thedrifter
05-25-06, 07:27 AM
Another chapter of his Marine life
Retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, like other area retired Marines, will be working at the Marine Military Academy in Texas
Published Thursday May 25 2006
By LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
Five years after retiring as commanding officer at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney plans to make a second home at the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas -- a high school-level boarding academy that has become a mecca of sorts for retired Marines who've served tours at Parris Island or the recruit depot in San Diego.
"It's about being around young men who want to emulate what the Marine Corps represents," said Cheney, who will take over as the academy's president in July. "It's about being in an environment of Marines. It's kind of like going home."
In fact, Cheney will be moving next door to retired Sgt. Maj. Ford Kinsley, who worked with him and lived across the street from him on Parris Island in 2000.
"It's maybe 10 yards farther" away in Texas than at the recruit depot, Kinsley said, chuckling.
Kinsley said he went straight to his job as commandant of cadets at the academy after his retirement in June 2000 and told Cheney then that he'd put in his name if there was an opening.
And five years later, that's what Kinsley did, and in April, Cheney was selected as president of the academy.
"Having worked with General Cheney, I knew how he interacted with people in Beaufort," Kinsley said.
With nine years in the recruiting business, Cheney said he is very familiar with dealing with 17- to-19-year-old Marines, and so are most of his colleagues.
"Most of the staff at MMA are (former) DI's," he said. "I know most of them. I'm not coming in as a strange face."
Not only was Kinsley a drill instructor, but he headed up drill instructor school at Parris Island.
Cheney was a commander of a recruiting battalion before becoming commanding officer at Parris Island.
As president, Cheney will oversee recruiting and fundraising for the academy, which has more than
340 cadets enrolled this year. The price of attending one academic year is more than $24,000, according to the academy's Web site, and scholarships are available.
Students come from all over the country and world, but a many are from Texas, Kinsley said.
The cadets live at the academy, where they attend class during the day and undergo physical training and military drills in the morning and on Saturdays. This is to instill values and discipline for life rather than joining the military, Cheney said.
"This is not boot camp," he said. "The goal is not to make them into Marines."
The goal is to give them the best chance of being admitted to college. More than 95 percent are usually accepted to college, and Kinsley said 100 percent of this year's graduating seniors were accepted to at least one college.
Attending military academies is encouraged, too, Cheney said.
He said as president, he has ambitious goals -- raise enrollment to 400 by actively recruiting from around the country and more than double the academy's $12 million endowment.
With all their years at Parris Island, though, neither Cheney nor Kinsley plan to forget their roots in Beaufort.
Kinsley visits Beaufort regularly because it is home to his children.
Cheney said he and his wife, retired Col. Roxanne Cheney, plan to maintain their home in Beaufort while living in Texas during the school year.
"Beaufort is a great community," Stephen Cheney said. "They love their bases, but their politics will drive you crazy."
Ellie
Retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, like other area retired Marines, will be working at the Marine Military Academy in Texas
Published Thursday May 25 2006
By LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
Five years after retiring as commanding officer at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney plans to make a second home at the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas -- a high school-level boarding academy that has become a mecca of sorts for retired Marines who've served tours at Parris Island or the recruit depot in San Diego.
"It's about being around young men who want to emulate what the Marine Corps represents," said Cheney, who will take over as the academy's president in July. "It's about being in an environment of Marines. It's kind of like going home."
In fact, Cheney will be moving next door to retired Sgt. Maj. Ford Kinsley, who worked with him and lived across the street from him on Parris Island in 2000.
"It's maybe 10 yards farther" away in Texas than at the recruit depot, Kinsley said, chuckling.
Kinsley said he went straight to his job as commandant of cadets at the academy after his retirement in June 2000 and told Cheney then that he'd put in his name if there was an opening.
And five years later, that's what Kinsley did, and in April, Cheney was selected as president of the academy.
"Having worked with General Cheney, I knew how he interacted with people in Beaufort," Kinsley said.
With nine years in the recruiting business, Cheney said he is very familiar with dealing with 17- to-19-year-old Marines, and so are most of his colleagues.
"Most of the staff at MMA are (former) DI's," he said. "I know most of them. I'm not coming in as a strange face."
Not only was Kinsley a drill instructor, but he headed up drill instructor school at Parris Island.
Cheney was a commander of a recruiting battalion before becoming commanding officer at Parris Island.
As president, Cheney will oversee recruiting and fundraising for the academy, which has more than
340 cadets enrolled this year. The price of attending one academic year is more than $24,000, according to the academy's Web site, and scholarships are available.
Students come from all over the country and world, but a many are from Texas, Kinsley said.
The cadets live at the academy, where they attend class during the day and undergo physical training and military drills in the morning and on Saturdays. This is to instill values and discipline for life rather than joining the military, Cheney said.
"This is not boot camp," he said. "The goal is not to make them into Marines."
The goal is to give them the best chance of being admitted to college. More than 95 percent are usually accepted to college, and Kinsley said 100 percent of this year's graduating seniors were accepted to at least one college.
Attending military academies is encouraged, too, Cheney said.
He said as president, he has ambitious goals -- raise enrollment to 400 by actively recruiting from around the country and more than double the academy's $12 million endowment.
With all their years at Parris Island, though, neither Cheney nor Kinsley plan to forget their roots in Beaufort.
Kinsley visits Beaufort regularly because it is home to his children.
Cheney said he and his wife, retired Col. Roxanne Cheney, plan to maintain their home in Beaufort while living in Texas during the school year.
"Beaufort is a great community," Stephen Cheney said. "They love their bases, but their politics will drive you crazy."
Ellie