YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE 19 Facebook @USYoungMarines Instagram @USYoungMarines Twitter @USYoungMarines YouTube @youngmarinesHQ There’s nothing better than a dynamic photo on social media showing Young Marines in action. Units are posting images every week on their social media accounts.With the YM HQ social media accounts growing,we have a huge audience for these photos. We would like to post your photos on a national scale, but we need your help. After a great drill, encampment, field trip, out- ing, etc., send your best photos (no more than three) to the Young Marines social media email address: social@youngmarines.com In the body of your email make sure to identify the 4 Ws: Who - your unit name, town and state and the YMs in the photo, include rank, name and age What - Explain the event shown When - the date Where - location including the town and state. Not all photos can be posted, but all will be con- sidered. If you and/or your parents are on social media, fol- low YM HQ for lots of info, fun facts, videos, live streams and great photos. Follow us at: Be Featured on Young Marines HQ I Don’t Like What’s Going On in My City, I’m Calling The President! By Joe Lusignan, Deputy Director, West Coast Operations and Program Drug Demand Reduction Resource Officer You’ve seen the commercial on tele- vision, where the lady says, “That’s not how this works…,” well, it’s kind of like that when a parent wants to call the National Executive Director to complain that someone raised their voice at their son, or their daughter is not getting promoted quickly enough. Though our leader is one of the most personable people you’ll ever meet, keep in mind he is the National Executive Director for an organization that stretches across the nation and even overseas…with all the corporate and congressional obliga- tions that entails. Fortunately, we have a chain of command; a structure that en- ables problems to be solved at the low- est levels possible. As a retired law enforcement officer, I noticed that towards the end of my career, people were “calling the police” over things like“my neighbor is watering my lawn,” or “those children shouldn’t be playing so close to the road.” Couldn’t these issues have been addressed to my neighbor, or to the children playing near the road…or to their parents? We have to redevelop the ability to talk to each other…even on uncomfortable is- sues. Utilizing one of your Young Ma- rines leadership traits; tact (we pilfered it from the Marine Corps,) we should be able to communicate with anyone. However sometimes we struggle. So, here’s how the chain of command works. For a parent, for a registered adult, even for a Young Marine, your first rung in the ladder of the chain of com- mand is the Unit Commander. The re- sponsibility for all that occurs within the unit rests on their shoulders. The next level will be the Battalion Commander, then the Regimental Commander, and then the Division Commander. Keep in mind that ALL of these folks are volun- teers. The vast majority of issues should be handled below the Division Com- manders level. The lower the level that handles the issue, the quicker it gets solved. If you call National Headquar- ters to complain, you will most likely be turned over to a Deputy Director (there’s only 2 of us for the entire program.) De- pending on the issue, most of them will be delegated (handed down) to your Di- vision Commander, he or she will hand it down to a lower level on the chain of command. I would encourage all parents to read the Registered Adult Manual (registered adults are already required to read it,) and read the rules and regulations that govern our program. There’s another ar- tile in this issue that illustrates how to access the database. The RAM is in the library. There’s even a grievance process to follow if necessary. Keep in mind, that grievances are used for violations of the RAM, not for personal dislikes or misunderstandings. Registered Adults and Unit Commanders are encouraged to show interested parents how to navi- gate the system and know more about how the program works. By working to- gether, we will continue to build our or- ganization into one that benefits youth throughout our nation.