 17, of Camp Lejeune, NC, have earned Jimmy Trimble Scholarships from the American Veterans Center. The honors were bestowed during the 24th Annual Conference of the American Veterans Center on November 6, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The two scholarship award winners will escort WWII veterans to Guam and Iwo Jima

next spring for the 77th annual Reunion of Honor. They will join eight other youth members of the Young Marines as they travel to the island of Iwo Jima which is accessible only one day a year for this special reunion of Japanese and American veterans. “Jimmy Trimble gave up professional baseball and despite many other offers, he remained fo-cused on serving his country and remaining in combat,” said Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. “We are grateful to the American Veterans Center for keeping his spirit alive and for allowing the Young Marines to play a key role in that effort.”

Young Marines Master Gunnery Sergeant Des-tini Bocanegra is a member of the Southland Young Marines located in Pomona, California. She joined the Young Marines in August of 2016 when she was eleven years old. Today, Bocaneg-ra is 17 years old and a senior at Warren High School in her hometown of Downey, California. Bocanegra has earned her DEA device, the Presi-dential Volunteer Service Award on a Gold Level, a meritorious mast for outstanding service as a school SGTMAJ, Unit and Battalion Young Marine of the Year, and was top 10 in her class from the Advanced Leadership School. “The best part of the Young Marines Program are the friendships I have made with both Young Ma-rines and Adult Volunteers,” she said. “The Young Marines has taught me many life skills that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my life. The biggest thing that the program has taught me is to have confidence in whatever I do.” Outside of the Young Marines, Bocanegra has earned the Student of the Month award four times in a row, is the league champion for shot put in track and field, earned her Varsity letter for marching band, received a County of Los An-geles Commendation, earned the Distinguished Service to Youth Award by the City of San Dimas

and is a member of the California Scholarship Federation. She also received a Marine Corps League Commendation fromDetachment 1347. Bocanegra plans on attending the United States Naval Academy with a major in Political Science and a mi-nor in Chinese or Japanese. Upon graduating the Naval Academy, she hopes to be a Marine or Navy Pilot. Following her term, she plans to go back to college to become a lawyer. Destini is the daughter of Patricia and Fred Bocanegra. She has two sisters, Kiberly, and Saman-tha Herrera, and one brother, Gilbert Herrera.

YM/MGySgt Destini BOCANEGRA

Jimmy TrimbleSCHOLARSHIP

The mission of the AVC is to guard the legacies and honor the sacrifices of all American veterans. Through oral history preservation, educational programs and civic events, we preserve the stories – and lessons – of veterans past and present, from which future generations can learn.

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In Honor of a Marine’s Selfless Legacy

Young Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant Eric Phung joined the Young Marines when he was 11 years old in 2015. He joined as a member of the Pyramid Rock unit in Kailua, Hawaii and then the Golden Gate unit in Hayward, San Francisco. Phung recently relocated to Jacksonville, North Carolina where he intends to transfer to a local unit. He is an Honor Graduate from recruit training, both Ju-nior and Senior Leadership Schools, was named Pyramid Rock Unit Young Marine of the Year for 2020 and was the 1st California Regiment Young Marine of the Year for 2020-2021. “The best part of being a Young Marine is being able to meet other Young Marines and have experiences that I would not otherwise have had,” he said. “I attended the National Flight Academy, attended a Sailing Adventure School, and completed a service project in Hawaii. I've been able to meet Young Marines, Adult Volunteers, and Veterans who have mentored and motivated me. I've also had opportunities to volunteer and support our military communities, so they never feel that they are forgotten.” Outside of Young Marines, he maintains over a 4.0 weighted GPA and is a member of the varsity football team at his high school. His goal is to attend the Uni-versity of Hawaii in Manoa and study Sports Medicine or Kinesiology. After graduating from college, Phung would like to work

closely with athletes and other sports minded individuals, so they can de-velop their skills in a way that prevents injuries. He would also like to work with injured athletes, so they can stay mo-tivated which will ultimately help in their recovery. Phung is the son of Quy-en and Lori Phung. Quyen Phung is an active-duty Chief Warrant Officer 4 in the Marine Corps and so far, has served for 23 years. Eric Phung also has a sister, Emily Phung.

James “Jimmy” Trimble III was a star athlete who passed up the opportunity to play professional baseball in order to first serve his country in the United States Marine Corps.

Trimble died at the age of 19 on March 1, 1945 on Iwo Jima.

The scholarship is presented annually to two Young Marines who exemplify the fine qualities of Jimmy Trimble.

YM/MGySgt Eric PHUNG

Jimmy TrimbleSCHOLARSHIP

The mission of the AVC is to guard the legacies and honor the sacrifices of all American veterans. Through oral history preservation, educational programs and civic events, we preserve the stories – and lessons – of veterans past and present, from which future generations can learn.

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Our VeteransProudly wearing the eagle, globe and anchor,We proudly serve our Corps.We will follow and complyReady to serve and dieWith the words Oorah and Semper Fi!With guns’ thunderous bangingThere comes a uniform hangingWhether women’s or men’sIt is proudly worn by our Veterans! --By YM/Pvt Gabriel Delaney Space Coast (FL) Young Marines

The Space Coast (FL) Young Marines unit from Melbourne have been dedicated all year to supporting veterans and their community. Some of the events the Young Marines partici-pated in were the Vietnam Moving Wall, Memorial Day Events, Marine Corps League 75th Anniversary, Flag Day with the Elk's Lodge, 4th of July parade, Veterans Day Memorial Center Offi-cer Swearing In Ceremony, Special Presentation of the Marine Corps Hymn in honor of the Marine Corps League, Military Order of the Purple Hearts Ceremony, 9/11 Remembrance

Ceremony, Letters Written to an Honor Flight Veterans, Vet-erans Day Color Guard for First Christian Church Service, and Veterans Day Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Center. Our Young Marines also put their creativity to work by drawing pictures and writing poems honoring our veterans. We thank you veterans of the past and present, for your sac-rifices and service to our country!Semper Fidelis!--Submitted by Leigh Vinke, Space Coast (FL) Young Marines

Veterans Appreciation with Space Coast Young Marines

On November 8, 2021, the Miramar (CA) Young Marines provided the presentation of the Colors at the El Cajon Elks Lodge's California Veterans Day service. The Miramar Young Marines have formed a special relationship with the El Ca-jon Elks Lodge, and although another youth group was par-ticipating in the ceremony, the Elks made a special request to have the Young Marines attend their event to present the Colors. YM/SSgt Olivia Kries, YM/Sgt Andrew Vuong, YM/LCpl Chiara Sussman, and YM/LCpl Isabella Bruski marched into the hall, YM/Sgt Vuong carrying a folded American flag. The Young Marines ceremoniously unfolded the flag, held it out for presentation during the Pledge of Allegiance, and then ceremoniously refolded the flag. The Young Marines then retired the colors, marching out of the hall to the cheers and applause of the attendees. The Young Marines were outstanding and represented the Young Marines pro-gram and their country with pride.-- Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Unit Commander, Miramar (CA) Young Marines

Young Marines: We Appreciate Our Nation’s VeteransYMs Provide Color Guard for the Elks on Veterans Day


By YM/PFC Malachi HamiltonRocky Mountain (CO) Ever since I joined the Rocky Mountain (CO) Young Marines, I have been looking for a way I could contribute to our unit. The thing I ended up choosing was playing Taps at our flag retirement ceremo-nies. Our unit conducts flag retirement ceremonies because this is the proper way to dispose of an American flag that has served its duty to our country. I am happy to be the first Young Marine in our unit to play trumpet. Despite many hours of practicing, I was very nervous the first time I played Taps and was not confident that I would do well. Afterwards, people congratulated me for a job well done and I felt more con-fident the next time I performed. So far, I have played Taps at four ceremonies and really enjoyed it each time. I am looking forward to the next opportunity to honor our flag by playing Taps again.

I Play Taps to Honor Our Flag

Last August, the Gettysburg (PA)Young Marines Color Guard had the honor and privilege to be a part of the “Hope for The Warriors” event at Battlefield Har-ley Davidson (in Gettysburg). The Color Guard presented the Colors as the rid-ers for the “Seventh Annual Riding for Warriors” event stopped in Gettysburg for a brief ceremony. These Young Ma-rines had the pleasure of meeting and being coined by Major General James Kessler, (USMC Ret) President and CEO, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. In commemoration of the 20th an-niversary of the attacks on 9/11, the Seventh Annual Riding for Warriors journey included a six-day, 900-mile motorcycle ride start-ing in New Jersey and ending in New York City. The ride took the riders to visit 9/11 memorials at New York City’s Ground

Zero, Flight 93, and the Pentagon to pay honor and respect to the lives lost in some of the deadliest attacks on America. Hope for The Warriors is a national nonprofit organization that serves our country’s military and families by providing support programs that are focused on transition, health and well-ness, peer engagement, and connec-tions to community resources. The Gettysburg Young Marine Color Guard thanks Maj Gen Kessler for this great opportunity and confidence in our unit to be a part of this humbling event.

