Sixty male and female New England high school and college teachers, coaches, counselors and administrators traveled to Parris Island, South Carolina, last month for a four-day Marine Corps Educators Workshop. And because I wanted to learn more about helping young people more effectively determine their future direction, I was one of them. 

As the son of a World War II veteran whose wartime experience left him wary and distrustful of many things military, I came in with many preconceived notions about the Marines. The positive impressions I had turned out to be 100 percent true, and while not all the misgivings I had harbored were allayed, honest responses to many questions I and others posed helped me see things from a different perspective.

Marine recruits expecting to be challenged when they report to Parris Island aren’t disappointed, and the same goes for anyone opting to participate in educational, informational events like this one.  There’s a lot to be absorbed in three days. One important factor hiding in plain sight: there is no such thing as a “typical Marine,” any more than there are “typical teenagers,” “typical nurses,” “typical welders,” or, well, “typical educators.”

Marine recruits aspiring to serve their country hail from rural, urban, or suburban areas of America, and from various socioeconomic backgrounds. A few come from foreign countries, and can expedite the process of obtaining United States citizenship by joining up. Some sign up hoping to escape poverty and/or find direction through military service, but others with more material advantages eagerly enlist as well. Some enter the Corps after obtaining college degrees; others do so directly after finishing high school. Some will make the military a career; others do their time, earn an honorable discharge, and go on to further their education and/or obtain public or private sector employment. One high-ranking officer referred to the Marine Corps as “The Ultimate Meritocracy,” implying there are no limits to what motivated individuals can achieve once they become a Marine.

 No organization tops the Marine Corps when it comes to logistics and attention to detail. The three-day, information-filled workshop was fraught with physical and mental challenges for all those willing to participate. Virtually every Marine and civilian employee we encountered on Parris Island was articulate, personable, engaging, and eager to provide assistance.

 According to their stated core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment, Marines are expected to “…. exemplify the ultimate in ethical and moral behavior: to never lie, cheat, or steal; to abide by an uncompromising code of integrity; to respect human dignity; and to have respect and concern for each other.” Corps members who live resolutely by this credo are to be commended; that the general population cannot or will not do so is a shame.

The basic methods the Marines use to lure new recruits are in essence no different from those used by civic organizations or religious groups. Each team’s members are motivated by the certain knowledge their institution and its members are helping make the world a better place. One troubling difference about the Marines, at least for some: the willingness to kill people one doesn’t know (and to be trained to do so effectively and efficiently) isn’t a requirement to join up with the Rotary Club or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

As so often is the case, educational seminars such as these can teach participants a great deal about not only the subject(s) at hand, but about themselves as well. Some would and should have misgivings about becoming a Marine. As impressed as I was with everything and everyone I encountered last week, it was soberingly clear to me that for a variety of reasons I was no more fit for the Corps four decades ago than I am today.

In retrospect I find myself impressed even more than I had expected to be by the men and women who comprise the Corps, and although there are some to whom I would not recommend the Marines, many of the misgivings I harbored before taking part in the Educator Workshop on Parris Island have been allayed. And even if some individual elements of the training Marine Corps recruits go through gives me pause, I cannot argue with the ultimate results of that training. The men and women who become Marines personify just how much potential each of us is capable of realizing. 

I have no idea how much it cost the United States government to fly 60 educators to and from to South Carolina, put them up for three nights in a nice hotel, feed them, and pay the personnel required to keep them safe while enlightening them and shepherding them around Parris Island. But whatever the amount, I can confidently assure any skeptical taxpayer(s) it was money well spent.

— Andy Young is a columnist for the Journal Tribune and an English teacher at RSU 21, which includes Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.