Photo By Chief Warrant Officer Justin Pack | Cpl. Tasia Wise talks about her experiences in the military to a classroom of Marine...... read more read more
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DEDEDO, Guam - The room came to attention as the seven person panel entered the room. The young men and women went silent and stood rigid in their woodland camouflage utilities like Marines are taught to do, but these were not Marines, they were high school students.
Five Marines and two sailors visited Okkodo High School’s Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in Dededo, Guam Dec. 5 to give a class about the military during Exercise Forager Fury 2012.
“My goal is for the cadets to have some idea what real active duty is like,” said Lt. Cmdr. Denise Wallingford, a chaplain with Marine Aircraft Group 12. “It is a real possibility they could be in our shoes and it’s an achievable goal for them.”
Forager Fury, which will run through Dec. 19, is a MAG-12 training exercise which will not only highlight Marine aviation and aviation support, but also build community relations in both Guam and Tinian.
Okkodo High School’s Marine Corps JROTC started in 2009 and has 214 cadets this school year. The program has grown each year and the cadets are very patriotic. When asked who wanted to join the military, more than half of the cadets raised their hands.
“Last year, four cadets entered the service. I’m not really a recruiter, however if they want to get into the military, I will help them,” said retired Marine Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ernest Turner, the JROTC Senior Marine Instructor. “Mainly, I want them to do something after graduation. I want them to go to college, I want them to try to get into the military, pursue their career. Whatever their dream is, I want them to go in that direction which is really what I am pushing. We have three cadets that have already enlisted this year and are just waiting to graduate.”
Service members spoke to the cadets about their experiences while serving, their military occupation specialties, what they do on their off-time, how school helped them get where they are today, and how their jobs in the service can translate into the civilian sector.
The cadets asked many questions about where the service members have traveled and what their best military memories have been.
“Cadets really appreciate the real live career Marines and sailors and this kind of exposure is really good,” said Turner. “Everything was really energetic so I could tell the exchange of information was really appreciated.”
Approximately 700 service members will participate in Forager Fury on Guam and around 100 service members will participate on Tinian. The MAG- 12 training exercise will also include various community relations events on the islands.
| Date Taken: | 12.05.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2012 07:24 |
| Story ID: | 98844 |
| Location: | DEDEDO, GU |
| Web Views: | 279 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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