615400
200 Students Graduate 2018 Summer Leadership, Character Development Academy
Approximately 200 students graduated Marine Corps Recruiting Command's 2018 Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy (SLCDA) aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, July 22. The students were accepted into the academy, hand-selected by a board of Marines who look to find attendees with similar character traits as Marines, and spent a week aboard the base alongside dozens of Marines. Specifically, they conducted several physical fitness sessions, toured the National Mall in the District of Columbia, visited national museums and heard from guest speakers. They learned Marine Corps martial arts techniques and experienced Marine Barracks Washington’s Sunset Parade featuring the iconic Silent Drill Platoon and the Commandant’s Own Drum & Bugle Corps. Exposed to the culture of the Marine Corps, attendees participated in several leadership and character development classes that were oriented around Marine Corps leadership and ethics, based on knowledge passed down from one generation of military leaders to the next. They also visited Officer Candidates School, where attendees maneuvered across an obstacle course and learned what it takes to become a Marine officer. Inspired by the Marine Corps’ third promise of developing quality citizens, the program was designed to challenge and develop the nation’s top-performing high school students so they could return to their communities more confident, selfless and better equipped to improve the lives of those around them. “Not everyone who wanted to be here, got the chance,” said Maj. Gen. James Bierman, the commanding general of MCRC. “We had more than 800 applications, and we would have liked to take all of them, but there wasn’t enough capacity for everybody, so we had to make choices … all of you here today stood out among your peers. The reason why we picked all of you comes from the tangible and intangible; it was your potential that attracted us to you. All of you have the chance to go out and do something great in our society.” (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Haley Gawronski)
July 25, 2018
2:40
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