thedrifter
02-06-05, 11:41 AM
Fort Leonard Wood Marines add bite to Marine Corps Recruiting
Submitted by: Marine Corps Recruiting Command
Story Identification #: 20051288146
Story by Sgt. Jimmie Perkins
MARINE CORPS RECRUITING COMMAND, QUANTICO, Va. (January 28, 2005) -- When the Marine Corps Detachment staff at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., turned its students loose on holiday leave a month ago, there was the anticipation and excitement of seeing which students would succeed at a special mission that some had chosen to take on.
During the recent holiday period, more than half of the Marine students attending military occupational specialty training at Fort Leonard Wood chose to spend their holiday break serving as recruiter assistants.
“I thought, what a great opportunity to help my recruiter and feel like I was making a difference,” said Pfc. Stephanie Twichell, from Harahan, La. “It got me involved in my community and kept me in a Marine Corps mode while home.”
That was the type of attitude that Col. Daniel Choike, Marine Corps Detachment commanding officer, was seeking when he initiated the Home Team Recruiting Plan. Based on his career experience in both recruiting and recruit training, Choike sought to put together a recruiter assistance program that encouraged participation and achieved results with Marines like Twichell.
“My intent was to ensure our Marine students going home for the holiday period remained in the Marine Corps mindset while assisting local recruiters in meeting the Marine Corps’ recruiting goals,” said Choike. “The importance of our Corps’ recruiting effort throughout the nation is apparent to each of us. We have a large student population which allows us to provide a young, determined force to assist recruiters in their attempts to recruit the very best our country has to offer.”
As the responsible authority for more than 700 Marine students, Choike was also able to address post holiday attrition associated with students leaving the school and Marine Corps environment during their leave and liberty period.
“Taking care of my Marines here is my goal. Marines do their best with a mission and high expectations; by keeping them engaged when they are home, we keep them focused on the Marine Corps and prevent them from falling into the typical traps new Marines face when returning to their old environments,” said Choike. “The success in the program really shows in our post holiday attrition, which was zero this year.”
An added benefit was pairing up Marines going to the same geographical location.
“This program presented an opportunity for the students to spend the holiday period with fellow Marines and helped reduce potential liberty incidents,” Choike said.
Response to the program was impressive, as 377 students chose to participate. Prior to going on permissive temporary additional duty, each student received training on recruiting and had their uniforms and personal appearance inspected.
“I learned that the appearance of the individual Marine reflects heavily on the entire Marine Corps when you are out in the community,” said Twichell. “I also learned there is a lot more to recruiting than what I first imagined. You have to excel in people skills and really manage your time in order to be a successful recruiter.”
The recruiter assistants worked in their local Recruiting Substations, assisting the recruiters in canvassing for new prospects, visiting the local schools, and assisting with pool functions.
“I could tell that someone had put some time into preparing our recruiter assistant,” said Staff Sgt. John George, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of RSS La Puente, Calif. “He came in knowing that this was work, not free leave home. He was ready to go out and get contacts and he was motivated.”
Recruiter assistants are rewarded with career incentives for exceptional performance while assigned to the temporary duty.
“I did this because I wanted the chance to get promoted,” said Private First Class Alejandro Davila, who worked for George at RSS La Puente.
For privates and privates first class, two contracts netted will earn a meritorious promotion to the next rank. Marines trying to become corporals or sergeants, earn an additional 20 points toward to their cutting score for promotion for each contract made because of their efforts. For these motivated young Marines, the realization is that working the other side of the desk is not as easy as their recruiters made it look.
“Not only is it challenging to find young people who want to talk about their future plans, it is difficult to make the right fit,” said Davila, a native of La Puente, Calif. “It is hard to go out and find Americans that may actually have what it takes to be a Marine, based on the many things that recruiters look for.”
But Davila and others did find success as recruiter assistants. The student detachment organized an awards program as an added incentive to motivate the young Marines. After returning from recruiter assistance, the students were evaluated by a board based on their overall performance.
