By Joan Dalton
“Even before high school, I knew the military held a lot of opportunity. I also think this country is the best and I want to give something back. The Marines is one way to do that,” he said on a recent Saturday morning in Juniper Valley Park.Opportunities in the Marines can develop through training and experience in the recruit's military occupational specialty. In the beginning of the delayed entry program, recruits take an aptitude test that evaluates their abilities and helps determine their military occupational specialty, Yoo said. All enlisted personnel join the Marines through the delayed entry program.To take this next step in his life, the 17-year-old Frank Herrera of Corona needed his mother's signature. Initially, Anna Herrera, born in the Dominican Republic, was not happy with her only child's decision. But eventually, “Mom grew with the idea,” Herrera said.And the idea grew as Herrera spent more time with the Marines and his recruiter.On Saturdays in Middle Village's Juniper Valley Park, visitors may hear 30 or more recruits singing Marine chants while running en masse. These pool meetings are training tools for delayed entry program recruits. “I attend every Saturday pool meeting and speak to my recruiter two or three times a week,” Herrera said.Regular contact with the recruiter keeps problems at bay, Yoo said. Because the Marines require almost all recruits to have a high school diploma, keeping up with academic demands is vital. For those needing assistance, “tutoring is not provided, but we can put a student in touch with someone else in the (delayed entry program) who may be able to help,” Yoo said.Additionally, the Marines offer an incentive to students who have earned 15 college credits. After boot camp, those recruits receive a promotion to private first class, entitling them to more pay and more responsibility.Mariela Soto, a 21-year-old resident of Bedford Stuyvesant and student at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, will earn her promotion through college credits.But it wasn't the promotion that induced Soto to enlist. It was her emotional response to a television broadcast highlighting all the problems facing this country throughout the world.”I knew I had to do something,” Soto said. So on May 19 she joined the Marine Corps Reserve because “it was the least I could do for my country,” she continued.As a reservist, Soto can work part-time at a unit near home and continue her civilian education. “I'd like to go all the way with my education, get my master's, maybe even while I'm serving my six years,” Soto said. Generally, reservists serve one weekend per month and two weeks during the summer.However, reservists must complete the same rigorous boot camp as active duty Marines. Soto is satisfied with the clerical/desk occupational specialty that she qualifies for now. But her dream job would be in the military police or intelligence.Herrera left for boot camp July 19, and Soto will leave Oct. 11. Both Soto and Herrera will do whatever the Marines ask of them, including fighting terrorism here or abroad.Reach contributing writer Joan Dalton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com.
