thedrifter
05-23-07, 06:53 AM
Corps top enlisted man asks experienced Marines to "stick around" awhile
By LORI YOUNT lyount@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Published Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The Marine Corps is trying to boost its numbers amid multiple deployments to a war going into its fifth year.
"We need as many good Marines to stick around as possible," Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent said at a town hall meeting of a couple of hundred Marines on Tuesday afternoon. "For the Marines on the fence line, I ask you to weigh all options."
Kent, who took over in April as sergeant major of the Marine Corps and is the senior enlisted Marine, is making his first official tour of Beaufort this week to speak with Marines and listen to their concerns. He spoke to Marines while visiting Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, where he went through boot camp about 31 years ago.
Kent promised the group of Air Station Marines -- most of whom raised their hands when asked whether they had been deployed -- that deployment to combat zones will last for seven months, in contrast to the Army, which recently upped deployments to 15 months.
"We have the right cycle," he said.
Kent said he plans to work alongside Commandant Gen. James Conway to make sure Marines stay home two months for every month deployed to combat.
When asked by a junior enlisted air traffic control Marine whether he supported a timeline to leave Iraq, Kent said he did not.
"We need to have an exit strategy before we pull out," he said. "We can't just set a date."
Kent said the biggest challenge for the Corps in meeting its goal of increasing troop strength by 27,000 over the next five years will be retention of Marines.
However, he said he doesn't see multiple deployments as a major retention issue, citing a unit that just deployed to Iraq with 270 Marines that could have opted out of the Corps
before the mission.
Ellie
By LORI YOUNT lyount@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Published Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The Marine Corps is trying to boost its numbers amid multiple deployments to a war going into its fifth year.
"We need as many good Marines to stick around as possible," Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent said at a town hall meeting of a couple of hundred Marines on Tuesday afternoon. "For the Marines on the fence line, I ask you to weigh all options."
Kent, who took over in April as sergeant major of the Marine Corps and is the senior enlisted Marine, is making his first official tour of Beaufort this week to speak with Marines and listen to their concerns. He spoke to Marines while visiting Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, where he went through boot camp about 31 years ago.
Kent promised the group of Air Station Marines -- most of whom raised their hands when asked whether they had been deployed -- that deployment to combat zones will last for seven months, in contrast to the Army, which recently upped deployments to 15 months.
"We have the right cycle," he said.
Kent said he plans to work alongside Commandant Gen. James Conway to make sure Marines stay home two months for every month deployed to combat.
When asked by a junior enlisted air traffic control Marine whether he supported a timeline to leave Iraq, Kent said he did not.
"We need to have an exit strategy before we pull out," he said. "We can't just set a date."
Kent said the biggest challenge for the Corps in meeting its goal of increasing troop strength by 27,000 over the next five years will be retention of Marines.
However, he said he doesn't see multiple deployments as a major retention issue, citing a unit that just deployed to Iraq with 270 Marines that could have opted out of the Corps
before the mission.
Ellie