“We looked at the number of contacts and contracts each Marine made, their level of daily performance, poolee function attendance, area canvassing, plus we received input from the recruiters they worked with,” said Sgt. Maj. Barbara Titus, MARCORDET sergeant major. “Overall, the top Marine was chosen because she well exceeded the other nominees, performing above and beyond.”
The top recruiter assistant for the MARCORDET was Twichell, who made 22 contacts and closed on two contracts during her time at the RSS. But more impressive was the effort she put into interacting with the poolees. She engaged in discussions with female poolees and potential applicants, sharing her recent experience with recruit training and helping to give them accurate, credible information. She also worked hard with the poolee physical training program, ensuring the recruit depots get fit recruits.
“One of the poolees who was about to ship out needed help with his running time. His first run time was around 17 minutes for a 1.5 mile run and I got him down to 13:29,” said Twichell with pride. “I motivated him by running with him almost every day and I told him how I dropped down my run time. In the end, he felt a lot better about himself and he lost a little weight.”
For her efforts, Twichell received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal; not a bad achievement for a private first class still attending MOS school. Twichell and her fellow students who went on recruiter assistance were a great asset to the recruiting effort, making 1,635 solid contacts and netting 23 contracts to date. But it is the intangible results that the recruiters benefit from the most.
“They can get in there and relate to people their own age, they are not far removed for their schools and environment,” said George. “Also, they are the best advertisement we can put forward. Here is a young Marine, who everyone knew as a civilian, and now they are squared away, in uniform, you can see the change. It impresses people.”
Senior leaders at Marine Corps Recruiting Command were very pleased with the results of the program and look forward to continuing the successful program with the MARCORDET at Fort Leonard Wood.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20051288957/$file/RA002LOW.jpg
Private First Class Stephanie Twichell, from Harahan, La., is presented with the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, by Colonel Daniel Choike, for her efforts as a recruiter assistant. Twichell, and 376 other Marine students from Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., served as recruiter assistants during the holiday season. Photo by: USMC Photo
The Drifter's Wife
Ellie
Submitted by: Marine Corps Recruiting Command
Story Identification #: 20051288146
Story by Sgt. Jimmie Perkins
MARINE CORPS RECRUITING COMMAND, QUANTICO, Va. (January 28, 2005) -- When the Marine Corps Detachment staff at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., turned its students loose on holiday leave a month ago, there was the anticipation and excitement of seeing which students would succeed at a special mission that some had chosen to take on.
During the recent holiday period, more than half of the Marine students attending military occupational specialty training at Fort Leonard Wood chose to spend their holiday break serving as recruiter assistants.
“I thought, what a great opportunity to help my recruiter and feel like I was making a difference,” said Pfc. Stephanie Twichell, from Harahan, La. “It got me involved in my community and kept me in a Marine Corps mode while home.”
That was the type of attitude that Col. Daniel Choike, Marine Corps Detachment commanding officer, was seeking when he initiated the Home Team Recruiting Plan. Based on his career experience in both recruiting and recruit training, Choike sought to put together a recruiter assistance program that encouraged participation and achieved results with Marines like Twichell.
“My intent was to ensure our Marine students going home for the holiday period remained in the Marine Corps mindset while assisting local recruiters in meeting the Marine Corps’ recruiting goals,” said Choike. “The importance of our Corps’ recruiting effort throughout the nation is apparent to each of us. We have a large student population which allows us to provide a young, determined force to assist recruiters in their attempts to recruit the very best our country has to offer.”
As the responsible authority for more than 700 Marine students, Choike was also able to address post holiday attrition associated with students leaving the school and Marine Corps environment during their leave and liberty period.
“Taking care of my Marines here is my goal. Marines do their best with a mission and high expectations; by keeping them engaged when they are home, we keep them focused on the Marine Corps and prevent them from falling into the typical traps new Marines face when returning to their old environments,” said Choike. “The success in the program really shows in our post holiday attrition, which was zero this year.”
An added benefit was pairing up Marines going to the same geographical location.
“This program presented an opportunity for the students to spend the holiday period with fellow Marines and helped reduce potential liberty incidents,” Choike said.
Response to the program was impressive, as 377 students chose to participate. Prior to going on permissive temporary additional duty, each student received training on recruiting and had their uniforms and personal appearance inspected.
“I learned that the appearance of the individual Marine reflects heavily on the entire Marine Corps when you are out in the community,” said Twichell. “I also learned there is a lot more to recruiting than what I first imagined. You have to excel in people skills and really manage your time in order to be a successful recruiter.”
The recruiter assistants worked in their local Recruiting Substations, assisting the recruiters in canvassing for new prospects, visiting the local schools, and assisting with pool functions.
“I could tell that someone had put some time into preparing our recruiter assistant,” said Staff Sgt. John George, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of RSS La Puente, Calif. “He came in knowing that this was work, not free leave home. He was ready to go out and get contacts and he was motivated.”
Recruiter assistants are rewarded with career incentives for exceptional performance while assigned to the temporary duty.
“I did this because I wanted the chance to get promoted,” said Private First Class Alejandro Davila, who worked for George at RSS La Puente.
For privates and privates first class, two contracts netted will earn a meritorious promotion to the next rank. Marines trying to become corporals or sergeants, earn an additional 20 points toward to their cutting score for promotion for each contract made because of their efforts. For these motivated young Marines, the realization is that working the other side of the desk is not as easy as their recruiters made it look.
“Not only is it challenging to find young people who want to talk about their future plans, it is difficult to make the right fit,” said Davila, a native of La Puente, Calif. “It is hard to go out and find Americans that may actually have what it takes to be a Marine, based on the many things that recruiters look for.”
But Davila and others did find success as recruiter assistants. The student detachment organized an awards program as an added incentive to motivate the young Marines. After returning from recruiter assistance, the students were evaluated by a board based on their overall performance.
“We looked at the number of contacts and contracts each Marine made, their level of daily performance, poolee function attendance, area canvassing, plus we received input from the recruiters they worked with,” said Sgt. Maj. Barbara Titus, MARCORDET sergeant major. “Overall, the top Marine was chosen because she well exceeded the other nominees, performing above and beyond.”
The top recruiter assistant for the MARCORDET was Twichell, who made 22 contacts and closed on two contracts during her time at the RSS. But more impressive was the effort she put into interacting with the poolees. She engaged in discussions with female poolees and potential applicants, sharing her recent experience with recruit training and helping to give them accurate, credible information. She also worked hard with the poolee physical training program, ensuring the recruit depots get fit recruits.
“One of the poolees who was about to ship out needed help with his running time. His first run time was around 17 minutes for a 1.5 mile run and I got him down to 13:29,” said Twichell with pride. “I motivated him by running with him almost every day and I told him how I dropped down my run time. In the end, he felt a lot better about himself and he lost a little weight.”
For her efforts, Twichell received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal; not a bad achievement for a private first class still attending MOS school. Twichell and her fellow students who went on recruiter assistance were a great asset to the recruiting effort, making 1,635 solid contacts and netting 23 contracts to date. But it is the intangible results that the recruiters benefit from the most.
“They can get in there and relate to people their own age, they are not far removed for their schools and environment,” said George. “Also, they are the best advertisement we can put forward. Here is a young Marine, who everyone knew as a civilian, and now they are squared away, in uniform, you can see the change. It impresses people.”
Senior leaders at Marine Corps Recruiting Command were very pleased with the results of the program and look forward to continuing the successful program with the MARCORDET at Fort Leonard Wood.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20051288957/$file/RA002LOW.jpg
Private First Class Stephanie Twichell, from Harahan, La., is presented with the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, by Colonel Daniel Choike, for her efforts as a recruiter assistant. Twichell, and 376 other Marine students from Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., served as recruiter assistants during the holiday season. Photo by: USMC Photo
The Drifter's Wife
Ellie