What an amazing experience for these Young Marines! We’re very proud of you!--Submitted by Christina Smith, Gettsburg (PA) Young Marines

Gettysburg YM Color Guard Supports Hope For The Warriors

By YM/PVT Connor GerrishHeartland (IL) Every American holds onto the memory of 9/11 and honors those we lost and those who have served to protect our country in various ways each year on this date. This year, I joined the Young Marines, and I was proud to spend this twentieth anniversary with my Heartland (IL) Young Marines unit as we flew the American flags from the bridges over Mt. Vernon, IL. Our unit gathered and stood alongside our city’s police of-ficers, firemen, and veterans to wave the American flags to show that we will never forget those Americans we lost that day and in the following years. Our unit helps with many events to honor veterans, but this day received more attention than most. All those passing by

expressed their support by waving, honking, and taking pho-tos. The experience was a great reminder that we are stronger as a community and as a country when we are united, and that this event united us like no other. I am proud to be an Ameri-can, and proud to be a Young Marine.--Submitted by Eddie Vaughn, Heartland (IL) Young Marines

Heartland: Recalling 9/11 Attacks on 20th Anniversary


By YM/MSgt Ethan MayerMiramar (CA) A new state, new people, new challenges. My time as Acad-emy First Sergeant of the Tennessee Regimental Leadership schools for Division 3 was like nothing I have ever done be-fore. Being in a new environment with new Young Marines was such a unique experience. I was honored to work along-side YM/MGySgt Destini Bocanegra, the Academy SgtMaj, and the rest of the amazing staff. The memories we made are memories I will always carry with me and the information I learned I will share with my Unit Commander and the other Young Marines. I have found during my experiences at leadership schools that you can learn so much just from being in the leadership school environment. You can learn about yourself as a leader, who to surround yourself with, and what you can do to suc-ceed. You can also learn how to be a team member even in a competitive environment. While you learn so much valuable information in the classroom, the experiences and the friend-ships are what truly resonated for me after each school, and that is what I wanted my students to understand. Being a cadre member required commitment. Every day the cadre was up at 0430 or 0500 getting ready for the day. We would stay up late and get up early to make sure our classes were ready for the next day and that we were caught up on our grading. We all worked pretty much around the clock to make sure we were on schedule and accounting for any mis-haps or delays. I was nervous at first about teaching a school since I had never taught a leadership school before. But, after

about one minute of being at the school and interacting with the adult volunteers and fellow Young Marines, I felt at home. I was immediately ready to take on the challenge, and I feel that all of the cadre and students did extremely well. If you are looking to teach a leadership school, first make sure you have met the requirements. You must be a Senior Leadership School Graduate to teach a Junior leadership School. Once you have graduated from Advanced Leadership School, you can teach a Senior Leadership School and apply for First Sergeant or Sergeant Major Billets. Once you meet the requirements for teaching a leadership school, talk to your unit commander about getting in contact with your local leadership school director, and see what you can do to be part of the leadership school staff. Thank you again to David Assfalg, Tennessee Regiment Lead-ership School Director for Division and 3, and to YM/MGySgt Bocanegra for the opportunity to be School First Sergeant! Thank you to all of the Young Marines that did so well. I am looking forward to seeing all of your careers in the program!

2021JLSSLSALSThe Tennessee Regiment Leadership Academy

YM/MGySgt Destini Bocanegra of the Southland (CA) Young Marines(the Academy SgtMaj, and YM/MSgt Ethan Mayer of the Miramar (CA)

Young Marines.

A place for learning valuable lessons about leadership,and a place to enjoy lasting friendships. Young Marines attending the Academy at ease for a group portrait.


By YM/MSgt Ethan MayerMiramar (CA) Advanced Leadership School was an experience we will never forget. We got to meet Young Marines from across the country and create bonds that will last a lifetime, and we got to experience it together. Al-though we are twins, we have not attended a leadership school together, until now. From all of the classes and activities we did throughout the two weeks, we made mem-ories and learned lessons that we couldn’t wait to take back to our unit. There were times we were challenged both mentally and physically. Many days we were tired and ready to take a break, but our team spirit kept us going. We stayed motivated, shouted loud, and pushed through with our whole class. Going as brothers, it was fun to work together as well as compete against each other. Having the opportunity to challenge each other made our experience so much more unique. It was truly an experi-ence we will never ever forget. YM/MSgt Ethan Mayer, Inspire Award Recipient, and Iron Mike Recipient:The biggest lesson I learned was selflessness. It is super easy to get wrapped up in the competition of being at a leadership school. At the beginning of the school, I found myself stressed and feeling like I was alone in the school. But as the school progressed, I made friends and got closer with my classmates. I started working for my team, and not for myself. It helped me realize that you can’t do everything yourself. Together ev-eryone achieves more, and the more we achieved together, the closer we became. We could go to bed every evening with excitement for the next day. I loved that feeling. It was espe-cially rewarding at the end of the graduation ceremony when we could all stand together and say “we made it!” I miss all of my classmates and I hope to work with them soon in the future. YM/GySgt Andrew Mayer, Honor Graduate:Advanced leadership School was full of lessons, but the les-sons I enjoyed the most were the lessons not taught in class. There’s a saying in the Marine Corps that rings true through-out the trip: “Embrace the suck.” It means when things get difficult, you embrace it and look at your situation through a positive lens. You look at your comrades (who are also in

the same situation) and say to yourself, “We got this! Oorah, hard day!” The land nav day dur-ing the first week is a prime ex-ample. From the small hours of the morning, you’re on your feet, roaming the northwestern wil-derness. You will be immensely thankful for chow. You will hy-drate like you’ve never hydrated before. It will be hot, then cold, then wet. Despite that, every second of land nav day is fun. If you weren’t friends with your peers already, you will be after land nav day. It’s a lesson that I’ve taken into my day-to-day life. Embrace your situation, es-pecially when it gets hard. The Young Marines program is the one thing that you should take advantage of. As ALS grad-uates, the one thing we both highly recommend is for you to take your career as far as you can in the time you have left. You learn life lessons in the con-text of Young Marines, so you have a space to practice before life after the program. Your unit

is a test bed for you as a team member, a team leader, and a mentor. It’s also one of the most

rewarding and fun things you’ll do. The camaraderie you’ll build with your peers is unmatched. The ways you bond with one another will be unique to your group (high knees!). We hope to see Young Marines from around the country at the 2022 National Leadership Academy, ready to learn. Editor’s Note: Ethan and Andrew joined the Young Marines in 2016 and have been in the program for five years.Ethan and Andrew are the sons of Sharon and William Mayer. Their mother is the financial manager for the Miramar (CA) Young Marines. The brothers are seniors at High Tech High Mesa High School. Andrew’s goals include becoming an engineer in the auto-motive industry, being a career military officer, or working in the music industry. Ethan hopes to work in business market-ing or in public affairs of organizations. “The Advanced Leadership School is the highest level of leadership training offered by the Young Marines,” said Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. “YM/MSgt Ethan Mayer and YM/GySgt Andrew Mayer will take their new leadership skills back to the Miramar Young Marines and their community.”

JLSSLSALS2021YM Twins Succeeded Individually at Advanced School

YM/GySgt Andrew Mayer and YM/MSgt Ethan Mayer of the Miramar (CA) Young Marines were both recipients of honors at the conclusion

of Advanced Leadeship School.


