Rome Young Marines add new recruits to their ranks
The group is still recruiting, and training will begin in two weeks.
On Saturday evening future Young Marines and their parents filed into a room at 340 Wilshire Drive to hear about the benefits of the program as well as how to get started.
Unit Commander Linda Hartley said the day was for filling out paper work, putting a deposit down and trying on uniforms for the newest members of the Greater Rome Young Marine program. In two weeks the recruits will begin training and will graduate from recruit training on March 23 at noon.
“We have this for two weeks if anybody is interested,” Hartley said. “We have a drill next week where they can come and fill out paperwork if they want to join our unit.”
The Young Marines out participating in close order drills ranked from Young Marine private to Young Marine sergeant she said. The reason Young Marine is included in the title is because the kids are not in the Marine Corps, said Hartley.
The kids will stay in the program until they are 18 years old or graduate high school, whichever comes last. The advantage of the program is that if the kids go into the Marine Corps and graduate boot camp they will be a private first class instead of a private.
The Young Marines meet on the first and third Saturday of the month. A typical day is physical fitness training, close order drill and class time, Hartley said. Close order drills had Young Marines Sgt. Kora Chattin calling out marching orders to her platoon. Chattin marched her fellow Young Marines around the grounds of the National Guard Armory where the group meets. On Saturday the group also participated in drug demand reduction, uniform inspections and ribbon recognition.
Congress supports the Young Marines as long as they do three hours of drug demand reduction a quarter.
“We do a lot of community service, we work with veterans a lot,” she said.
There is a $250 fee to start, and that will clothe them from head to toe, according to Harley. From then on out the Greater Rome Young Marines raises funds for everything else for their campouts and trips.