Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46By YM/LCpl Aidan C. Spath Atlantic Coast (FL) I have to admit, I was a bit nervous when I arrived at Junior Leadership School experience at Camp Geneva, as no one in my unit had attended this spe- cific School before. I was not the only one there from my unit, YM/LCpl M.C. Spath, YM/LCpl Landry and YM/LCpl Ro- bayo were also there. Although our unit commander did her best to prepare us, and we reviewed all the information we were given, it was impossible for us to be completely prepared. We stayed for two weekends. When we arrived, we signed ourselves in and got our JLS t-shirts. We headed to our barracks, where we proceeded to get everything we needed out of our seabags and set them up by our racks. There was little time before we had to go to sleep.I was awaken the next by the frantic rushing of Young Marines getting in front of their racks. We prepared for Physical Training. It was important that we do this PT be- cause the Physical Fitness Test was on the next day, Sunday. Afterwards, we at- tended the flag raising ceremony and then ate morning chow. We went the drill field and practiced drill for an hour,then went inside and re- ceived an hour of classroom instruction. We attended the flag lowering ceremony and went into our barracks for more studying. We once again hit the rack and woke up the next day to get ready for the PFT. My favorite thing about the PFT was that no one let another Young Marine fall behind, they were always there to encourage and help them push through to the end. For example during the run, one of the Young Marines was lagging at the end and slowing down, so a few Young Marines and I ran with him to help motivate him. We arrived the next weekend with our assignments. What was my assign- ment, you ask? Well, we had to write an approximately five minute speech on a leadership trait. This was to be a power- point presentation, saved to a flashdrive. All the Young Marines eventually did well, even though some of them (includ- ing myself ) had to go through remedia- tion. The same schedule was repeated for that day and Saturday, with a slight difference. On Saturday night we would have final testing, all of the information we had been taught by our instructors would be put to use. I had no doubt that my fellow Young Marines would pass. Even though I was nervous, I relied upon the tip given by my instructors, which was to not over-think it. If you aren’t cer- tain of what the answer is, go with your gut instinct. After we finished the test I was relieved. We had drill testing and uniform inspec- tion the next day, and I was confident in my skills. Thanks to our teamwork and readiness to learn, we all passed. We then headed for lunch. After lunch,we’d attend the graduation. Everything we had worked for this en- tire time would soon be concluded. We were sent back to our barracks where we checked our uniforms, and checked each other. We were ready, we marched to the stands. We then waited until all the par- ents were seated. The excitement was palpable when the graduation ceremony began. Thank- fully, everyone passed Junior Leadership School. After the graduation we went to our barracks to pack everything up for the ride home. I thank the the instructors as well as the adult staff who gave up their time in order to help teach us to become better leaders. It would not have been possible without them. Experiencing Teamwork at Junior Leadership School Florida Unit YMs Complete Senior, Junior Leadership Schools By YM/LCpl Marissa Cook LCpl Brian R. Buesing (FL) Congratulations Young Marines! We made it through Junior and Senior Lead- ership School. Get ready for what’s next in our path growing as leaders in the Young Marines program. The LCpl. Brian R. Buesing Young Marines enjoyed our stay at the leadership schools,and we are applying all the information we learned. Thank you, Adults and other Young Ma- rines for helping us get to where we are now, we couldn’t have done it without you guys. Oorah BRB Young Marines! By YM/PFC Madison Light Lapeer County (MI) When I was about eight years old, my grandfather started telling me about serving in the United States Marine Corps in WWII and during the Korean War. The more he told me, the more I knew I wanted to be a United States Marine and be able to carry on the family legacy. Graduating from recruit training and becoming a Young Marine fills me with pride and excitement that I am one step closer to achieving my dream.The more I experience in the Young Marines, the more I realize that I am where I belong. Being a Young Marine makes me feel like I can actually be a part of something, and with people who share my values. I’ve always cared about my country, and being a Young Marine gives me the confidence to be myself. I am so thankful for that. I feel honored to be a part of the Young Marines and thankful to be given this opportunity. I cannot wait to discover what the Young Ma- rines has in store for me on my journey. [UC note: YM/PFC Light was awarded Honor Graduate of her 30-member recruit class.] AGrateful Graduate With a Family Legacy Young Marines Core values: Leadership ESPRIT ONLINE | Page 39