Category: Portfolio

Cover Letter

Dear Portfolio Committee,

Before this course I didn’t really have much experience with writing. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just only did in school but I actually enjoyed it when I did. It is like a way for the writer to express their selves. Coming into this I was a little nervous because the only other college English course I took was RDG090 which was fairly simple so I didn’t know what to expect. Having the zoomed class once a week definitely help, I know many courses don’t have any zoom meeting and without the material covered would’ve been a lot harder to understand. I’ve learned a lot this semester, as I mention previously, I didn’t have much experience with writing so I did not know about MLA format or how to even put something in MLA format; I also learned about in text citation instead of randomly dropping a quote. I was in the military prior to attending BCC and when Professor Holy told us that are assignments are going to associated with a theme and I knew immediately I wanted to make a connection with my military past; and it was a great opportunity to express myself as writer and write about my past experiences or something that’s related to them.

For my first essay I choose to write about a topic close to my heart, suicide in the military. This essay was particularly challenging because for the assignment I had to find an argumentative point about the subject. After some brain storming, I came up with a thesis, what is the military doing wrong and what are things they can do better or new things they can implement. For this essay I had to do a lot of research and if it wasn’t for course, I would’ve had a hard time trying to find sources. There tons of possible sources but with learning about annotating in this course I was able to narrow them down and find the best ones. This is a topic that I hold near to my heart and I wanted to write the best essay that I can so not only did I find online sources I talked to some of the Marines and Sailors I used to serve with to get their insight on what is currently being done about suicide prevention in the military and their opinions on the matter. Overall, I think this is my strongest essay, I really used all the skills I learned from this course while writing it.

For my second essay I choose to write about my time at bootcamp and when I became a United States Marine. The journey wasn’t easy but it was well worth it in the end. Myself and my fellow recruits faced many challenges together, but with time work we overcame them together. I learned a lot at my time in Parris Island and was molded into something greater than I once was and still live my life to this by the morals I learned in bootcamp.

My final essay I wrote about the challenges face my today recruiters. In certain parts of the country, it is a lot harder for recruits to find the next generation to enlist in the military. Recruiter had to come up with new and affective ways to reach out the communities; once the pandemic hit, they were faced with even more challenges.

I have learned a lot throughout this semester and my writing has came a long way. I am now confident that when writing future essay, I will have the knowledge to able to do them well. I am thankfully for Professor Holly Pappas for teaching this course and my classmates for their peer reviews.  

Suicide Awareness; Stigma on Mental Health (essay3)

            Suicide is one of the most talked about issues in the military but rates are not seeing improvement amongst it’s active-duty members and veterans. The military gives annual courses about suicide awareness but many service members feel like it’s just a check box, giving a “class” just to say that they talked about. Many service members, especially those amongst the lower enlisted feel like mental health is over looked; that you’ll be viewed as weak or a coward if you seek help for injuries both physically and mentally. Don’t get me wrong there are people who actually do care but usually it’s only the people who have lost someone they cared about to suicide. There are multiple factors when talking about suicide rates and there are certainly some things the military could do better not only to improve the suicide rates but to prevent it from happening at all.

            Being a veteran, this topic is near and dear to my heart, I have known people who have committed suicide. One was a senior leader and although he wasn’t in the same platoon that I was, he was a well-known and respected marine throughout the company. He lived in the barracks and whenever I would see he would have a smile on his face and he was great leader and mentor to others. After getting the news that he passed away I was shocked and thought that you never know what people are going through in their mind and the things they are holding in, depression wears a mask. Not to long after getting out I had gotten the news that one the junior marines that was in my platoon while I was in committed suicide; I felt that one a little bit more because this is someone who I have trained and spent time with in the field. What if I could have done something different to help that marine to where he didn’t feel the need to end his life. I have served with people who know even more people than I do that have committed suicide some even in the double digits.

