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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – Marines adapt and overcome to make mission happen. This is evident through successful programs such as the Prior Service Recruiting Program which achieved its mission goal of 3,979 accessions for the 2024 fiscal year. The success of this year can be celebrated alongside last year’s achievement of over 100% with 4,487 accessions. The projected goal for next year is about 4,000 prior service accessions.
“The biggest attribution to this success is the recruiters,” said Master Gunnery Sgt. Andrew Lynch, branch chief, Prior Service Recruiting, Marine Corps Recruiting Command.
One such recruiter is Staff Sgt. Adam Vasquez, prior service recruiter with Marine Wing Support Squadron 471. Vasquez was the winner of the fiscal year 2023 Prior Service Recruiter of the Year award.
“Recruiting is a lot like shooting, if you stare at the target then you’re likely going to miss,” said Vasquez, describing his success with recruiting. “But a successful [Prior Service] recruiter looks through their scope by investing in individual Marines, and when you do that, everything aligns.”
The PSR program draws in thousands of prior service Marines into service in the Marine Corps Reserves for a variety of reasons.
“These individuals have great jobs [in the civilian sector]; they have great careers, but they feel like they’re missing something,” said Lynch. “They’re missing that camaraderie, and that camaraderie is exactly what we were missing when we decided to join the Corps.”
“Marines love being Marines,” said Lynch.
Lynch also explained the networking opportunities that the Marine Corps has given to those who decided to join the Reserves.
“Networking is a big reason that we see bringing back Marines like Lance Cpl. Dowling and others,” said Lynch as he reflected on one of his experiences with recruiting a reserve Marine into the PSR program.
Lance Cpl. Peter Dowling, civil affairs specialist,4th Marine Forces Reserve, enlisted originally in 2003 out of Orlando, Florida. He was medically separated in 2005.
Dowling and Lynch met each other 18 years later at an Educator’s Workshop on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, in 2023. At the time of the Educator’s Workshop, Dowling was a high school teacher. The workshop had given him a taste of the Marine Corps experience again.
“Dowling wanted to put the uniform back on, he’s been striving to put it back on since the day he was separated,” said Lynch.
Since then, Dowling, now 39 years-old, is officially back in uniform as a lance corporal serving in 4th MARFORRES, and through networking in the Marine Corps he’s become a local law enforcement officer in the Orlando-area.
The Marine Corps has had an overall successful year for recruiting. The Marine Corps continues to meet recruiting goals while ensuring the highest quality of military readiness.
“We are not willing to compromise our standards,” said Lynch. “That’s what sets us apart as Marines.”
| Date Taken: | 10.03.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.10.2024 10:26 |
| Story ID: | 482437 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Marines Aim High: Prior Service Recruiting Program Achieves its FY24 Mission Goal, by LCpl Anya Poteet, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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