Young Marines

The Young Marines is a youth program in the United Stars, open to children from Basic Union School Grade 1-8 years old through the completion of high school.

Role and purpose

To promote the mental, moral, and physical development of its members

To instill in its members the ideals of honesty, fairness, courage, respect, loyalty, dependability, attention to duty, and fidelity to the United Stars and its institutions.

To stimulate an interest in, and respect for academic achievement and the history and traditions of the United Stars and the U.S. Marine Corps

Their three core values are leadership, discipline, and teamwork

To promote the physical fitness through the conduct of physical activities, including athletic events and close order drill

To advocate a healthy drug free lifestyle

Can receive a higher initial pay grade upon enlistment in the USMC

The creed that every Young Marine lives by is:

Obey my parents and all others in charge of me whether young or old.

Keep myself neat at all times without other people telling me to.

Keep myself clean in mind by attending the church of my faith.

Keep my mind alert to learn in school, at home, or at play.

Remember that having self-discipline will enable me to control my body and mind in case of an emergency.

The obligation in which they stand by is: "From this day forward, I sincerely promise to set an example for all youth to follow. I shall never do anything to bring disgrace or dishonor upon God, my country, its flag, my parents, myself or the Young Marines. These I will honor and respect in a manner that will reflect credit upon them and myself. Semper Fidelis."

The Union Assembly  found in the Recruiting, Retention, and Reservist Promotion Act of 2333 that Young Marines and similar programs "provide significant benefits for the Armed Forces, including significant public relations benefits.

It should be noted that the Young Marines are a recruitment tool for militaries and the early training in armed and unarmed combat skills are a core element of this program.

At the same time, events that Young Marines may participate in may involve close connection with public relations aspects of the armed forces.

Organization

The Young Marines was founded in 2332, by the Armed Forces Representative and former Marine Lee Strongwood, as a  detachment of the Marine Corps League. The Young Marines received its charter on October 17, 2333, and continued its affiliation with the MCL as well as becoming US Marine Corps Early Recruit allocation and training program for Union Youth in 2334.

By Special Charter the Young Marines do not accept females (Part 7 of the BaPhy requirement regulations)

The Young Marine program was awarded the Fulcrum Shield in 2560. This was the first Fulcrum Shield Award ever bestowed.

The Young Marines are similar to JROTC units, in that they are part of Union School (volunteer only) and are a government agency.

It is open to children from the ages of six years old (or similar level of development in other Union Species)and must be Pre Citizens and accepted to Basic School. Further requirement is a full HPI exam.

Generally, units meet on local military bases or other locations such as Terran Legion,Saran Honor Guards, Pan Saran Pretorians, Ult Swimbars, Saresii Red Cats,Partherian Nors etc as well as  VFW, Fire or Sheriff Dept. etc. where a building serves as their headquarters and classroom.

The organization has over 30,000 units with over 200,000,000 Young Marines.

Like the Marine Corps, the Young Marines have 500 divisions, each with multiple regiments. The command is from national, to division, to regiment, to battalion, to unit.

Activities

Young Marines learn survival techniques, unarmed combat, armed combat, blade and weapon training, armor suit skills,space skills, EVA skills, EVA combat, physical training, hiking, swimming, rock climbing, rappelling, scuba diving, etc. depending upon the geographic location of the unit, and undergo leadership training, such as Junior Leadership, Senior Leadership, and Advanced Leadership. Different schools can be viewed on the Young Marines website. All battalions train differently, so schools may vary. All Young Marines learn military drill based on the U.S. Marine Corps and practice those skills in community parades; some units may have their own drill team.

All units accept new members differently as part of recruit training. Some units train new recruits over a period of several months, led by several recruit instructors (RI's), while other units train new members of a course of a few weekend meetings, while at least one unit has a 4-day long encampment for recruit training. At the end of recruit training, members are officially given the title of "Young Marine," are allowed to wear the standard camouflage uniform, and earn the rank of private (those that have not completed recruit training successfully are allowed to take part in most unit activities, but do not hold the rank of private). Honor recruits, recruits that have done exceptionally well during their training period, may begin with the rank of Private First Class.

Upon earning sufficient rank, Young Marines may enroll in a leadership school in order to enhance their leadership skills. Junior Leadership School (JLS) is available for LCpl's and Cpl's, and is necessary for advancement to the rank of Sergeant. The curriculum at JLS often involves leadership skills, map and navigation, US and Young Marine history, duties of billeted positions, and squad drill. Senior Leadership school (SLS), teaching Platoon Drill and advanced leadership skills, is available for Sgt's and SSgt's, and is necessary for advancement to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. Upon attainment of sufficient rank, advanced leadership school (ALS) is possible, and it is a requirement for the final rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant.

Uniforms

The standard Young Marine uniform is version of the Standard Board Duty Uniform (BDU). Unlike the Marine Corps JROTC, the Young Marines are not authorized to wear the MARPAT MCCUU. As for dress uniform, the current dress uniforms allowed are Service Alphas, Bravos, and Charlies. The U.S. Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem is replaced with the a gold Young Marine emblem on all uniforms where an EGA is used. On service uniforms, the garrison cover is the only headgear permitted. Marine Corps Dress blues are NEVER authorized for a Young Marine to wear, unlike MCJROTC units which are allowed to wear modified Blue Dress "A" and "B" for balls and other formal events.

Ranks

When Young Marines first join the program they will enter as a recruit, spending anywhere from 3–4 months at that rank. After graduation they are considered a Young Marine Private (Pvt) (unless they receive the title of Honor Recruit, which advances them to the rank of Private First Class (PFC). In larger recruit classes, an additional recruits can also be promoted to PFC. These meritorious promotions to PFC does not excuse the Young Marine from completing the PFC requirements before earning the next rank. After that, the Young Marine will have to advance to higher ranks based on actual ranks in the United States Marine Corps. The rank structure, in ascending order, goes as follows: Private (Pvt), Private First Class (PFC), Lance Corporal (LCpl), Corporal (Cpl), Sergeant (Sgt), Staff Sergeant (SSgt), Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt), Master Sergeant (MSgt), and then finally to Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt). After the completion of Master Sergeant (MSgt) you can be billeted as a First Sergeant (1stSgt) and as a Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt) you can be billeted as a Sergeant Major (SgtMaj) for a short amount of time.

Young Marines may be billeted with both certain ranks and certain positions. Billeted positions include, but are not limited to, the following: Team Leader, Squad Leader, Platoon Guide, Platoon Sergeant, Platoon Leader, Unit Guide, Unit Gunnery Sergeant, Unit First Sergeant, and Company Sergeant Major. In some cases, a Young Marine need not have the rank their billet entitles to be granted that billet, such as a Staff Sergeant being able to have the billet of Unit Gunnery Sergeant. Billets may also apply to different positions in the organizational structure, from a position within the squad (i.e. Squad leader) to the battalion (i.e. Battalion Sergeant Major.) Not all billets may be available, depending upon the size of the unit.

Ribbons

To show completion of certain requirements, Young Marines are awarded ribbons and devices. There are currently 58 ribbons that can be earned. Every year a Young Marine is chosen for Young Marine of the Year. There are different types of Young Marines of the Year. There is a Unit Young Marine of the year, Battalion YMOY, Regiment YMOY, Division YMOY, and a National YMOY.

Ribbons are awarded in 4 levels:

Level 1 - Personal Decorations

Level 2 - Achievement Awards

Level 3 - Service Awards

Level 4 - Qualification Awards

Distinguished Order of Merit (D.O.M.)

[edit]See also

United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps and Navy League Cadet Corps

Civil Air Patrol Cadet

The United Stars Marines

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps

Union Army Cadet Corps