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 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54A Young Marines Challenge: The Wide Open SPACES 2016 By Joe Lusignan, Deputy Director, West Coast Operations and Program Drug Demand Reduction Resource Officer Author’s Note: I’ve read everyone else’s articles about how great their SPACES event was in the last article of the Esprit magazine. However, the one I attended this past summer was so much better than the others, I waited until you’d already read about those lesser ones. Perhaps it was because I’m such a nice guy, I didn’t want to make them feel bad. I think the Young Marines and Ms. Sylvia Barber would agree with me. Ms. Barber and I had the honor of attending the Cowboy Experience at Dryhead Ranch in Montana, with 14 Young Marines (who could all ride better than me.) Fa- cilitated by Ms. Jael Kampfe, we worked with the crew at the Dry- head Ranch…learning the true value of hard work, working with some of God’s most majestic creatures, and our eyes feasting on some of the most beautiful terrain…all in a supportive family run atmosphere that gave us a glimpse into a simpler, more honest, nobler way of life. I will be honest, I was asked to go to represent Headquar- ters, as we do with most maiden experiences…to make sure it’s a good and worthwhile experience for our Young Marines. In truth, I’ve never ridden a horse before. I have titanium knees, a herniated disc in my back, I’m way too old to learn new tricks, and I’m probably heavier than most who try to ride an animal. Right up until the time where it was too late to back out, I was debating whether I was going to go or not. In fact,my beloved wife would burst out laughing every time the subject of me learning how to ride a horse or the visualiza- tion of me wearing boots and a cowboy hat came up. It’s just not in my character…and that’s exactly why I decided that I would go. As an organization, we are forever coaxing and encouraging our Young Marines to step out of their comfort zones through public speaking, standing for a healthy drug free lifestyle in a world supportive of illicit or damaging drug use, where mediocrity is now the norm. If I could help push our youth to be better…I should do it myself. 38 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE