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State of FORCECOM May 2013

At Ease, Marines,

First off I want to thank all the members of the General Staff and BGN Bruce OBrian [Commandant/SFMC] for having the confidence in me to invite me to ‘join the ranks’ as the new Commanding Officer Forces Command. As with any period of transition, things may take just a bit more time to get done then before, but anything brought to me will be addressed so please bare with me for just a bit. Just know that my door is always open and my goal is to support and serve the members of the Corps.
I want to touch on a few things to make sure we’re all on the same page.
Personal Records:
With the Marine Muster coming I’m sure everyone out there wants to look their best, with their uniforms in tip top condition and all ribbons, badges and such in their proper places. But it’s amazing how fast the time will fly by. It’s never a good thing to wait until the last moment to review your database records to make sure everything is there that should be on there.
There are policies in place to enter awards that you have been issued but, for some reason, were not entered at that time. But it needs to be made clear that the responsibility of proof rests on the individual themselves. If you request an award to be entered, you will need to produce a copy of the award certificate, an email statement from the original issuing individual, a notation pointing to where it was announced in a newsletter, something that shows it was issued.
I am always willing to discuss things and will do everything I can to assist the individual, but one of my personal guidelines has always been ‘Trust, but Verify’.
Communication:
Beside individual Brigade email lists, the SFMC has an electronic presence as well. The most recent Status of Command reports can be found on the front page of the SFMC website[ https://www.sfi-sfmc.org/front ]. You can also follow the Corp on Facebook [ https://www.facebook.com/groups/3275293079/ ] and on the SFMC email list [ https://lists.sfi-sfmc.org/listinfo.cgi/corps-l-sfi-sfmc.org ]. Each of these will provide a more immediate contact with what’s happening within the Corps and with your fellow Marines. They are good resources and easy to use.
Disasters:
Suffice it to say that disasters seem to be occurring just about everywhere. If you find yourself in a place where you can lend a hand, please do so. And keep your Command informed as to what you and those around you are doing. ‘Pay it Forward’ because no one knows when it may be their neighborhood next.
To close I want to leave you with some fast statistics. As I write this the SFMC Strength as listed on the database currently stands at 1432 individuals [856 Active and 576 Reserve] spread out through 153 units or on unassigned status. We just keep on growing and growing. ;}
As you were, Marines.
BDR Jari James SFMC
COFORCECOM]]>