             In 2019 the suicide rate amongst Active-Duty troops was 25.9 per100,000, according to the Pentagon’s annual report, it was 24.9 per 100,000 in 2018 and 21.9 per 100,000 in 2017(Brooks). The Army has seen a 30% increase in deaths by suicide from 2019 to 2020 with 88 deaths in 2019 and 114 deaths by suicide in 2020(Brooks). According to the report released by the Department of Veteran Affairs officials 17.6 veterans committed suicide every day in 2018 and 17.5 in 2017(Shane). In his article in Military Times Leo Shane states the VA officials have clarified that the “20 a day” reference that we see when talking about military suicide, includes troops from all branches, as well as guardsmen (members of the coast guard), reservists and also veterans. The difference between a veteran and active-duty member is, that a veteran is someone who has completed his contract and is separated from service under honorable condition; and active-duty member is some who is currently serving in the armed forces. According to the report released by the Department of Defense released in 2020 498 active duty died by suicide in 2019, 543 in 2018 and 517 in 2017 (Games). “According to the 2020 Executive Order number 13861, more veterans, Guardsmen, active-duty members, and reservists die by suicide every year than those killed in action while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014 combined (Games)”.

            Studies show the factors associated with increased risk of suicide are depression, manic-depressive disorder, heavy or binge drinking and other alcohol-related problem; none of the deployment-related factors such as combat experience, cumulative days deployed, or number of deployments were associated with increased suicide risk (LeardMann).  Another huge factor is the transition from being a service member to going back into the civilian world. From day one the military builds a culture of camaraderie and brotherhood throughout your whole enlistment, teaching you to lean on and support each other through all the trials and tribulations that come your way. The thing is when you don’t want to re-enlist, they just basically say give us our stuff back and go deal with on your own usually to go back to a home town that has forgotten you and back to “friends” who don’t compare to the brothers you just were with. A lot of its hard for veterans to find happiness and something to look forward to; for the infantry especially it’s hard to transfer the skills you learned in the military into something useful in the “real world” (I know this from firsthand experience). Outside of law enforcement the infantry has no other transferable skills and some veterans find it extremely hard to find that sense of belonging and self-worth.

            There are efforts being made to raise awareness and help suicide prevention in the military like with the passage of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act a legislation “which includes new grant program to encourage collaboration with community organizations on suicide prevention, new hiring rules to quickly fill mental health staffing gaps at the Department of Veteran Affairs, and a host of new data requirements to better track potential causes of suicide (Shane)”. Over the last decade the VA suicide prevention and mental health care funding has increased $6 billion, hiring staff all aimed at providing greater access to care (Boozman). This has helped the VA hire more therapists, psychologists, and other medical doctors so that veterans outside of military can get the help they need.

            I’ve talked to fellow service members and got their input on what the military is doing wrong. Tony Guzman felt that “senior leaders on both the enlisted and commissioned officer side should stopped caring about just their careers and actually listened to the gripes and complaints that the lower are telling them about. A lot of people are scared to say anything because they will be ostracized and looked at as if they were cowards.”  Also, another area that service members feel that need improvement on is the importance of family; there is only one family readiness coordinator per battalion. Let me put that in perspective, a battalion consist of about 1,000 service members, that’s means it’s up to only one person to keep the members of 1,000 families informed of upcoming training events, deployments, updates on what their loved ones are doing while on deployment when they are coming back, all this and more. The easiest ways to do the is just to write one email and send it out through a data base full of emails. There should be family readiness teams for each company within the battalion that consist of 4-5 people that are responsible of keeping the family of only about 300 service members informed. We also talked about how each battalion should have a team of physical, mental, nutritional, and occupational therapists available to Service members 24/7; people who are not in the military so that way service member feels comfortable talking to them because there are just some things you don’t tell higher ups. Navy Corpsman Nathan Cole told me he feels “mental health is just as important as a torn ACL or any other physical injury. The Marines need to find a way to implement a system that allows for mental health to be treated correctly and effectively without repercussions from the chain of command and disqualifications for special duty assignments and deployments.” I also talked with Sgt Kolakowski, a former platoon sergeant of mine who suffers from PSTD, anxiety, and depression and he told me that the last year and half that he was active-duty he had a mental breakdown and he was “constantly berated by my Xo and Gunny for being weak and un able to perform my duties.” He told me that even after a suicide attempt and being picked up by police and put on a mental evaluation hold by his chain of command only a few people should him any kind of sympathy.

            There are people out there who are trying help but it’s not enough. How many people have to end their lives for the military finally stary away from the complex mindset that if you seek help for anything mentally or physically you are seen as weak and coward.           