Young Marines Make Reality Virtual at Cyber PathsBy YM/SSgt Jackson WatersMountain View (CO) Last August I had the great opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. for Cyber Paths: Virtual Reality. Originally, it was planned for Young Marines to build their own VR at this camp. However, some of the parts required to build our own VR were not available, but we still

ended up with an outstanding week of learning. We began by learning about the virtual world, and while most people’s first thoughts about VR is often its use in gam-ing, but this isn’t the only use for VR. Virtual Reality is also used by many people around the world for training, practice, construction, and even in the medical field. For example, if doctors are going to perform liver surgery, they can take a scan of the organ and put it into VR so they can get a look at the liver and see what problems may be encountered during the surgery. We also learned about Augmented Reality. AR is very simi-lar to VR, but it adds a filter over the real world. Simply put, it adds more information into the real world such as room temperature, or something more complicated, such as loca-tion coordinates. We learned how both AR and VR could be used in many different ways by Dr. Hurriyet Ok, who talked about the ways AR can create repetition in training, which allows you to prepare for an experience. Next, we learned how the Navy uses VR from Rob Fowler. This was informative and interesting. Using VR makes it easier to check and inspect the condition of ships. One aspect of the class all the Young Marines enjoyed was learning how to build our own mini-VR worlds, and then actually building them. Each Young Marine built something completely different; some were huge things, small things, rooms, space-ships, even Sponge Bob. Because it’s VR, where if you can think it, you can make it happen. The Young Marines Adult Volunteers also took us to see the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group (MCCOG). They handle the cyber security for the United States Marine Corps. The building had many restricted rooms, so even though we couldn’t see inside them, it was fun thinking about what might be in them. Learning about cyber security from the experts was eye-opening. As each of us headed back home, with our own Oculus Quest 2, we were thankful for this opportunity that the Young Marines program helped us experience.

We have some exciting Communications/Marketing changes happening in 2022! Since the Young Marines is a nonprofit organization, best practices necessitates a change to our Young Marines website and email addresses from .com to .org. This change should not have a huge impact on Units, Adult Volunteers, Young Marines or Parents. There will be an automatic redirect should someone use the youngmarines.com address (both email and website). Units should not order new materials until they are running out of their current stock. When you are ordering new materials you should use the www.youngmarines.org address and if you have a Young Marines email address given to you by HQ, you will then change that on your materials to whatever your HQ given email address is @youngmarines.org

Thank you for helping us publicize the fact that we are a nonprofit organization and the change from a .com to a .org is an especially important piece of that. It will help all Young Marines units with our fund-raising events and grant opportunities. If you have any questions about this change, please reach out to Abra Hogarth, Director of Strategic Communications at 800-717-0060 X209.

Youngmarines.com is now Youngmarines.org

Here’s a sample of augmented reality!


By YM/Cpl Akshaya KrishnaGolden Gate (CA) On July 25, 2021, I flew to Virginia to participate in the SPACES Adventure Links event. There was plenty of learning and excitement as-sociated with the different adventures. Some key events were Via Ferrata, caving, zip-lining, hiking, and team devel-opment activities. Each of the tasks had unique takeaways. Part of the team develop-ment, we had 6 different ac-tivities that were to be accomplished as a group. They were both physically and mentally chal-lenging and required a lot of teamwork. zip lin-ing was something that needed courage and self-confidence and I truly appreciated my first time zip-lining. Morale was also essential for the Via Ferrata along with the physical strength. We had the choice to execute an optional course of the Via Ferrata which consisted of climbing to the high-est point of the mountain range and crawling back down. The view from the top was remarkable and I am glad that I chose to complete the optional activity. Bravo to those who completed the entire course! Caving was such an exuberant exploit, that I cannot stress how much fun I had crawling through the different cave rooms. We all went in-side the cave in different colors and came out in one color, brown. Out of all these ventures, Via Ferrata was my favorite activity. I did not think I was capable of completing it, but after I did, I felt a sense of grati-fication that I had never experienced before. I can finally claim that there are many valuable oppor-tunities available in the Young Marines program that no other average youth programs offer. It’s im-portant that every Young Marine takes advantage of every opportunity because they will most likely come around once in a lifetime. The amount of knowledge and lessons learned complemented the fun and enjoyment I had and I would highly recommend the Adventure Links SPACES event. I would like to thank the Young Ma-rines program for all these opportunities as it is motivating me to be more committed. Of course, all of this would not have been possible without the contribution of the Adult Volunteers, Adven-ture Links staff, and Young Marines, like those that became my friends. Thank you all for this fantastic experience and I’m looking forward to more!

SPACES: A Place For Young Marines Seeking Adventures


SPACES: Young Marines Excel at the Aviation ChallengeBy YM/CPL Roman SchumacherRocky Mountain (CO) We all have had that disappointing mo-ment when an event you planned to attend was canceled. For me, I was supposed to go to Flight Academy last summer. I learned that it was canceled. This year, they let older YMs into Flight Academy because of COVID. Turns out, they canceled it again, but they had found another option: Aviation Chal-lenge! I arrived in Huntsville, Alabama at the U.S. Space and Rocket center in August. On the first day, I met several Young Marines and was put with my team, Mach III. There were three main things we did at Aviation Challenge: Survival classes, patrol-ling, and using the flight simulators. There were a total of five classes on survival: Basic survival, land navigation, shelter building, fire craft, and water procure-ment. Each class taught us how to survive if our plane went down and how to hide from enemy aircraft on the ground. We also went on a zipline backwards into the water to simulate a parachute landing into the water. Patrolling was very fun. We were given instructions on our mission each day. For instance, saving a downed pilot who was captured by the enemy, or just finding a hard drive in enemy territory. We had to constantly look out for threats (literally, anything moving). When a threat was called, we would dive for the bushes in an attempt to not be seen by the threat. If

it was an actual threat (guards) we would try to neutralize them by tapping firmly on their shoulders. Lastly were the flight simulators. We went into a large room with four simu-lators. The simulators had two screens per seat, one for radars, altitude, speed, and other information that pilots need to know, and one for the outside view. Inside were around one hundred buttons and

switches, but we only learned 50 of them. We were sent on various missions throughout the week, like landing on the aircraft carrier, bombing buildings, dog fighting (engaging in combat against other planes). The last mission was Top Gun, a challenging tournament be-tween all of Mach III in a dog fight. Each pair went up against all the other pairs, and every fight lasted 3 minutes except the last match which lasted 5 minutes. My pilot and I made our way to the finals against a very good pilot and his distracting MFO (Manager of Flight Operations). They crashed at the very beginning and we thought we won. We had a rematch, so it wasn’t over, but they drew a penalty for crashing. At the graduation ceremony, the other team was awarded the winning team because they had more fuel and got more points than us. I would recommend any Young Marine to at-tend this event, it was very fun, challenging, and I made a lot of friends along the way.

By YM/Sgt Olivia KriesMiramar (CA) I recently attended SPACES event Adven-ture Links in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and it was amazing! I arrived at the airport early morning expecting to fly cross-country by myself, but I was happily surprised to find a Young Marine from Camp Pendleton would

also be attending the trip. We arrived in Washington DC hours later to find it was HOT. I’m used to warmer climates coming from San Diego, but the dry heat I knew was nothing like the humid, muggy air I suddenly found myself in. We met with a group of Young Marines who were also attending the trip and all got on a bus to Virginia. Hours later, we got off the big bus and onto a smaller one that could navigate the twisty roads on route to the campsite, and then we eventually had to get off that bus and walk the final distance to the camp- that’s how far we were in the middle of nowhere. The campsite, Camp Horizons, was beautiful, spacious, and full of greenery and wildlife. Everyone found their cabins, unpacked, and went to bed excited for the week’s adventures to start. The next morning we were divided into groups based on our age, and for the rest of the week, we adventured! The first day was team building games, and my group had a great time trying to break or set all the records. The day after that we traveled to West Virginia, where we took an uphill hike to a breathtaking view of the mountains. Wednesday was my favorite part of the

trip: Via Ferrata, a rock climb like no other! We were climbing hundreds of feet above the ground on the side of a mountain, linked into a system of steel rungs and cables. It was exciting and at times a little nerve-wracking, but truly a once in a life-time experience. The next day was another hike to a beautiful area with waterfalls and rock slides, but we had to walk past an active yellow jacket nest to get there! The last day was caving, in which we went exploring deep underground. My favorite part was when we had to navigate a section of the caves with our head lamps off. It was completely pitch black, and we had to army crawl for about 50 yards at the end of the stretch, but it was so much fun. Along with all these daily adventures were trips to the lake or pool, team and cabin bonding time, great food and sto-ries at the chow hall, and a lot of reapplying sunscreen and bug spray. I made a ton of new friends while also reconnect-ing with Young Marines I had met at other events. When the last day finally came we were all sad to leave. The AV’s didn’t make us go to bed so the entire camp stayed awake swapping phone numbers and saying goodbye until 12:30 AM, when those flying home got on the bus to the airport. I left Virginia with a lot of bug bites and bruises, but with the memories of a phenomenal and exciting time. For those thinking about signing up for SPACES trips, I highly recommend you do! Adventure Links was a blast and I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.

Adventure Links, It’s An Experience Like No Other!


