Photo By Sgt. Scott Reel | Myron Cleveland, personal profession development instructor for the transition...... read more read more
Subscribe
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - I Marine Expeditionary Force is implementing a new billet, held by staff non-commissioned officers and officers to ensure the proper education and occupational assistance is provided to Marines leaving the active duty ranks.
The additional billet will give career planners and unit transition coordinators more focused missions: career planners focused on Marines reenlisting and UTC's focused on Marines ending their military service.
Marines are required to visit the Transition Readiness Seminar (TRS) one year prior to the end of their service contract according to the Veteran Employment Opportunity Act. Every Marine will communicate with their career planner. If reenlistment is an option for Marines who intend to reenlist, they will continue to seek guidance from their career planner.
However, if Marines do not want to reenlist or are not likely to be granted reenlistment, they are directed to attend TRS and will be transferred to the UTC to begin the transition process.
Master Sgt. Derald Nash, newly designated unit transition coordinator for 1st Marine Logistics Group, is a career planner whose job is to help Marines reenlist or transition out of the Corps.
"Every command within I MEF will identify a staff non-commissioned officer or officer to be the unit transition coordinator and make that individual available for this training," Nash said.
Nash said the purpose of this additional billet is based on a Marine Corps-wide movement to make the decision of reenlisting or returning to civilian life the responsibility of two different Marines, making both processes easier. I MEF is initiating the billet with the rest of the Marine Corps soon to follow.
Nash said that when an individual is taken away from society, albeit a great identity, there are changes that occur during that Marine's time in the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps transitions around 30,000 Marines out of military service every year, Camp Pendleton handling one-third of that responsibility.
“We've known for a long time that it's a commander's responsibility to give back to society a better individual than what came to us," Nash said. "Building buildings is easy, buying computers is easy, and getting IPAC [Installation Personnel Administration Center] to adjust their administrative procedures is easy. Adjusting attitudes, adjusting leadership philosophies has been the challenge."
Master Gunnery Sgt. William Canfield, the I MEF career planner, oversees the new program to ensure Marines are scheduled for TRS a year prior to their separation.
"We need to free our career planners up to make more time to make more contact," Canfield said.
"Semper Fi. Marines take care of their own. Are those just sayings or are those just something we do?" Is it something we do only when you're with me in combat or is it something we do at home? This unit transition is our last interaction with these Marines so we have to make sure they're being taken care of correctly."
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2013 12:27 |
| Story ID: | 108461 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, I Marine Expeditionary Force implements new billet coming to the Marine Corps, by Sgt Scott Reel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