Work Cited

            Brook, Tom Vanden. “Suicide rate among active-duty troops jumps to six-year high, COVID-19 stress could make it even worse.” USA Today. 1 October, 2020. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/01/suicide-rate-among-active-duty-troops-jumps-six-year-high/5879477002/

            Boozman, John and Warner, Mark. “Mental health and suicide crisis among US veterans getting new approach.” MilitaryTimes. 9 November, 2020 https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/11/09/mental-health-and-suicide-crisis-among-us-veterans-getting-new-approach/

            Cole, Nathan. USN/Corpsman. Personal interview. 14 April, 2021

            Games, Katrina and Theargood, Aliyah. “Service member suicide prevention: Why the military must end the stigma on mental health.” MilitaryTimes. 31 October, 2020 https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/10/31/service-member-suicide-prevention-why-the-military-must-end-the-stigma-on-mental-health/

            Guzman, Tony. USMC/Cpl/Retired. Personal interview. 14 April, 2021

            Kolakowski, Christopher. USMC/SGT/Retired. Personal Interview. 14 April, 2021

            LeardMann, Cynthia; et al. “Risk Factors Associated with Suicide in Current and Former US Military Personnel.” JamaNetwork. 7 August, 2013. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1724276

            Shane, Leo. “Suicide rate among veterans up again slightly, despite focus on prevention efforts.” MilitaryTimes. 12 November, 2020. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/11/12/suicide-rate-among-veterans-up-again-slightly-despite-focus-on-prevention-efforts/

            Shane, Leo. “Huge slate of veteran suicide prevention measures set for debate next month.” MilitaryTimes. 25 August, 2020.  https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/08/25/huge-slate-of-veteran-suicide-prevention-measures-set-for-debate-next-month/

Just Another Day At Parris Island (essay1)

                I’ve been longing for this moment for years and now it’s finally here. Growing up I always loved playing army as a kid and once I got into high school, I started to do more research about the military and the different branches. The Marine Corp stood out more than the rest and I started to watch tons videos on YouTube. It felt like I watched every bootcamp video on YouTube and the idea of becoming part of something that was bigger than yourself is what drew me in the most and once I earned that tittle it is something that can never be taken away from me and I will be a part of a lifelong brotherhood. It was September 8^th 2015 when I arrived to recruit depot Parris Island South Carolina and my dream of become a Marine started to become a reality. I spent countless hours preparing for this moment but when it arrived, I still wasn’t ready for what was to come I just knew that I was going to be pushed to my limits both physically and mentally knowing everything I do won’t be good enough and being held to the highest standard at all times. My transformation from recruit to Marine happened in 3 phases (with the transformation becoming more evident each phase).     

                The first step in the transformation after standing on the yellow foot prints was to walk through the big shiny silver hatches(door) that symbolize the threshold between the outside world and Parris Island. As I was waiting outside the door the Drill Instructor screams (fast, sharp, and loud) “You will walk through these hatches one time and one time only”. Form there myself and the other recruits were processed and assigned to our platoons- mine was 3093. From the very begging I had to move with a purpose, respond when spoken to and very word that came out of my mouth needed to be sharp, fast and loud, really loud (I lost my voice within the first hour of being there). When we were done with the initial intake, we were instructed to read a card on the wall and call home letting our loved ones know that we arrived safely and that we will be in further contact without giving the other person on the line any time to reply. “Read the card and hang up say nothing more or nothing less, you got three tries.” said the DI. From there our heads were shaved, they broke us down and we could no longer say “I, me, my” it was “this recruit, that recruit, these recruits” that was start of the team building process. I was issued cammies and gear, it felt like the process took days because the DI would have us sit in an empty room for what seemed forever to think about what was next as we went from building to building getting all our essentials (A mental strategy of that I had no doubt). Finally, after about 2-3 days of little sleep and constant running around the island we are in our squad bay waiting to meet our actual Drill Instructors that will be with us everywhere we go and the ones molding us into United States Marines. They came out in perfect cadence, aligned and in-step with perfectly pressed uniforms without a wrinkle in sight. The senior DI gave his speech and as he spoke, I feet goosebumps, the chills, butterflies in stomach all of it because this was the start of phase one and something truly life changing. A Marine is a man of character, a Marine is a man of honor and a Marine never lies, cheats, or steals and that’s what I wanted to be for so long. Once he’s done, he and other DI’s explode into action having us race on line. When they tell us to do something, we do with speed and intensity and I mean everything we do. They relate it towards combat because if you move slow there the consequence are great and unforgiving. We spent hours on hours in the class room learning customs and traditions, and PT’d (physical training) a whole lot. We went through obstacle course and team building excises together, people from all walks of life and all different ages coming together as one and working as one to accomplish the goal. I had a new way of doing everything that I did all the way down to the way I eat and get dressed. I learned how to act selflessly and work with people even though at first, we might have bumped heads. 

