State of FORCECOM March 2017
Fellow Marines!
It’s March – time for madness, ides, St. Paddy’s, and snow from Stella. As I glance over the situation board, I see our Nor’western Marines are mired in up to five feet of the white stuff, and from the look of it might see more this weekend. Brigade and unit Leaders, let’s make sure we are checking on our Marines’ welfare to ensure they’re okay.
As for me, as I sit in my field office in the desert southwest, I’m basking in sunny 80° weather. Thought I’d rub that in. <grin>
Muster Season – Regardless of what it’s doing outside, it’s muster time across the Corps. MSG/MEU Leaders, if your brigade is currently planning muster, get off your tuft and submit your awards ASAP. If you’re behind the 8-ball, and muster is a week away, then you’ve let your Marines down. Nothing squashes motivation and feeds apathy quicker than busting your butt for what seems nothing. Get those awards in!
Commandant’s Campaign Award – Leaders, I’ve received and forwarded not less than ten (10) recommendations for the CCA to the ‘Dant for approval. I know, deep down in my SFMC issue blood pumping mechanism, there are a boot-full more eligible folks out there in our brigades! Where are those recommendations?
I’m currently going back thru February’s reports to identify those folks that might be eligible but were not formally recommended. This take a lot of time. Please, look at what your folks have done and submit your recommendations thru your Brigade OIC not later than the end of March. Here are the criteria:
– Minimum four (4) hours supporting USMC/(R) Toys for Tots, the Special Olympics, the March for the Disabled, and newly added for the 2017 nomination year, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Recruiting and Retention – I’m not sure if anyone noticed but we have started a campaign for R&R called ‘To the Corps!’. This is a push to bring to the forefront the stories and histories of our MSGs/MEU for all in STARFLEET to see, read and hear. To bridge the distance between the Fleet and the Corps, and foster an understanding of who and what the members of the Corps are and represent. These histories and stories will be posted on all our Facebook pages for the entire Fleet to see.
There’s also a call out to all those graphic artists I know you’re hiding in your units to create SFMC recruiting posters to post online in the several Facebook pages we all maintain. There’s even a competition, in which the best posters will be printed and displayed at IC2017 in Louisiana.
So, support the Corps and forward your works thru your Brigade OIC, and get the word out to all of Fleet about the great things you and the Corps has been doing!
In closing – I’m coming to the end of my first 90-days in position as the CO of Forces Command. In that time, I have noticed a lot of great folks, great units and great Leaders in our ranks. The level of activity of some of our units is amazing, and noteworthy. Keep up the momentum, keep moving forward, and press the fight!!
I’ve also found a few areas in which we can do better, and in working with the brigades, will fix. One such area is communications up and down the chain of command. Information should flow freely from the ‘Dant down to the individual Marine in our smallest unit, and back up the chain just as easily. This happens when we all get involved, and ensure communication happens. For my part, I will make sure at a minimum all brigade Leaders are kept up to date on the latest information, and I’m assured they’ll do the same for you – the small unit Leader. It is then up to you to ensure our Marines are consistently communicated with and never left uniformed. And, lastly, my door is always open, to everyone and every member. Have a question, please ask.
In Service to the Corps!
COL Brian “Tusker’ Allen
COFORCECOM
— BRIAN K. ALLENCOL, SFMCCOFORCECOM “Old School Solutions to Modern World Problems”