Senior Leadership School 2000
by 1stSgt John Clemente
Vienna Young Marines
In July of 2000 more than one hundred Young Marines from all over the country
were greeted warmly at the airport by a few of our instructors, who later
would become our "parents" for the next two weeks of training. All seemed
excited to get a move on into learning the skills it takes to be a great
Young Marine leader. All of the Young Marines bonded well the first day of
the 2-week trip. The experience would last a lifetime.
We were greeted by a few more of our instructors upon our entrance to the
barracks. The first thing that we all were anxious to have was good old Marine
Corps chow. Marching 1.5 miles to the chow hall every morning at 0630, and
then back, and then to the chow hall again for lunch, and then back, and
then back even again for dinner, and then.Š.well you've got the picture.
We really perfected our marching skills and learned some really neat songs.
To the people that had morning paper routes, getting up at 0500 wasn't a
big deal. To the people with early morning paper routes this was a piece
of cake. Others had to make small adjustments to the amount of sleep they
had to conserve. After chow we were introduced to all of our instructors.
We would not realize how much one person could influence a single group after
living two weeks with them. All of the instructors were very welcoming to
us. We could ask any question to Cpl. Ayers, a U. S Marine stationed in Quantico,
who is now with the Quantico Young Marines, absolutely any question involving
the Marine Corps. He would bark out the correct answer just like any dedicated
Marine would. Leadership is the art of influence, and did they ever influence
us. We left talking like them, eating like them, even dressing like them.
We talked like Cpl. Gamble, ate like Mr. Jestel, and dressed like Mr. Champagne-
much to our parent's dismay!
Mr. Bacon challenged our thought process every chance he got. I was one of
the returning students and our curriculum was for the most part essay writing.
I believe that this has prepared me to be a better student and to pay attention
to my grammar, spelling and punctuation. I like writing essays. I also like
the fact that we had to write a resume to be accepted into the school. This
has helped prepare me for life.
Cpl. Gamble is also a United States Marine, and a Young Marine veteran. Back
in his day in the Young Marine program there were officers, and he was one
of them. This highly dedicated Marine is responsible for the magazine you
are reading right now. The hard work and motivation it took to start it up
designated him to be the first Young Marine to be awarded the Distinguished
Service Ribbon award.
Mr. Jestel took his excellent teaching skills to the classroom. Jaws dropped
as the 220 pound six foot Recon Marine made his way to the podium. He came
at us LIVE! Not a creature had a dry eye in the room during his motivating
classes.
Captain Martha Shepherd, USN, taught some valuable classes as well as ensured
the safety and well being of us all. Mrs. Clemente, her side-kick, said that
she is the best roommate!
Mr. Champagne and Mr. Moore came from Louisiana to make sure discipline was
instilled in the barracks because we Young Marines can get pretty crazy when
left alone. Of course, everywhere Mr. Champagne goes he goes in style.
Mr. Cate came armed with his computer that became very useful when we needed
it. He is the guru of computers and the coolest retired Army Officer I have
ever met!
Many more instructors had the pleasure of attending leadership school.
On the agenda first was the PFT, and many Young Marines scored close to a
perfect score ,or met a perfect 500. Senior Leadership School 2000 was not
easy. You had to be physically fit as well as mentally fit. That is physical
in the field, and mental in the classroom. For returning students most would
be likely to say this year was more mentally challenging than the previous
year. The first year students conducted most of their testing at Ellis Hall
on base. Mr. Bacon, formerly of the Quantico Young Marines and now of the
Bakersfield, CA Young Marines, commanded the curriculum for the returning
students and new timers.
Some of the Staff Non-Commissioned Officers found out how much that they
didn't know about orienteering. This was day four of the two week stay in
the wonderful world of the Marine Corps. Basic orienteering was conducted
at Prince William Park and was lead by Recon Marine Mr. Jestel, of the Vienna,
Ohio Young Marines. After a basic class on how not to get lost in the woods
with a compass, the senior leaders formed groups to go get lost in the woods!
Each group was sent with an instructor equipped with a radio- so it wasn't
that easy to get that lost, unless of course Mrs. Clemente was your guide.
(LOL, Oh, am I ever grounded). Everyone lived through the expedition. Only
a few had minor bee stings and scratches from being exposed to the bush.
Training day five was perhaps the most memorable of the days and primarily
consisted of the paintball course. Mr. Romano was the paintball specialist
for the day. He was a rock hard machine out there! Everyone there would agree
on that, except for Mr. Jestel whose main mission that day was to destroy
Mr. Romano. Mr. Jestel said that Recon kicked Air-Wing's butt! The people
who went to the paintball war all had fun. One of the heroes of the speedball
course was Sgt. Ratcliff from Louisiana. Standing at about five foot one
this Young Marine single-handedly took out four or five guys to wrap up a
victory for the NCO's. Sgt. Ratcliff later earned the title of Rambo.
Senior Leadership School 2000 was not always hard work and studying. Just
about every day we had liberty. Even if liberty was only for an hour we all
found a way to make it enjoyable. We ordered pizza from the local Q-town
Dominoes to relieve us from all of the good mess hall chow. The base pool
was an excellent way to catch a breeze since the pool was less than 200 meters
from the barracks. Master Gunnery Sergeant Cate and the returning students
had trouble finding spare time because since he was the highest ranking Young
Marine he was responsible for everything. Mr. Bacon called this operation
overload because they had so many essays and missions to complete. All of
the essays dealt with aspects of leadership. The returning students studied
more advanced leadership. Much of this year's agenda was psychological evaluations
and how you react to react to an unstable environment.
All of the Young Marines and adult staff had their good moments this year.
The Young Marines that attended learned a serious art that only few have
learned to master in the 225 year history of the Marine Corps. From integrity
to bearing these Young Marines learned it all, and they should be proud they
were selected to have a chance to learn some of the best ways to master leadership.
They left the school knowing there is one mission- to pass on, leadership
skills in the most responsible way a leader can. They have graduated leadership
school and that is quite an accomplishment! Their mission now is to bring
those finely honed leadership skills back to their units and teach others
what they have learned.
Thank you Mr. Bacon and the rest of the staff for putting together such an
awesome advanced leadership experience!
Semper Fi,
John Clemente
1stSgt. Vienna Young Marines