Congratulations to former YM/Cpl Michael Ramos,now USMC PFC Ramos,on his gradu- ation from boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot-San Diego on November 21, 2017. PFC Ramos is the first of our unit’s former Young Marines to achieve this accomplish- ment and we are extremely proud of him.I was able to attend this event along with PFC Ramos' family and several of our current Young Marines and Registered Adult Leaders. Graduation is a very emotional experience and one not to be missed! -- Submitted by Executive Officer Clark Wood, Excelsior High Desert (CA) Young Marines Right: PFC Michael Ramos, USMC Excelsior High Desert Young Marines: Congratulations to USMC PFC Ramos 26 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE By Joe Lusignan Young Marines Deputy Director For those of us who remember the late Joan Rivers, that phrase will ring bells. She used it when she wanted to get serious about something. With that in mind, I must broach a subject that is somewhat strange to a culture that has been used to wanting to call right to the top to vent or com- plain. Mom doesn’t like the teacher—don’t encourage your child to study--call the Superintendent of Schools! Dad doesn’t think his son is getting enough playing time, so don’t encourage your son to work out and train harder, and don’t talk to the coach—call the School District’s Athletic Director! The unit commander is kind of gruff and not nice enough to me— so I’ll call the National Executive Director! Our organization is patterned after the mili- tary. The Young Marines has a chain of command in place,where it benefits the organization with spreading “the word,” as well as solving problems at the low- est level, which is where the “fix” can often be most effective and quickest. When you call Headquarters to com- plain, you’re actually slowing down the process of solving the issue, because in most cases we’re going to defer it back to the chain of command. So? Who do I talk with? Initially, talk with the person you are having the dif- ficulty with. This is also a great way for us to show our youth how to resolve issues and problems, by directly com- municating. We, as adults, must emu- late the character we want to see in our children; going behind someone’s back, or perhaps gossiping or telling half- truths about them is not what we want to teach our kids. Well, I tried talking to him, and he’s just not willing to see things my way. Your way may not be the right way, but if you need guidance, well, the next step is to go to the next level in the chain of com- mand. Parents have access to that as well. Go to the Young Marines website at www.youngmarines.com and click on the members button. Then click on Login. Look down to where it says, “Fall in” and enter your child’s First and Last name, as well as the last four digits of their social security number. That will take you to their dashboard. On this page you can see their ribbons, their DDR hours, their community service hours, whether they’re eligible for pro- motion, etc., and also their unit’s chain of command. Above your unit commander, you will find the battalion commander’s con- tact information (start with them first,) above them you will find the regimen- tal commander, and then the division commander. These are the people that are closer to the unit that can assist in solving the difficulty or misunderstand- ings. On this same page if you look above, you will see a button for the library, click on the drop down for National Li- brary, and the very first folder you will see is the grievance form. This is how we document any type of inquiries or allegations, and filling out this form is what starts the process. Even if you were to call me and bend my ear for an hour, it would still come back to filling out this form completely and proceed- ing through the chain of command. Re- member, too, that we are an organiza- tion that has rules to follow. Most of these rules are found in the Registered Adult Manual. You can find that in the national library as well. Just go to the folder entitled Manuals. You can use this Fall In page to find out all kinds of things that your Young Marine is doing. Take the time to ex- plore “where they’re at,” what they need for promotion,what their ribbon display is supposed to look like,how many com- munity service hours they have. This will also help determine if they’re eli- gible for SPACES events and other ac- tivities. Explore and learn about other facets of the program. By being informed, and taking an ac- tive interest in your child’s Young Ma- rines career, you, your child, and your unit will all benefit. The Young Marines Chain of Command, Explained Once More (or, Can We Talk...?) The Young Marines’ Chain of Command is in place to solve problems quickly and effectively.