MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- Cut into the hill in front of Building 2008, is a long, intimidating, narrow stairwell. Its presence and climb is almost as intimidating as the thought of reaching its summit where a den of four gunnery sergeants and a master gunnery sergeant sit in wait.
The five staff noncommissioned officers, located on the third deck of the building, behind Yale Hall, are enlisted career counselors and are the only Marines who serve as career counselors to the entire fleet of active duty enlisted Marines, ranked sergeant and above.
“Marines just need to know that we’re here,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jeremy Black, enlisted career counselor. “[We just want to] let them know who we are, where we are located, how we conduct business and the ways we can conduct business, whether in person, on the phone, in an email or via Defense Connect Online. There are too any people across the Marine Corps who don’t even know we exist.”
The senior Marines serve in the counselor role as a B billet, come from various military occupational specialties including aviation, artillery and infantry, and serve as an aid by reviewing a Marine’s record and providing information to make him more competitive for promotions.
“We are the only ones who really have access to total records,” said Black. “We see exactly what the board members are going to see and give an outside opinion and advice on things that should be fixed in their record. [We look for items that] need updating and improving, and things that will make them more competitive when the time comes.”
Along with combing through fitness reports and official military personnel files, the coaches also look at combat and special duty assignments, military occupational specialty credibility and performance in order to paint an accurate picture for each Marine.
Similar to the way tax information is available to taxpayers, but many choose a service to assist in tax preparation, the information that the counselors provide can be found by those who search, but not as easily or efficiently as they can.
“The information is already out there, but you have to search through Marine Corps orders, MARADMNS, etc. … to get the information,” said Gunnery Sgt. Michael Collins, enlisted career counselor. “We like to believe that we’ve pulled all the pertinent information from those Marine Corps orders and MARADMINS and made it readily accessible and easy for the average Marine to understand.”
Sgt. Jamanz Thomas, an administrative specialist, said taking the time to spend with the counselors is well worth it.
“They are a huge help in making sure your ready for promotion,” said Thomas. “There’s so much information, and they give you more than what’s required. They actually care about each Marine and helping them succeed within the Marine Corps.”
Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil