By YM/Sgt James Corey Santa Clarita Valley (CA) I am Young Marine Sergeant James Corey. I’m graduating out of this program after 4 years, and I wrote this to communicate my knowledge and experience with my fellow Young Marines. The knowledge this program has to offer stretches beyond drugs, and boot polishing. Limitless My early career of being a Young Marine was spent as a bright- eyed, bushy-tailed private that didn’t really think for himself much. I started with a simple mindset of pushups, com- munity service, and veterans apprecia- tion. Although those are all important (including the push ups), that’s not what this program ended up being about for me. I’ve developed into an entirely new person. Before joining Young Marines I was shy, awkward, depressed, and generally someone you wouldn’t want to be around. I’ve rappelled down cliffs, jumped off of pool towers, learned how to treat injured people, taught recruit classes, and spoken in public hundreds of times. The person I was before joining Young Marines would have never considered any of it. Young Marines changed me, made me bold, strong, and resilient. I find myself having an absolute passion for instilling these traits into those who want to learn. To all my fellow Young Marines, your potential is limitless. If you’ve already realized this, spread the word. The Young Marine Next To You As I moved up in ranks, the more I really understood the dynamics between Young Ma- rines. I found a fire blazing in me to do more, become better, stronger, smarter because of the Senior Young Marine I looked up to. His name was YM/MSgt Segoviano, and, although he’s been retired out of the program for more than a year now, and he lives more than 50 miles away from me, he is still one of my closest friends. Young Marines gave me a role model, and a best friend. The sense of camaraderie stretches beyond one’s unit. At Leader- ship Academies, and encampments alike there are Young Ma- rines from all over the state, and country. With them I have laughed, I have cried, I have burned, I have frozen, I have fallen. My heart goes out to you all. Make yourself stronger and stronger not for your staff, not for yourself, but for the well-being of your fellow Young Marines. Unheeded At times, many other Young Marines I and have felt dismissed and ignored, and given the impression our staff thinks we’re less than capable. If we make an entire plan on how to accomplish a mission, and staff wants to “give their two cents” that’s very respectable. But please don’t scrap our ideas entirely, it’s embarrassing, and wastes a learning experience for the Young Marine in charge. Moreover, I’m begging any RA, or Billieted staff member, please listen to our opinions and ideas. Far too much impor- tant insight, and far too many constructive ideas have been brushed aside. It can be very, very discouraging for a Young Marine to feel ignored. We are literally taught to be independent, razor-sharp problem solvers. My Closed Chapter My Young Marine career is a chapter which must now end. Now that I sit atop the summit of my once in a lifetime experience, this is my final attempt to leave a mark. Young Marines, you are all limitless, always push yourselves with your comrades. Adults, remember we are literally taught to be independent, razor-sharp problem solvers. On Retirement, a Parting Message to My Fellow Young Marines Your potential is limitless. If you’ve already realized this, spread the word. By YM/MSgt Andrew Hamper Ashtabula County (OH) One of my duties as the Ohio Regi- mental Young Marine of the Year is to think of ways we might improve our regiment. One of these ideas was a sym- posium. I had to get together with my Regimental Commander and Executive Officer for help. We decided to make a plan and execute it. In April,twenty-two Young Marines from around the Regiment joined together at Camp Lazarus in Delaware, Ohio for the symposium. We started with some ice-breaker games to get to know each other and then it was time for some work! Five Young Marines were given topics to present to the rest of us. These top- ics included Fundraising, Drug Demand Reduction, Mentorship Programs, a JLS/ SLS Readiness Course, and a YouTube Channel. We invited our Division Young Marine of the Year, YM/SgtMaj Brusha- ber, and he gave his presentation on his journey to the rank of Young Marines Sergeant Major. After the work,we dug down with some delicious pizza and played Minute-to- win-it games. The games were a blast and everyone had a great time. It was amazing seeing everyone having an en- joyable experience. Later that night, we watched “Moana” and then fell asleep. The next morning, we woke up and ate breakfast at a local Bob Evans restau- rant.Then,we moved into our next topic of discussion for the summer, the Regi- mental Games. All of us gave our input of what we wanted to do and see at the Regimental Encampment. After that, we talked and all of us received a regimen- tal challenge coin and dog tags. What a great token to remember! Overall, it was a very successful symposium. We made numerous improvements and I encour- age you, personally, to create an event like this for your battalion, regiment, or division. It is worth the work! Ohio Regimental Symposium: Discussing Ways We Can Improve 24 Young Marines Esprit ONLINE