‘College is not the only option’: Marine Corps recruiter wants to increase awareness of Delayed Entry program

Would the extra preparation of spending weeks or even months being trained physically and mentally near your hometown before being shipped out for military boot camp provide an extra incentive to sign up?

The Marine Corps believes that can be the case, even more so now that COVID-19 is somewhat in the rearview mirror and recruiters can meet with potential applicants one-on-one or during visits to local high schools.

The key now is getting the word to more juniors and seniors in high school that the Marines’ Delayed Entry Program can prepare a recruit for the training portion of military service.

Military branches used online recruiting and virtual career fairs to reach young people during the pandemic. However, the military’s online presence is governed by strict regulations, making it more tedious than meeting with prospects face-to-face.

Still, considering the pandemic’s far-reaching reach, the branches of service fared as well as they could. The Marines, in particular, restructured/downsized in some cases, helping the corps stay close to or ahead of goals.

In 2022, the Marines saw a decrease in enlistment contracts and retention of mid-career personnel. But it lured 28,608 recruits, or eight more than its target goal.

Of all the branches, the Marine Corps hit recruiting goals in 2023 and was off to a good start this year, surpassing a January 2024 goal by more than 100 when attaining 4,230 active recruits.

Staff Sgt. Sauveur Ralph, the station commander who oversees the Marines recruiting stations in Naperville, St. Charles and Aurora, wants more high school students aware of the Delayed Entry Program. The program allows juniors and seniors in high school to see if they would qualify for enlistment and potentially sign up for inactive status with an agreement for active duty in the future.

These men and women, 17 and older (or possibly younger with parent or guardian approval), could undergo physical and mental training at local facilities for several weeks or months to better understand what it takes to become a Marine. They eventually “ship out” to boot camp in San Diego, California, if they pass all requirements.

“We just have a mission of finding our replacements,” Sgt. Ralph noted that the delayed entry option is also called the Pool Program, as the Marines seek to refresh its pool of recruits.

“Everything we do is with the goal of, is this man or woman capable, or can we make them capable? Do they have what it takes? It is our job to get them where they need to be,” he added.

Sgt. Ralph talks from a position of experience when visiting area high schools. More than a decade ago, he was in the same place, even admitting it took him some time to meet the requirements.

“I am not the same man sitting here that I was years ago,” he admits while sitting at a desk in the St. Charles recruiting office. “I was just like them, going through the whole process, and now I have the opportunity to be that gatekeeper to allow other people the access and that opportunity.”

He understands that young men and women close to finishing high school have always had difficult decisions. It could be more difficult than ever because those who don’t know what career they want to pursue also have the harsh reality of the high expense and potential student-loan debt of furthering education. For many, that is out of reach.

“It’s a very different mindset (to join the military), and people have to go through different stages of life,” Sgt. Ralph noted. “But the young men and women in high school need to know that going to college is not the only option they have. You can get ‘college’ in the Marines as well.”

One does not have to be of great physical strength to apply for the Marines, but the goal is to eventually get in much better shape to be strong of mind and body, Sgt. Ralph noted.

“Those who join the program have different athleticism or skills, and we push their growth, mostly about finding a way to win and work together,” Sgt. Ralph said. Some people are starting from scratch in terms of fitness and have never played sports or exercised much.”

He points to 25-year-old Israel Aranda of Aurora as an example of a person who had to work hard to get in shape and eventually become a Marine. When he is on leave, Aranda now visits local schools, especially East Aurora High School near his home, to tell his story.

“I am stronger mentally, physically and emotionally,” Aranda said of his first year of Marines experience. “I have a lot more confidence and am much healthier.”

“Some kids are afraid to ask about the Marines,” Aranda said. He has convinced some that it is not as scary as it may seem.

“I help them out by encouraging them to give it a chance, to work out and be physically prepared,” said Aranda. “It is mentally challenging, but if you want to be a Marine, it is something that is going to change your life for something good.”

Aranda has been trained to be a mechanic. During his deployments, he would work on various camp vehicles. It’s a skill he knows will help when applying for civilian work after his stint with the Marines (four years active, four years inactive) ends.

“My job is going to be as a mechanic, to go to a deployment to fix cars and other vehicles, but I also know (through training) how to protect myself and my fellow Marines if we are called during an emergency,” he said.

Walk-ins interested in applying do show up at recruiting stations, but it is not common. Mostly, those interested go to the recruiting site at rmi.marines.com to fill out an application, and receive a link to the nearest recruiting office to start the process. The same would be true of those going to recruiting links for the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force or Space Force.

Bar faces closing time

Bar Evolution owner John Hamel posted a note on social media expressing sadness about the prospect of closing the Batavia establishment on March 31. Like many businesses that tried to fight through the pandemic, Bar Evolution has never regained its footing in a way that will pay the bills.

Unless the bar is saved by some “11th-hour miracle,” Hamel said, the staff and some of the drinks that were favorites at Bar Evolution will continue at Pal Joey’s next door along River Street.

Hamel encouraged area residents to support the bars and restaurants along River Street.

Some extra truck traffic

In the not-too-distant future, the intersection of Kirk Road and Fabyan Parkway may be an area to avoid if you need to get someplace fairly quickly.

For us, it’s the route to head south to the I-88 ramps when traveling to Lisle for babysitting duties, birthdays, holidays or regular visits with our son and his family.

The massive trucking logistics facility in Batavia recently completed at the southwest corner of that intersection would produce plenty of extra traffic — as soon as a shipping company or manufacturer chooses to operate from that site.

At the northwest corner, Geneva approved a similar, though maybe smaller, facility that would again increase truck traffic.

These places have to be built somewhere, and this is a good location to do it, considering all of the other industries nearby and access to the tollway.

Kirk is already a slow march during rush hours, and these latest developments would slow it down more. However, some facilities send trucks out at night because companies also want shipments moving as quickly as possible.

Ultimately, we’ll notice a significant change at that intersection.

A not-so-Good Friday

My mother passed away more than a year ago at age 96. She is always in the memory bank and the main character in many stories we like to share with friends or family members.

One of my favorites is a Good Friday story. Being raised in a Catholic family during the 1950s and ‘60s meant strict adherence to eating no meat on Fridays, with Good Friday being the granddaddy of all meatless days.

On a particular Good Friday, I am guessing 1961 or so, and I spot a hot dog in the refrigerator. I was about 8 years old, well into an age when many young boys hit high marks for being knuckleheads.

I didn’t want to bother my mom by asking her to heat the hot dog in boiling water, so I grabbed it and started eating.

My mom walked into the kitchen and just about had a heart attack. “You’re eating meat!!” she screamed. “Put that down!!”

My response: “This is meat?”

I had no idea a hot dog qualified as meat. I thought it was anything but. That meant I didn’t know what it was.

My mom’s reaction, as if she had just discovered I was a killer on the loose, was enough to alert me this was not a good thing.

See, mom? I got to share the story on a Good Friday. But I haven’t had a hot dog on Good Friday since, so the lesson was learned.

dheun@sbcglobal.net