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 46AWarrior Steps to the Front and Says,“I Will Lead” And that warrior is the East Valley Young Marines, of Arizona. After winning the Fulcrum Shield last year as a national organization, we were politely reminded that the award is not meant for national organiza- tions, but our 'Closing the Gate on Drugs” initiative was an insurmountable bar that no other youth organization could surpass. Knowing this, the call was put out to all of our units, the gauntlet was thrown. Two units picked it up, the East Valley Young Marines and the Mecklen- burg Young Marines. Both presented strong pack- ages, that demonstrated sincerity and dedication to bringing our positive drug free message to their communities, and I believe that both are deserving of the award. The Department of Defense selected the East Valley Young Marines as this year’s winner of the Fulcrum Shield. This brings the number of times the Young Ma- rines (or one of our units) have earned this award to eight. An amazing achievement for an organization. It also shows that a single Young Marines unit can make a difference, can make an impact…not only in their community, but in the national arena. Congratulations to the East Valley Young Marines, and keep charging. Your award will be presented in October, at the Hall of Heroes in the Pentagon. Way to represent!! Gratefully, Joe Lusignan, Deputy Director, West Coast Operations and Program Drug Demand Reduction Resource Officer “I want to be the unit commander!” “I want to be supply!” “I just want to work with the kids!” Few and far between are the adults that run to the front of the line to volunteer as medical officers. With a dizzying myriad of allergies, with both real and imagined injuries, a touch or more of homesickness and even a suspected case or two of resistance to exertion… these saints deal with it all; documenting incidents, dis- tributing medication, handling injuries and even lending an ear when a Young Marine just needs to talk. My hat is off to these heroes, striving to keep our kids safe, healthy and to get back in the game. The four in the picture were the medical crew for this year’s National Leadership Academy. Hats off to (Left to Right) Ricki Schmidt, of Eastern Mountain (AZ) Young Marines, Melissa Foster of Swansboro (NC) Young Marines, Savatrie Forbes of PFC Bruce W. Carter (FL), and Rick Van Horn of SE Wis- consin Young Marines for the amazing (and mostly unrec- ognized) work they do. Joe Lusignan, Deputy Director, West Coast Operations and Program Drug Demand Reduction Resource Officer A Salute to our National Leadership Academy Medical Officers 10 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE