Photo By Lance Cpl. Francisco Abundes | Sgt. Jeron Richardson, a receiving drill instructor, corrects a new recruit at the...... read more read more
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PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. - Although recruits may mostly remember the drill instructors of their respective platoons, Marines from another unit on Parris Island also play an integral role in training.
From the day recruits set foot on the infamous yellow footprints to the day they leave the main gate, the men and women of Support Battalion play a direct role in their development.
“Support Battalion serves a number of purposes and we have a very diverse and nonlineal mission. In essence, recruit training starts and ends here,” said Lt. Col. Nathan Maker, commanding officer of Support Battalion. “We facilitate the medical evaluation and rehabilitation of injured recruits or basically trained Marines, and we provide academic instruction and testing in three of the recruit training graduation requirements academic testing, martial arts, and [water survival qualification].”
A recruits’ first introduction to Marine Corps recruit training is the receiving process run by members of Support Battalion. During receiving, recruits’ Service Record Books are established and they are entered into the Total Force System.
At Leatherneck Square, where recruits sweat, grimace and shout “Marine Corps” through chewed-up mouth guards, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructors teach recruits the basics of MCMAP.
“What we do here is give recruits an understanding of MCMAP,” said Sgt. Reginald Berry, chief instructor at Leatherneck Square. “We teach them that the disciplines they get from MCMAP are the disciplines inherent to being a Marine.”
At the Combat Training Tank, Marine combat instructors of water survival teach recruits why Marines are known for their amphibious roots. From teaching recruits to swim to maneuvering in the water wearing several pounds of gear, MCIWS Marines are a vital part of the recruits’ development.
“We teach recruits how to survive in the water so they can carry on and complete any mission,” said Sgt. Dwight Whitaker, instructor at the Combat Training Tank. “Being amphibious in nature, every Marine needs an understanding of water survival.”
The Marine Corps history and knowledge classes that give the recruits’ bodies a break from the physically arduous training while challenging them mentally are also taught by Support Battalion Marines.
“Every drill instructor and officer in this battalion, whether a Recruit Processing or Separations drill instructor, Special Training Company drill instructor, or a drill instructor who teaches academic instruction, martial arts or swim, has the opportunity to teach or mentor a recruit and assist that individual in realizing his or her dream of becoming a Marine,” Maker said. “No matter what their role and specific mission, I expect every Marine who comes in contact with recruits to maximize every minute in an effort to teach, mentor and instruct our recruits. You never know when you’ll make a positive impact on someone, and Marines are by nature very diligent in the performance of their duty.”
Support Battalion not only specializes in training recruits, but in rehabilitating them as well. Through a section called Special Training Company, recruits who are injured or unable to maintain a certain level of physical fitness are rehabilitated and strengthened to qualify to earn the Eagle, Globe and Anchor. Recruits who will not go on to be Marines are also processed by Support Battalion personnel.
“For our drill instructors working in Recruit Separations, it is an opportunity to continue to mentor those young people who couldn’t be Marines to be the best citizens they can be, and to not forget the basics of being a good citizen that the Marine Corps taught them while they were here,” Maker said.
Although the battalion’s mission-essential tasks are of training recruits, Support Battalion also serves a much different purpose for the Marines who work there.
“The importance of Support Battalion is much more focused on the individual Marine who serves here,” Maker said. “Whether a drill instructor or not, our Marines understand that the ultimate objective is to leave this unit a better Marine, small-unit leader and citizen than when he or she got here, and that is our focus.
“Here in Support Battalion, the recruit serves as a training aid to enable our Marines’ professional development. Here the focus is on enabling those things that set our Marines up for success,” Maker added. “In essence, our focus here is ensuring our Marines are working toward what they need to do to get promoted and retained in the Marine Corps.”
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2011 10:29 |
| Story ID: | 71190 |
| Location: | PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 682 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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