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Marines Help Community Leaders Learn More About The Marine Corps
(November 13, 2009) |
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Oct. 30, 2009 - John D'Ambrosio, the president for Orange County, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce, takes poses in front of a CH-53 helicopter in a hanger at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico. D'Ambrosio came with 24 other civic leaders from Newburgh, N.Y. to learn more about the Marine Corps. |
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (11/5/2009) From the outside looking in, the
Marine Corps may seem challenging to figure out. But Marines from Stuart Air
National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y., welcomed local civic leaders to take that
challenge so both parties can better educate themselves and understand how to
help each other.
“We are not on a Marine Corps base so our support structure is the community,”
said Lt. Col. Hugh Atkinson, the commanding officer of MAG-49. “They are the
ones helping our Marine families. They've got our back.
Twenty-five community leaders, including chambers of commerce presidents, law
enforcement officials, business owners and others, came to Quantico Oct. 30
aboard a C-130 with Marines from of Marine Air Group 49 stationed in Newburgh.
They came to Quantico because it was the closest Marine base that could tell
about the Marines story. Together they came to learn about the Marine Corps and
more about each other.
Even though the Marines have been embedded in the Hudson River Valley community
since 1986 there are still civilians who didn't know either that the Marines
were there or they knew very little about the Marine Corps.
“Many of these people didn't even know there were Marines on the base,”
Atkinson said. “I invited them to see how the Marine Corps affects their
community. We do many community relation events such as providing color guards.
By getting together we can find out how we can support them and we find out how
they can help us.” |
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For the civilians, this collaboration is a welcome one.
“We love our military and we understand that we have to work with the military,”
said John D'Ambrosio, president for Orange County, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce.
“There are more than 2,000 service members who spend money and serve in our
local community – we can't ignore that. We have service members who serve on our
community boards and help with community events. This trip is another step to
see what is available to us through the military and share what we can offer.”
But the business side is only one flip of the coin. The other reason for coming
to Quantico is more sentimental.
“Since 9/11 there has been a great deal of appreciation and respect in our
community for people in uniforms,” said Charles North, president of Duchess
County, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce. “We do what we can to show them we're
grateful for what they do by thanking them and doing events such as this to find
out more about Marines. We appreciate all the humanitarian work they do in our
community.”
“Marines are not all guns, but also butter,” said D'Ambrosio. “When we are
working with them it's not just business, but also respect for what they do.”
Each person who came learned something new about Marines.
“The dog training was great,” said D'Ambrosio. “I never thought about the dogs
being in combat and what all they can do.”
“I was impressed by how they maintained their helicopter fleet even though those
helicopters are pretty old,” North said. “Also, it was amazing to see how
Marines shuttle the commander-in-chief. That's a noble mission.”
“I was surprised by the amount of time and effort they put into their
education,” Carl DuBois, the Orange County Sheriff, said about the Marine Corps
University. “I'm a big believer in education and I was impressed in seeing what
they offer. They don't just give Marines a uniform, a compass and a gun. Their
preparation goes deeper than that.”
Learning about the training Marine dogs go through or about the preparation
Marine One goes through for each flight is interesting but the importance of
this trip was to build connections between Marines and civilians.
“It's important for the sheriff's office and other community offices to be
involved in the military,” said DuBois. “I don't know much about the Marine
Corps. I had a chance to learn more so I took advantage of that chance. I'm very
glad I did. I was able to talk to Lt. Col. [Atkinson] and learn more about
Marines. I was able to learn more about the sacrifices service members make to
keep our freedom.” | |
Article and photo by USMC LCpl. Jahn R. Kuiper
Multi National Force - West
Copyright 2009
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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