By YM/PFC Jae Viahn HintonQuartz Hill (CA) I love going out into nature and doing fun activities like hikes and mountain biking and rock climbing.So when I heard I was accepted to attend the Big Bear Encampment I was so happy. Then I heard that the Encamp-ment was canceled because of forest fires. That's when I went

to my room and nearly had a fit. Then I heard that the encampment was back on, but it would be somewhere I didn't think we were going. On Friday I got in the car with my fellow Young Marines and was on my way to the encampment. While we were in the car we made jokes and had a lot of fun. We finally arrived, set up tents, and got settled. The next morning, everyone got up at the crack of dawn, got dressed and stood in formation for the first time and then went to breakfast. After that, we walked to the beach and did some PT. Next, we went swimming and then had lunch and attended fun classes about elevator speeches and such. That was when I realized I still had a lot of time until lights out which was at 10:00, so I hung out with some oth-er Young Marines. I was assigned fire watch at 2:00 in the morning. When I went back to my tent I couldn't fall back

asleep so I just stared at the ceiling for 3 hours un-til it was time to get up. After breakfast we wrote letters to veterans and did swim quals and prac-ticed for the color guard. After afternoon chow, we watched the color guard. Later, we met an agent

from the Drug Enforcement Agency who told us about his job. Then we played some fun games like tug of war, shark and minnows and island. We all got ready for lights out and then some other Young Marines and I hung out for a while. Out of nowhere, we were called us to get in formation and awards and glowsticks were handed out. I was confused about the glow sticks for a little, but then I saw us going to the area where we did swim quals and then we had a talent show and the night was over. Then we got up got dressed and left. Overall, I think my favorite part of the trip was the talent show and the food. I liked the tacos the oatmeal the danishes scrambled eggs and the Shakey’s Pizza we had on the way to the encampment. I was sad when we all left but I made a lot of friends and some good memories at my first ever encamp-ment!

My First Encampment, Full of Unexpected SurprisesAn encampment with a

change of location,a fire watch assignment,a night time talent show and a chance to meet

new friends

ENCAMPMENTS 2021

NEW!Online management system for parents of Young Marines

We are proud to introduce our Young Marines Parent Portal for parents and guardians of Young Marines. The portal allows you to stay up to date and maintain all of your Young Marines family information in one location. Manage your Young Marines, family/emergency contacts, and personal/medical information. The portal went live July 1, 2021 and you will now re-register your Young Marines directly through the Parent Portal. During 2022 SPACES registration you will use the Parent Portal to register each of your Young Marines for the events they qualify for.

Access the Parent Portal through www.YoungMarines.org by using the login button in the top right corner and follow the steps to set up your account. If you need assistance please contact Patricia Borka at [email protected].

Once your account is set up, you will login and then you will be taken to a landing page where you will have access to the Parent Portal features as well as announcements, calendars, guidebooks and additional information.

Parent PortalParent PortalParent PortalProfile

Family Contacts

Profile

Medical Info

Health History

Medications

Allergies

Immunizations

Agreements

My Account

My Young Marines

www.youngmarines.org

Update Your personal information

Attach and manage your Young Marines and the Family Contacts

Update Your Young Marines personal information

Update personal and medical information

View medical history

Authorize and update medications

Update Allergies

Keep immunizations up to date

View and sign agreements and waivers


By YM/Sgt Victoria GacekMecklenburg County (NC) In September I had the opportunity to attend the Division 6 encampment held in San Pedro, CA at the historical training lo-cation of the South Bay (CA) Young Marines. This event was an awesome experience, and I am so grateful to have been able to go. I traveled with YM/Sgt Sapp and YM/GySgt Gooch with the Swansboro unit as well as some of the best AV’s, Mr. Henderson and Ms. Foster. We flew out of Charlotte, NC, Friday morning and that’s when the adventure began. I had been looking forward to the encamp-ment and was so excited to experience new things and meet some wonderful Young Marines. Once we landed, we headed out to the Santa Monica Pier. It was beauti-ful. There are so many cool things in California that I experienced, and I will cherish those memories forever. We had lunch on the Pier, walked on the beach, and checked out what was on the pier. We checked in at the encampment, I dropped my gear off on my bunk and went out to meet some new YM’s. I was able to make some friends quickly. Check in night was mostly helping setting up tents, unpacking things in the barracks, and meeting new Young Marines. It was nice and cool at night. Saturday morning, we got up at 0600

(west coast time). It wasn’t hard to get up since back at home it would normally be 0900. The time change caught up with me around Sunday. I always popped right out of bed in excitement on what the day must bring. The first thing we did was get in formation and get ready for chow. I was in red platoon which was the best pla-toon (no bias at all). Our

Plt Sgt was YM/GySgt Coute. He did an outstanding job keeping us motivat-ed throughout the day. Our chant was “Red Platoon’s the best platoon!”. We’d always compete with purple platoon when it came to motivation and chant-ing. All the meals were outstanding at the encampment. I’m very thankful for the kitchen staff for their hard work in keeping lots of Young Marines full and left with tons of energy all day. After chow, we got all our gear needed put together and walked to the beach for PT and some fun in the water. PT was a fun experience. We all worked very hard and stayed motivated throughout the PT session so that we would enjoy lots of time in the water. After PT we all changed over into our swim gear and charged for the water. The water was very cold which made it even more fun seeing who would get all the way in the water first. I quickly swam in to get the being cold part over with. We had splash

battles and a group of us challenged each other to see who could get closest to shore as being a human boogie board. I also played football with some Young Marines. We stayed for a few hours and then it was time to head back. When we got back, we had chow and played some team building games. We played tug of war against the other platoons, Sharks and Minnows, and of course a great game of island tag. Later on, we had a DEA Agent come and tell us about his job. His stories were amazing, and I was very interest-ed in the job he does. He taught us to always make good life choices to set yourself up for success in the future. Overall, Saturday was an awesome day. I couldn’t even imagine what Sunday was going to look like, but I knew it was go-ing to be a blast. Sunday morning my battle buddy and I got ready quick enough to get out of the barracks and see the sun peak over the hill in the distance by the water. It was beautiful to watch. Sunday was a lot about learning Drill and Ceremonies. I watched a color guard competition. I watched and supported my platoon members when they competed, and I also learned new movements in color guard that I can bring to my unit. While the color guard practiced, we created drill teams in each platoon. I got to be a part of the drill team, which was very exciting. One of the things I love about Young Marines is drill and ceremonies. It’s a subject that I can never stop in-creasing my knowledge in. We com-peted, and we did very well, especially

considering that we did not have much time to practice. I am very proud of all the Young Marines who competed. After noon chow, we got a group of 14 Young Ma-rines, and we left for a little bit to go and see the USS Iowa. It was an outstanding opportunity to learn more about our country’s history and hear our veterans’ stories. It was so cool to see so much history in one place. When we got back, we all competed in color guard competitions and drill competi-tions and then had evening chow.

Continued next page

Division 6 Encampment: It Was Motivating and InspiringENCAMPMENTS 2021


By YM/Pvt Christopher OrtegaEagle (CA) During the winter months, in February our unit made a trip to the mountains in Big Bear, California to see snow. As we were driving up the mountain we started to see the snow. It looked like flour! We finally stopped and got out of the vehicle and I touched the snow, it was so soft. I really liked what we did. We hiked 3 miles around a lake with ice, made snowmen, and inner-tubing on the snow slide. I also like the mountains and seeing a lot of snow because we never ever see snow in Vista, California.

But one thing I did not like, was the COLD!!! It felt like I was inside my parent’s freezer! I had to wear gloves to keep my fingers warm. My nose got cold and started running. But after the snow activity, we were treated with hot chocolate and delicious pizza. I would like to thank my parents for letting me join the Young Marines. Because, now I am having a lot of fun with new friends. I also tell my school friends about it and try to convince them that they could also be Young Marines and live a healthy, drug free lifestyle.--Submitted by Duane Siegmann, Eagle (CA) Young Marines

By YM/Cpl Milleena OvalleSouthland (CA) On Labor Day weekend, September 3-6th 2021, I attended our annual Division 6 Encampment. Almost every year we go into the mountains and have an encampment in Big Bear, California for four days and three nights. Everything seemed to be running smoothly until the Tuesday before the event, when wildfires caused an evacuation in Big Bear, and left us with nowhere to have our encampment. However, thanks to the South Bay Young Marines who granted us their facilities, Division 6 had a place to have our encampment. After just four days of replanning our Encampment, our lead-ers managed to coordinate an eventful weekend filled with fun things to do. We got the chance to get to know our Divi-sion 6 YMOY YM/SgtMaj Kiera Base, and our National Young Marine of the Year, YM/SgtMaj Mario Koch. While we were there, we hiked down to the beach to do a morning PT circuit, led by our senior Young Marines. After our work-out, we had some fun down time to swim in the ocean and to meet other Young Ma-rines. While we were there, we had the opportunity to go to the Battle-ship USS Iowa, where we learned so much about the ship’s history, the battles it has fought in, and the life-style of the sailors on the ship.

