Photo By Cpl. Desire Mora | Marines with 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group crush a car with an...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Family members of Marines and sailors with 2nd Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2nd Marine Logistics Group and students from around Onslow County gathered at the battalion’s compound for an open house here, April 24.
“Today allows Marines with families or who are new to the unit to come down, see what goes on at the battalion, and mess around with some of the gear we work with,” said Cpl. Tyler Schartiger, an Arnoldsburg, W.Va., native and supply administration and operations specialist with the battalion. “They get to have a good day and enjoy the weather outside. There’s free food, fun and games, and they get to interact with the Marines.”
Students, some with parents in the units, came from four schools in the area and visited to learn about the battalion’s role in garrison and deployed environments and talk to the Marines about their experiences.
“The majority of the students who came through were seventh through 12th [graders],” said Gary Scalzo, a native of Mentor, Ohio, and family readiness officer for the battalion. “We had the Camp Lejeune high school and middle school here because it’s their science and technology month and a great opportunity for them to see the skill sets our Marines have. We also had students from Onslow County Learning Center and the Fellowship Christian Academy come down. They’ve come out a couple times, and they’ve enjoyed it each year – it’s good to see that.”
Family members of many of the unit’s personnel also visited the open house to share the experience and learn about the jobs their loved ones do on a daily basis.
“We try to bring them inside the compound and let them see what it is that these Marines do each and every day,” said Scalzo. “When we first started [hosting the event], it was a nice way to reassure families that all aspects of what the service members would be doing while deployed were safe and completed in a manner that they trained to. Now that we’re back in garrison, I think families enjoy playing with gear they only hear about when their Marines come home and talk about it.”
During the open house, Marines gave Marine Corps Martial Arts Program demonstrations, allowed visitors to run a modified Combat Fitness Test and get hands-on time with heavy equipment. The battalion entertained its guests by crushing two cars with a M88 Hercules recovery vehicle, once in the morning, and again as the final event.
“It let the families and schools see what 2nd Maint. Bn. does as a whole,” said Cpl. Joshua Croom, a West Monroe, La., native and water section quality control manager with Engineer Maintenance Company. “We can operate, but our main job is maintenance, and that’s what they got to see. They got to walk around, participate and it was a good turnout for families.”
The battalion also set up a makeshift lagoon for visitors to ride in a Zodiac inflatable raft, trucked visitors around in a Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected vehicle, and hosted a chili cook-off competition.
The event was also open to base personnel, military families and community members with government issued military identification.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2014 16:57 |
| Story ID: | 127681 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | ARNOLDSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | MENTOR, OHIO, US |
| Hometown: | WEST MONROE, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 289 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
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