                Going into second phase we started to do more of what I thought being a Marine was all about- “Rifle Marksmanship Training”. It started with a week worth of classes in the “grass week” were we learned the all about the M16 A2 service rifle and the fundamentals of marksmanship- that was thought to us by want is known as a PMI (personal marksman instructor). He or she was brought in to teach us so we would feel more relaxed about firing instead of being torn apart by our DI’s. Of course, when recruits would nod off in class, or the PMI feels like we weren’t paying attention, even a bathroom break was grounds to be taken for run and “play games” as the drill instructors called it. Then that was followed by 5 days of firing the fifth day being qualification day where we had to shoot a certain number of points in different shooting positions and ranges. It was my first time ever shooting a gun so I was kind of nervous and to be honest didn’t know if I was going to score as high as I hope for. There are three categories of score Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert and once I heard my PMI tell I shot Expert I realized maybe I shouldn’t go into things doubting myself but rather go into it with a mindset of not only am I going to do this but I’m going to do it well. We also had what we called the “Company Commander’s Inspection”. We spent countless hours ironing our uniforms, cleaning the squad bay getting ready to be tested on everything we learned up to that point. I learned that even the smallest details matter and that everything no matter how small needs to be done right and not halfassed. By this time, we’ve been taught what’s expected us but nerves kick in and some forget movements that they been practicing every day for the past 60 days- but overall, that is to be expected because it is our first time. Never the less there is still no excuse for failure and those that didn’t pass inspection are gifted with a nice IT (intense training) session. Don’t worry they can’t last no more than 10 minutes but man oh man you are getting WORKED for the entire 10 minutes- best believe the senior Drill Instructor will get his as he used to say. I didn’t mind all the exercises they made us do but I hated all that sand getting in my pants and shirt from the sand pits all around base.

                Entering into third phases we were handed a red guide on (our platoon’s flag) to tell everyone on the base that we are in third phase. It was the first time we were introduced to the field, things such as sleeping out in the field, eating MRE’s (meal ready to eat) on regular basis and just over all not having the comforts that the squad bay or back home provides. We went through what is known as BWT (basic warrior training) which is a testing of the basic fundamentals of maneuverer under fire, combat formation, and hand and arms signals- both day and night. We had to overcome tons obstacles such as high walls, fields of barbed wired and mud and many others. They assigned casualties to cause stress and emulate the fog of war. I remember this one course where I had to crawl, I don’t even know how far under barbed wire holding it up with my rifle (its known as The Crawl of Death). It must have been like the third day and I was so tired I stop to take break under the wire but not too long after (as soon as I stop) a DI comes out of nowhere and says “Your buddy is dead (make believe), drag him through the wire”. I couldn’t say no but I was SO TIRED it felt like I couldn’t do it. “You got this come on” says the person on my back and I dig deep, deeper than what I thought possible and I started crawling but this time with the motivation and the will to succeed it was easier. I realized that the only limits we have are the limits we give ourselves, there are no limits just the goal and whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. Another big part of third phase is the platoon photo. It shows how far along we’ve come and how we respond and act and how we have a better understanding of the Marine Corps structure and the way it works. I have never been more excided for a picture before we were in our desert cammies looking lean and mean and I started to feel that sense of being a part of something that is bigger than myself. The last test and the final rite of passage to become a Marine is the Crucible. It’s a 48-hour event with just 4 hours of sleep and two meals and we were broken down into fire teams (teams of four) which is the base of small unit leadership in the Marine Corp. I had to put everything I have learned over the past three months into use. We were tired and frustrated and didn’t always have the best ideas but, in the end, we came together and got the job done. I learned that when working in group it is important to listen to everyone’s ideas. The final task to become a Marine is 9-mile hike back to the Iwo Jima monument to receive our Eagle, Glob, and Anchors (EAG). Walking back, I could feel the blisters popping on my feet, my back was sore and I was hungry but none of that mattered I didn’t let it stop me, no one stopped or slowed down and everyone was just as tired as I was, the final goal was in site and we were getting there no matter what. During that ceremony the sense of pride is overwhelming and pretty much every recruit there was standing there with tears in his or her eyes as they receive their EAG’s. I’ve dreamed of this moment but it was far better than I ever imagined, over that past three month I learned how to become a leader and also know when to be lead, I have become grateful for all of things that I once took for granted. I learned that I am capable of whatever I set my mind to and that I will be a Marine for the rest of my days and will part of a brotherhood that will never die.