We also held a drill and ceremonies competition. Each pla-toon chose a squad and a drill sergeant to march them using the Junior Leadership School drill card. They also chose the best four Young Marines to do a color guard ceremony. At the

end of the last night there, our cadre and senior Young Marines held a Young Marine Glow in the Dark Tal-ent Show. The show featured anyone who was brave enough to show off their talent. Overall, our time there at the Division 6 Encampment was an unforgettable experience, and none of it would have been possible without the outstanding leadership and initiative shown by our Young Marines and Staff here in our pro-gram.

The Division 6 Encampment was Successfully Relocated

Young Marines paused for a group photo beneath the big guns of the battleship USS Iowa.

A Winter Encampment and a Rare Chance to See SNOW

ENCAMPMENTS 2021 Afterwards we got together and had a Young Marines talent show where the Young Marine Cadre, Adult Volun-teers, and Young Marines showed how much talent our Young Marines have. We had glow sticks that match our pla-toon color. We all had a blast on the

last night and it’s a memory that will stick with me forever. After all of that, the platoons gathered to say our good byes and do our final chants. I am so thankful for the Young Marines that I met and all the hardworking Adult Vol-unteers who made this event possible. I

learned more about myself as a leader and learned leadership traits from other Young Marines that will help improve me not only as a Young Marine but as a citizen. Thank you, Division 6, for invit-ing me to the encampment! It’s an ex-perience I’ll never forget.

(Continued from page 18)


On October 23, 2021, 4th Battalion Young Marines from the 2nd California Regiment, Division 6, joined forces to support the Red Ribbon Week DDR Dash initiative. The Young Marines conducted a 2.2 mile formation run on the MCAS Miramar PFT Course. The Young Marines from the Miramar Unit and San Diego Unit ran the entire course taking turns calling cadence. In command of the Battalion was YM/GySgt Jonathan Zhou whose organizational and motivational skills are outstanding. The Platoon Sergeants were YM/Cpl Philip Zajac (San Diego Young Marines) and YM/Sgt Tristan Vuong (Miramar Young Ma-rines). The Battalion Guides were YM/LCpl Joshua Armendariz (San Diego Young Marines) and YM/Sgt Andrew Vuong (Mi-ramar Young Marines). The Miramar Young Marines also had eight Recruits join in on the fun. Under YM/SSgt Olivia Kries's watchful eye, the Recruits completed the run with YM/LCpl Chiara Sussman as their Platoon Sergeant. Leigh Dick (Divi-sion 6 Commanding Officer) joined the 4th Battalion Young Marines in the support of Red Ribbon Week. After the run, all of the Young Marines, Recruits, and Adult Volunteers gathered around enjoying the inter-unit camaraderie that is so special in the Young Marines program. They also feasted on a plethora of well-deserved doughnuts! The Young Marines of the 4th Battalion were outstanding and it is always a pleasure working with them. I am extremely proud of the dedication and commitment showed by our Young Marines.--Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Unit Commander, Miramar (CA) Young Marines

By LCpl Aaron PastranaPikes Peak (CO) In the United States, adults age21 and older can buy ciga-rettes and alcohol. But smoking and excessive drinking are not healthy for adults, and they're off-limits for kids. Although marijuana is an illegal drug in some states, an increasing number of states have made it legal. Some states allow doctors to prescribe it to people for some medical con-ditions. Sometimes. young people try drugs in order to fit in with a group of friends. Or they might be curious (or just bored).

A person may use illegal drugs for many reasons, but often because they help the person escape from reality for a while. A drug might - temporarily - make someone who is sad or up-set feel better or forget about problems. But this escape lasts only until the drug wears off. Drugs don't solve problems. Using drugs often causes other problems on top of the problems the person may have had in the first place. Some-body who uses drugs can become dependent on them, or ad-dicted. This term means that the person's body becomes so accustomed to having this drug that he or she is not able to function without it.

Young Marines Encouraging a Healthy, Drug Free Lifestyle

RED RIBBON WEEK 2021

Though Legal, Alcohol and Tobacco Use Can Be Harmful

4th Battalion Units Join Forces for the Red Ribbon Week DDR Dash


By YM/PFC Sterling KrulicUpstate (SC) On Saturday, July 10th, 2021, the Upstate Young Marine Unit participated in a drug education event sponsored by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. When we arrived at the Mobile Sub-stance Abuse Education Unit, I ob-served a table with items such as drunk googles, opioid goggles, and a tongue model representing the effects of to-bacco use. I was intrigued by the drunk goggles and pedal kart activity. I placed

the goggles on and immediately was surprised at how my vision was compro-mised. I had dif-ficulty walking in a straight line

and avoiding the cones when driving the pedal kart. This activity helped to remind me of the dangers of drinking and driving. I also tried out the opioid glasses. They made me feel dizzy when I attempted to complete a puzzle. The tongue model made me feel a little sick! The white patches were not anything I would ever want in my own mouth. Al-though we can sometimes think of to-bacco as fun, the model displayed that the effects are anything but fun. I also learned about ways to say no to drugs from the counselors on site. One of the great services the Educa-tion Unit provides is counselors to meet with people who are strug-gling with drug addiction. The Mobile Unit is the first of its kind in the state of South Carolina. The Young Marines and I were educat-ed about the use of opioids in the Upstate and how the usage rate

has increased dramatically. We watched some testimonial videos from people who had struggled with addiction and from their family members. The stories made me feel sorrowful for the people involved. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at the Mobile Unit. I am grateful that this ex-ists in Greenville County, and my hope is that it will help many who struggle with addiction.--Submitted by James Roberts, Upstate (SC) Young Marines

We Learn How and Why We Say “No” to Drug Abuse

By YM/SSgt Jackson WatersMountain View (CO) Last September, the Mountain View (CO) Young Marines had our quarterly Drug Demand Re-duction training. Our unit was lucky enough to visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division. When we first arrived, we were greeted in their amazing glass entry way – it was clear it would be a visit to remember. Jim Higgins, Assistant Special Agent in Charge-Denver division, gave us a tour of a few important rooms. The first stop he showed us was the garage. It had a few DEA confiscated cars and a DEA van. This van had exciting equipment inside of it, we were told what some of the things were and how they use them. We were shown a few of these items (like a riot shield and ram). It was pretty funny to see some of the younger Young Marines try and hold the heavy battering rams. Young Marines were also allowed into the van to see what it was like. The high-light for some Young Marines was being able to stand on the side panel of the van and hold on to the top rail, the way the agents showed us. Next, we went to the area they book and hold any suspects

they arrest until they take them to the Denver jail. The Young Marines thought the one-way mirrors were very exciting, and enjoyed seeing the holding cells and where sus-pects were questioned. Finally, we went to the second floor and watched a video about what the DEA’s training looks like. We spent a good amount of time asking ques-tions. It made an impact to hear the ways that the DEA also tries to educate the public on the dangers of drugs. We talked about Kiki Camerena and Red Ribbon week; it’s really cool that we have that shared mission. We were also told a little about how to get into the DEA and what it’s like for some agents on a day-to-day basis. Assistant SAC Higgins taught

us about some of the more common drugs that they arrest people for, and a drug that is being used more and more in our area that’s causing many overdoses, fentanyl. Fentanyl is a very dangerous drug because only two salt sized granules can kill a person. Our Young Marines had a very good time on this unique DDR night and can’t wait to go back. Many of our Young Maines did not know very much about the DEA before this, and tonight all (including me) learned many things about the DEA.

Exciting DDR Experience as Mountain View Visits DEA

Drug Demand Reduction


By YM/LCpl Angel OcampoEagle (CA) I’m in 7th grade. I joined the Young Marines on Sep-tember 15, 2019. My favor-ite subjects in school are Math, P.E, and Reading. My favorite thing is coming to Young Marines and spend-ing time with my friends. I see some families liv-

ing on the streets. Some of their kids go to our School. During November and December our Eagle (CA) Young Marines unit teamed up with the Marine Corps Reserves and conducted Toys for Tots. When our Unit Commander explained what Toys for Tots was, I immediately remembered the families living on the streets. I care about people who are not able to celebrate Christmas. For me, I know how wonderful Christmas Day is. I like Christmas because it gives me joy for seeing my family members giving presents to each other. During the weekdays and weekends we would be in uniform standing outside the stores with United States Marines in their Dress Blue Uniform. Shoppers would come out of the store and put Toys in our

collection boxes. Each toy meant that another child would receive a toy for Christmas. In Young Marines, we help the people who are not able to celebrate Christmas. My dream is that these people can get presents from their loved ones or someone who cares about them. Working alongside the Ma-rines, I learned that not only are Marines always ready to fight for America’s Freedom, but Marines are very caring and help to make sure that American children can have a Christmas. I want to thank everyone who’s taking care of me at home, at school, and at Young Marines. I want to thank my Grandpa, Grandma, and my uncle Robert for having a home. At school, I thank my teachers. At Young Marines I also like to thank the volunteer adults and Mr. and Mrs. Siegmann.--Submitted by Duane Siegmann, Eagle (CA) Young Marines

Toys For Tots: A Great Way to Serve Your Community

On November 13, 2021, the Miramar Young Marines banded together to support Toys for Tots. The Young Marines of the unit know that they are fortunate to be able to belong to a program as special as the Young Marines and wanted to help support less fortunate youth in the area to show their grati-tude. Donating to Toys for Tots, operated by the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, was the obvious choice. The Young Ma-rines in their exuberance supplied enough toys to fill the en-tire back of an SUV! What a great way to support the Marine Corps' efforts and help other youth!

The Toys for Tots program was started in 1947 by Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks. It started with his reserve unit collecting and distributing 5000 toys to children in Los Angeles, California. The program was so successful that the Commandant of the Marine Corps directed all Marine Reserve Sites to implement a Toys for Tots campaign in 1948. Today, Toys for Tots distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million less fortunate children annually.-- Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Unit Commander, Miramar (CA) Young Marines

Miramar YMs Join Forces to Support Toys For Tots

Young Marines:We’re Proud To Serve Our Communities

In Young Marines,

we help people who are not able

to celebrate Christmas.


An Outstanding Volunteer Honored For Work With Camp Foster YM Unit USMC GySgt Eric A. Russell received the Military Outstanding Volun-teer Service Medal last June for his support of the Camp Foster (Oki-nawa, Japan) “Devil Pups’ and the Camp Foster Young Marines unit. Both programs work with youths aged 8 to 18 and promote positive mental, moral and physical development.GySgt Russell is among a group of active duty and civilian volunteers who work to teach the value of education,leadership and physical fitness and maintaining a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. “They need to be prepared to make the right choices”, said Russell. “Kids need to understand that drugs aren’t the way to go”, he added. While GySGt Russell appreciates the recognition that comes with re-ceiving the MOVSM, he said his satisfcation comes from the positive impact that he is able to make in the lives of youths.--Sourced fronm an article by LCpl Steven A. Davis, USMC, Camp Foster, Okinawa

A Promotion to the Rank of Captain in the United States Marine Corps for a Former Three Rivers Young Marine Retired YM SgtMaj Connor McMahon of the Three Rivers Young Marines (2012 Division One YMOY) being promoted to Captain in the USMC during his recent deployment to the Middle East. Capt McMahon is a 2017 graduate of Norwich University where he double majored in Political Science and Chinese. --Submitted by Patrick McMahon, Department of CT MCL YM Liaison

UPDATES: News from Young Marines Worldwide

Former Foothills Young Marines Sergeant Earns Promotionto US Navy Rank of EO2 Last fall, former YM/Sgt Denver Bradford was promoted in the United States Navy. Mr. Brad-ford was promoted to equipment operator EO2 in the Seabees, which is a rank equivalent to Sergeant in the Marine Corps. Mr Bradford was in the Young Marines from 2012-2017. Since he joined the Navy, he has won Sailor of the Quarter twice!--Submitted by Nicholas Stone, Foothills (CO) Young Marines

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Editor’s Note: The Guadalupe Valley (TX) Young Marines re-ceived this note of thanks. See Esprit , Vol 3, 2021.

On March 27, 2021 I attended a Vietnam Veteran Ceremony and was in awe of how many veterans participated. My husband and several friends were part of this; these men and women were being honored, finally. Thanks to the Young Marines Or-ganization, each veteran was presented with a pin which they will wear proudly. It was such a privalage to be there to see their faces light up with pride. I spoke with many I did not know and found them to all be so happy to be part of this amazing event. It was held at a wonderful place, the SS American Memo-rial in Seguin Texas. Our American Legion Riders Post 245 visit there on a regular basis and I feel it was the perfect venue for this event. What better way to honor those who were there to

protect and serve so long ago. Thank you to the Young Marines for this amazing event and for all they do. Barbara Trammell (Wife of a Navy Vietnam Veteran)

Vietnam Veterans Group Thanks Guadalupe Valley YMs

Thank you for your service, and welcome home!


A New Miramar Young Marine Scores a Perfect PFT On October 30, 2021, during the final Physical Fitness Test for the Miramar Young Marines Recruit Training Class 21-2, YM/Pvt Jaiden Seeliger scored a perfect 500! He was awarded the Iron Mike Award and pre-sented with a Young Marines Unit Medallion during his graduation. Great job, YM/Pvt J. Seeliger! -- Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Commanding Office Miramar (CA) Young Marines

An Orlando Devil Dog’s Third Perfect PFT Orlando Devil Dogs would like to congratulate YM/LCpl Piper Shpigler on her perfect PFT score during our Units 2 September, 2021 second half PFT. This is YM/LCpl Shpigler’s 3rd perfect PFT. Outstanding job!-- Submitted by Alan Riddle, Training Officer, Orlando (FL) Devil Dogs

Two Westover YMs get a perfect PFT scoreYM/PFC Daniel Corpes and YM/MSgt Aylei Connolly of Westover (MA) Young Marines show their Perfect PFT awards that they earned during their last PFT!-- Submitted by Edward Mitrook, Westover (MA) Young Marines

Young Marines PERFECT PFT SCORES

Tell Us About Your Young Marines’ Perfect PFT Scores! Unit Commanders and Adult Volunteers are encour-aged to submit information of your unit’s Young Marines who have achieved Perfect Physical Fitness Test Scores. Please include the date of the test and (if available) a photo of your Young Marines, so that we can share this proud achievement with the readers of Young Marines Esprit magazine.

A SIXTH Perfect PFT score Congratulations to YM/Cpl Akshaya Krishna of Golden Gate Young Marines who received her 6th perfect PFT in September.-- Submitted by Elaine Le, Golden Gate (CA) Young Marines

Two from Virginia earn 500 scores The Col Wesley Fox unit held its second-half PFT and two of our Young Marines earned a score of 500. Congratulations to YM/Cpl Chingiz Bahadur and YM/Pvt Omar Niyazov. --Submitted by Terri Loria, Col Wesley Fox (VA) Young Marines

Three Miramar Young Marines Score Perfect PFTs! On December 4, 2021, during the Miramar (CA) Young Marines' last physical fitness test of the year, three Young Marines scored a perfect 500, and for two it was not their first! YM/Sgt Andrew Vuong scored his 4th Perfect PFT, YM/PFC Evelyn Guzman scored her 3rd Perfect PFT, and YM/PFC Zachary Jara scored his 1st Perfect PFT! These Young Marines have set an excellent example for other youth to follow... a perfect 500! I am proud of you, Young Marines! -- Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Unit Commander, Miramar (CA) Young Marines


During the 2nd Battalion encampment in late August, Young Marines MSgt Jameson Anderson was retired. YM/MSgt Andersen entered the pro-gram in May of 2015. During his career, he proved to be an outstanding Young Marine. He applied his leadership skills, had great discipline, and exemplified teamwork. He proved to be an amazing leader, and always had time to help those in need. He acquired many awards: the Meritorious Service Ribbon, served as unit Young Marine of the Year twice, earned the DEA device, and much more. YM/MSgt Andersen graduated from Holly High School May 2021, as an honor student. He obtained U.S. Marines, Honor Society, Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude, and Deans List Honors. YM/MSgt Anderson took his skills he learned, and has enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. We wish the absolute best for him. We thank him for all the amazing lessons, encouragement, and great kindness.Oorah!---Submitted by Ceree Morris, North Oakland County (MI) Young Marines

A Young Marine’s Retirement in MI 2nd Battalion

Division 5, Michigan Regiment, 2nd Battalion, North Oakland County Young Marine SSgt Ethan Whiting was the only SLS Honor Graduate during August 1 - 7 2001, in Ravenna, OH.--Submitted by Ceree Morris, North Oakland County (MI) Young Marines

YM/SSgt Ethan Whiting SLS Honor Graduate

By YM/MGySgt Austin WoodwardCentral Texas This year, I have decided to join the military and I wrote a poem about how I feel about my future, and I would like to share this poem with other Young Marines who may feel the same. After writing this poem, I realized it's okay to be scared, but if you push your-self and stay motivated you can achieve anything. Stay MOTIVATED, and you'll achieve amazing things!

I am Brave and KindI am brave and kindI wonder about my future I hear gunshots ringingI see a battlefieldI want to survive I am brave and kindI pretend to be okayI feel scaredI touch a rifle

I worry about not making itI cry for my brothers in armsI am brave and kindI understand it will be toughI say i am the futureI dream to come back from combatI try to not think about itI hope i come backI am brave and kind --By YM/MGySgt Austin Woodward

Making a Decision About My Future Inspired a Poem

YM/MGySgt Austin Woodward


FRONT and CENTER: In Recognition of a Few of OurOutstanding Young Marines

YM/SSgt Julia Haggard, the daughter of Brad and Patricia, joined the Tri City (WA) Young Marines in December of 2017. Unit Commander is Mr. Jeff Carlyle. YM/SSgt Haggard is currently a Senior at South-ridge High School, Kennewick WA, attend-ing running start at Washington State Uni-versity, Richland WA. In her own words, “My name is Julia Hag-gard, I am 17 years old, and I have been a part of the Tri City Young Marines for more than three years. My very first Physical Fitness Test (PFT) I scored a 470. From this test, I realized I needed to improve my V-sit, sit-ups, and the mile run. I worked on all these events and two months later, as a recruit completed my first perfect PFT. Since this PFT, I have eleven perfect PFT’s and am the first Young Marine in my unit to successfully complete concur-rent perfect PFT’s. All you need to achieve a perfect PFT is an abundance of determination. You can make yourself do the impossible simply by saying you will. Before you begin, you need to promise yourself not to stop, push through, and you will do better than the time before. This belief and de-termination have helped me do impossible things and I will con-tinue to do the impossible having this same attitude.” YM/SSgt Julia Haggard exemplifies the Young Marine core values of Leadership, Teamwork, and Discipline continuing

setting a positive example to all Young Marines (as is noted here). YM/SSgt Hag-gard has accumulated more than 200 hours of community service at Fine Arts Radio Reading Service for the blind. From the age of nine to sixteen, Julia participated in figure skating and now is currently practicing kick boxing and be-ing a weightlifting instructor at the same gym where she has consistently trained for years. YM/SSgtHaggard graduated from recruit training as the honor graduate, Junior Leadership Academy, honor graduate, and Senior Leadership Academy, scoring anoth-er perfect PFT. YM/SSgt Julia Haggard has applied to be accepted at West Point with the goal of commissioning in the United States Army.

I have been associated with the Young Marines since 1995 and YM/SSgt Julia Haggard has set the bar very high for her peers and she has been an inspiration to any Young Marine who has had the honor of knowing her. It is with great pleasure to recognize this Young Marine before she enters a new chapter beyond the Young Marines going forth in her new career. -- John J. Haeg, Executive Officer, Tri City (WA) Young Marines

YM/SSgt Julia Haggard

The Department of Connecticut Marine Corps League was proud and honored to be able to recognize two Connecticut Young Marines at our recent department convention. Due to COVID-19, our 2020 Department Convention was cancelled, but our dedication in recognizing deserving Young Marines did not falter. A committee established by then Department of Connecticut Commandant Hodges reviewed submitted packages and after a vir-tual board, selected YM/GySgt Tanner Linhard from the River Town Young Marines as the 2020 Department of Connecticut Samuel K. Beamon Young Marine of the Year. This past April, another committee, again established by then Department of Connecticut Hodges, selected YM/SgtMaj Makayla Barstow from the Natchaug River Young Marines as the 2021 Department of Connecticut Samuel K. Beamon Young Marine of the Year. Both of these Young Marines were recognized at our 2021 Department Convention. Congratulating these two deserving Young Marines in both photos are

(left to right): Marine Bruce Katz NE Division Young Marines Liaison, Department of Connecticut Marine Corps League Young Marines Liai-son Marine Patrick McMahon, Department of Connecticut Marine Corps League Commandant Marine Adele Hodges and our convention guest speaker, MajGen Clifford Stanley (USMC Ret).--Submitted by Marine Patrick McMahon, Department of Connecticut

Marine Corps League Young Marines Liaison

An Abundance of Determination to Do Impossible Things

Marine Corps League Honors Two Connecticut YMs


YM/Staff Sergeant Olivia Kries of the Miramar (CA) Young Marines found a way to improve her community by working on two issues at the same time- ecology and employment for the neurodivergent community. YM/SSgt Kries enjoys gardening. Through her hobby, she re-alized that there was an issue with the growing trend of peo-ple planting and maintaining succulents, or drought-resistant plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged in order to store water making them ideal for arid climates or poor soil conditions. Succulents are not able to be mulched and are therefore unrecyclable. This means plants that are removed or trimmed end up adding to the growing land-fill problem. YM/SSgt Kries set to work on helping to solve this issue. She pondered the idea of starting a resale establishment where people could donate their unwanted suc-culents and she could sell them, recycling them back into the community and keeping the plants from becoming a landfill problem. YM/SSgt Kries, working with her mother, Paige Kries, brain-stormed the idea of obtaining a storefront to bring her idea to fruition. As they thought about how to make their store viable, they knew they would need employees. That is when YM/SSgt Kries came upon a wonderful idea that would help her com-munity to a much greater extent. YM/SSgt Kries, realizing that people in the neurodivergent community have an 80% un-employment rate, had an epiphany; she would operate her business as a non-profit, recycling succulents donated by the community and employing individuals in need. Her non-profit,

Plant it Again was born! YM/SSgt Kries, a Junior Board Member and the Director of Volunteers, working with her mother Paige Kries (the Exec-utive Director) have made Plant It Again a reality. The non-profit works with community volunteers and now employs six individuals from the neurodivergent community, providing them with a paying, meaningful employment, and much-de-sired work experience. The employees work in customer ser-vice, information technology, artistic design, and manufactur-

ing where they upscale items to be used as unique presentation pieces for the succulents sold in the store. YM/SSgt Kries said, “Plant It Again gives me the opportunity to mold jobs to fit the person. It makes ev-eryone successful.” Plant It Again keeps YM/SSgt Kries busy but has also taught her valu-able time management and leader-

ship skills. She schedules the store's volunteer hours, is the head of volunteer training, runs the non-profit’s social media accounts, and supplies a lot of physical labor. When asked what the best part of founding the non-profit was, YM/SSgt Kries said, “I like that I can work with a marginalized commu-nity and provide opportunities to often overlooked, valuable members of our society.” YM/SSgt Kries is another fine example of the youth that seek a career in the Young Marines program, a program focused on leadership, teamwork, and discipline, three traits that YM/SSgt Kries obviously possesses.-- Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Unit Commander, Miramar (CA) Young Marines

Miramar YM’s Non-Profit Helps Others and Environment

YM/SSgt Olivia Kries (left) and(above) with her staff members at

Plant It Again, an innovative plant resale shop employing

neurodivergent persons.

The non-profit works withcommunity volunteers and

now employs six individuals from the neurodivergent

community...


MCL Commendation Awarded to Southeast County YM Unit Southeast County (CA) Young MArines are very fortunate to have es-tablished a relationship with our local Marine Corps League, and we are extremely grateful for their support and inclusion of our unit. On September 25th, Southeast County Young Marines were humbly honored to formally receive the prestigious Marine Corps League Com-mendation Award from Commandant Jason Parks, Amadeo Rodriguez, and other members of the Marine Corps League MCAS El Toro Detach-ment 017. Our unit has had the pleasure of supporting numerous MCL Det 017 events, including a very successful Toys for Tots campaign that secured enough toys to fill a USMC MK23 7-ton truck provided by the Marines from 5th Battalion 14th Marines Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach. Our MCL friends have gone to great lengths to support Southeast County Young Marines as well. They joined us for a day at the Glock West Coast Challenge, taking charge of the barbecue for our food booth fundraiser. Through this relationship, our unit has been afforded new opportunities to serve our veterans and community. We are very proud of the hard work and dedication of our Young Ma-rines, and it’s because of them that we were recognized for this award. Thank you Marine Corps League MCAS El Toro Detachment 017!--Submitted by Julia Lynch, Southeast County (CA) Young Marines

The Young Marines’ Combined Federal Campaign

Number is 11954

Federal Workers:


By YM/Pvt Jensen Wintermann Heartland (IL) In October, my Young Marines unit went to the Heritage Festi-val at the Jefferson County His-torical Village. We saw a man who spoke to us about Revo-lutionary War weapons and equipment and how they were used at the time. He showed us some of the weapons and the knives. We were told that was also in the Marines. He was very informative. We also saw a woman there who was making all sorts of jams and jellies. She had all kinds of flavors available for us to sample. Just about every-thing in the 19th century was homemade.

