Sometimes when you least expect it something is given to your unit…
Take these two Letters of Appreciation that our unit recently received. Since early 2003, we have been helping our sister unit in South Australian develop and grow. Today they have 20 Marine Cadets (they would be Young Marines in America),
. They call themselves the Volunteer Cadet Corps in South Australia (VCCA), and we have helped them with funds to start a unit (with funds raised specifically to help them in which half came from General Hajlik, USMC). Since then we have supplied our sister unit with training manuals that we had made for them based on our own unit’s training manuals, DDR CD’s and numerous other manuals to help them train. Along the way we have also been able to help supply them with 25 sets of Camouflage Utilities, 10 Pairs of dress uniforms and 20 sets of unit T-Shirts. The VCCA will also be receiving very shortly 20 pairs of boots and 8 pairs of dress shoes. It is something special when we reach out across many great miles over sees to help out another youth group who inspires and motivates as we strive to do. Recently as a thank you for all that we have done for the VCCA; their Commanding Officer Mr. Ian McLeod has been in contact with several government agencies in our Country. We were very pleased and excited to receive a letter from Congressman Darrell Issa’s office thanking us for helping out the Volunteer Cadet Corps in Australia (Click her to read Congressman Issa’s letter). Thanks to CO McLeod and a job well done with your cadets
.
On the 16th of February, 2008 our unit was presented with a Letter of Appreciation from a youth group 510 miles away in Northern California
,
. The Hangtown Marine Cadets needed some Cammie netting and some sleeping bags. We gladly helped them out by giving them 25 sleeping bags and about 25 feet of Cammie netting. It was a nice surprise to receive a letter from another youth organization much like ours and with the same goals in mind for our youth. What was even more impressive was the fact the Commanding Officer Mr. Smothers drove 510 miles from Northern California to deliver his unit’s Letter of Appreciation to us in person. The Hangtown Marine Cadets and the Temecula Valley Young Marines have made plans to do some cross training a little later this year.
Three different groups in three different places, but they all have the same ideals and motivations for the youth in their communities. We may be spread throughout the world but we have come together and that’s how easy it is to show our Young Marines that reaching out can have a lifelong reward. It is not hard to start an affiliation and friendship that allows our Young Marines to experience new things, meet new people, and travel to different places. All we have to do is try to make it happen, it can take a short time or a very long time to accomplish this. But in the end we can all learn from being tenacious and helping out someone even when they say the odds are against them.(You can view the Hangtown marine Cadet letter of Appreciation here).
Great Job Young Marines, Marine Cadets and the Volunteer Cadet Corps Australia! We have started something here that I know will continue on for a long time…
Ooh- Rah!! and Semper Fi