Then, we saw a house that was from that time pe-riod. It had only two rooms. One room was the attic/bedroom and the other was the kitchen/family room. We also saw what a school looked like back in the 19th century. The school only had one room for all the grades. The teacher taught all the kids and class-es from that one room. Following that, we went to the blacksmith’s shop. Inside the blacksmith’s shop we saw a blacksmith making things used in the 19th century. He made shepherd hooks, nails, horseshoes, and knives. He showed us how to form the metal and to mold it into useful items. He used a hand cranked fan to blow air into the fire to make it more intense, so that metal would get hot and would be easier to work with. He also told us to use bee’s wax on the metal to prevent rust. In conclusion, my Young Marines unit learned a lot about living life in the 19th century. --Submitted by Eddie Vaughn, Heartland (IL) Young Marines

Heartland Young Marines Visit a 19th Century Village

By YM/Pvt Isaac OrtegaEagle (CA) The Buddy System (when two or more people are “partners” and travel anywhere and everywhere together) is important one, with the Young Marines and in general. At all times, it is the responsibility of the individual to keep their eyes on one another and ensure that they stay together at all times. This system is used to make sure that people do not become separated or get lost. An example of the buddy system at work would be in the event of an injury to your buddy, the part-ner can tend to their wound or alert someone who has the ability to treat their buddy. If the Young Marine were to be alone, they would not receive that treatment and their injury could become much worse in extreme circumstances. Another example would be in forested area and the unit or group is setting up camp. With the assignment of a buddy, you have someone there to assist in the building of tents, gather-ing of fire wood and (if necessary) search for food. When do-ing these tasks, having a buddy is essential. At times, it may be necessary to venture way from the camp to find these items. If (while separated from the main group) your buddy is in trou-ble, the partner can help them out, or get the unit leader. If buddy groups were not assigned and a person wanders away, it could be sometime before anyone would notice; by then it

may be too late to help them or they could have gone so far that they have become lost and the group would not be able find them. In my experience, I was assigned two partners; one of which became separated from our team, because we were unable to stay together in a crowded area. While we were trying to keep an eye on one another, it was very difficult because of the

amount of people. So, we should have seen that it was a concern, and made more of an effort to stay within arm’s reach of each other. Also, we needed to establish a place that if we became separated we all knew where it was and could meet back up. If this place had been set up, even if we became separated we could find each other again. In the future, my team and I will make sure that we are aware of our surroundings and make up a

point that we can find each other if we become separated. If this does not work, teams need to inform unit leaders right away that a buddy has been lost and help in finding them. The buddy system is very important for the Young Marines because we do many activities in crowded areas. Also, we need to see that we are all part of a team and are stronger together and if one person is not there, then we are weaker. -- Submitted by Duane Siegmann, Unit Commander, Eagle (CA) Young Marines

Safety in Numbers: The Importance of the Buddy System

In the future, my team and I will make sure that we are aware of our surroundings

and make up a point that we can find each other if we

become separated.


By YM/SSgt Jacob WilkinsonRocky Mountain (CO) My unit and I went on a very fun adventure white water rafting at Mountain White Water. We were guided down the Cache La Poudre River near Fort Collins, CO. While the rest of my unit was able to ride down the river together in rafts, YM/PFC Knudson, and I volunteered to ride in a separate raft with an elderly couple and their two teen-age grandsons. It was a very fun ride down up to a point (minus a few overboards). About three quarters down, we approached a class four rapid. As we approached the rapid, our raft got stuck on a rock. Af-ter some slight jumping, we were able to free ourselves from the rock. However, the extra momentum we received made us go faster than we should have been going as we began to enter the rapid. Our guide tried to get us out of the way from another protruding rock just at the mouth of the rapid, but in doing so we turned sideways and we collided with this rock. When we first hit the rock, our raft was pretty much at a full 90 degree angle. Luckily, YM/PFC Knudson and I were on the side that hit the rock first, so he and I were able to grab on to the older couple before they were pulled into the river. Sadly, we were not able to stop the two teen-age boys or our guide from falling into the river. I didn’t know if they were safe or not until I was able to get back to another raft. So needless to say, I was very worried for the well-being of everyone who had fallen off the raft. But I couldn’t worry about them now, as I was trying to save the lady from falling in as I had grabbed on to her hand. After I grabbed her hand, I looked over at YM/PFC Knudson and saw that he had grabbed the other gentleman’s hand. However, we weren’t safe yet. The lady that I was holding on to was slipping from my grasp. After a desperate struggle that lasted for about two minutes, she slipped from my hand and had pulled her husband with her, and YM/PFC Knudson had no choice but to let go. Now, it was just YM/PFC Knudson and I on the raft. We had no other choice but to wait for help. After about a minute of waiting, we spotted another raft with two more behind it. We tried to yell at them to stop, but the noise of the rapid was drowning out our voices. Thankfully, as that raft approached our raft, YM/PFC Knudson was able to kick it away so we

didn’t succumb to the river. After all three other rafts had safely passed, we again waited for help to arrive. After about 5 minutes of waiting, we spotted other guides that came to help us. They threw us a rope and told us to connect it to the raft. So YM/PFC Knudson grabbed onto my life jacket as I leaned over and hooked the rope to a buckle that was connected to the raft. You can imagine my surprise when they told us we had to jump into the rapid in order to get to safety. The plan was that we would jump out of the raft and into the river, and as we jumped out, they would throw us a rope on the other side of a rock the was about thirty feet down river. Since I was the closest to the side that we were jumping off of, I had to go first. Thankfully I was listening and paying attention to the guide before our journey began. He told us the proper procedure and way of doing things in case we ever had to jump into a rapid. After I was ready to jump in, they counted down for me, and when they said go, I jumped in. It took about thirty seconds for me to get into the other raft, and that was probably the scariest thirty seconds of my life. When you see rushing water like the rapid that was there, you don’t think it would be that bad or hard to resist it, but that is not the case. I was completely at the mercy of the current. Even when they threw me rope, I was still almost completely helpless. After I had gotten into the other raft, I immediately asked if they knew what happened to everyone else that was in our raft. I was relieved to hear that everyone was okay. After I knew they were okay, I turned my attention to YM/PFC Knudson. It was definitely nerve-racking, because a huge rock obstructed my view of what was taking place with my fellow Young Marine. After I saw YM/PFC Knudson coming down the river, grab the rope, and get into the raft, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Everyone was safe. I am so thankful that the Young Marines program has in-stilled in me a certain level of maturity and clear-mindedness. It helped me, and my fellow Young Marine, stay calm during this dangerous situation so we could make the appropriate decisions to keep everyone as safe as possible.

A Splashing Ride in Colorado’s Cache La Poudre River


On November 7, 2021, the Miramar Young Marines graduated Recruit Class 21-2, welcoming 8 more into our Young Marine family. The graduation ceremony was held at the Elks Lodge in El Cajon, California. The graduating Young Marines were YM/PFC Roman Canez (Honor Graduate), YM/Pvt Carlos Cesena, YM/Pvt Chance Denstad, YM/Pvt Alexander Diehl, YM/Pvt Kara Liu (Molly Marine Award), YM/Pvt Jaiden Seeliger (Iron Mike Award with a Perfect 500 PFT), YM/Pvt Keanu Seeliger (Spirit Award - Given the Recruit Training Guidon), and YM/Pvt Milaan Seeliger. Welcome to the Mi-ramar Young Marines. We are proud of you! YM/GySgt Jonathan Zhou oversaw the operations of the Young Marines and Recruits and was the Mas-ter of Ceremonies for the graduation. YM/SSgt Oliva Kries commanded the training cadre, which con-sisted of YM/Sgt Andrew Vuong, YM/LCpl Alexis Breitmaier, YM/LCpl Isabella Bruski, and YM/LCpl Chiara Sussman. The cadre did an outstanding job training the new recruits.--Submitted by Bret Righthouse, Unit Commander, Miramar (CA) Young Marines

On October 30th Foothills welcomed the newest 14 recruits into our unit from re-cruit training class 02-14. We had a 100% graduation rate. This was the largest recruit training class for our unit since 2019. This class was unique because it was the first one to en-compass Young Marines from our delayed entry program which prepares recruits for recruit training while we wait for one to begin.--Submitted by Nicholas Stone, Foothills (CO) Young Marines

Young Marines GRADUATIONSCongratulations to all our new Young Marines, and to those who taught and nurtured them. Good work!

Foothills: A 100%Recruit TrainingGraduation Rate

Miramar Unit Graduates Recruit Class 21-2


In Our Next Issue of Esprit:Send us stories from your unit, and include photos! As Young Marines, we are looking forward to a full schedule of events and opportunities in 2022!

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