                On December 4^th 2015 my time at Parris Island was done. We marched across the parade deck for the final time with our heads high, hearts filled with joy as our families cheer from the stands. I was tested and pushed past the limits I thought were possible. I formed an incredible bond with people and it’s something that words can’t fully explain but something you have to go through to fully understand.

Struggles Faced By Military Recruiters (essay2)

            In the recent years recruiters in the military have been struggling to meet their goals and are having a hard time finding new people to join their ranks. In 2018 the service had a “recruiting reckoning” when the Army fell short of its goal by more than 6,000 new soldiers (Myers). They had to try new recruiting techniques to appeal more to the Generation Z high schoolers, they started going on more social media platforms and it was a game changer in military recruiting. Although social media helped in some ways there was still the challenge of connecting with people in certain parts of country that would be considered “the ghetto” or more poverty stricken.

            In the article “The Recruiters- Searching for The Next Generation of Warfighters in A Divided America” by Adam Linehan, he talks about the time he spent with the recruiters of the Mid Atlantic Recruiting Battalion in East Orange, New Jersey. There is roughly 80,000 people that reside in the area covered by the recruiting mission but most of them don’t meet enlistment standards due to tattoos on the hands, face, and neck, physical and mental-health issues, or have some type of criminal record, or don’t have a high diploma or GED. Only about 29% of the people in America between the ages 17-24 are eligible to serve Linehan stated. The recruiters used social media platforms in attempt to reach out to the younger generation but they needed more effective ways to engage with the community. They started going out to local and school sport events, block parties, the mayor’s office, going to parks, bus stops, Linehan said even one recruited told him that he would play Pokémon Go to engage with the community in an informal type of setting. He then talks about how the most important factor was the health of the economy, the higher the rate of unemployment the more people became interested in joining the military; Linehan states “the more economically stressed, socioeconomic classes tend to be underrepresented in the armed forces. Although people in low-income neighborhoods are generally more inclined than their wealthier compatriots to enlist”.

            Linehan then talks about how a recruiter, let’s say in North Carolina doesn’t have to work nearly as hard to get people to come in as a recruiter in New Jersey would, this is because the northeast has become “disconnected from the military” said Lt. Col. Edward Croot, the once Commanding Officer of the recruiting battalion, so they wanted to figure out how to get more people to become more interested in joining the military. They didn’t use unethical recruiting practices like lying or telling half-truths, covering up information, or helping recruits cheat on entrance tests. They found that if they were honest and made an impact on the community and helped people, that they would be more trusting of them and not just view them as the recruiters who are trying to take members of their community and just send them off to war but realized that they were there to help. Linehan talked with Staff Sgt. Herenson Duvelasint, who came from Haiti to East Orange New Jersey with his mom when he was 8. He talks about how Duvelsaint is the best recruiter in East Orange getting almost twice as many people to join compared to the other recruiters. Me personally he doesn’t say it in the article but I think that has to do with how members of the community can understand and relate with his childhood growing up in the same town he is recruiting in.

            Linehan then talks about how “Essex County, which is home to roughly 800,000 people condensed into 22 tightly clustered municipalities, has the most extreme income disparity in New Jersey (and it’s growing). And the physical boundaries between rich and poor hew closely to the ones between black and white. Driving west from Newark, through places like Maplewood, South Orange, and Montclair, median household incomes leap by more than $70,000 in a matter of just a few miles and continue to climb as the neighborhoods become whiter. East Orange and neighboring Irvington, which together account for the majority of recruits inducted through Haddock’s center, are more than 85% black. The percentage hovers around 1% in North Caldwell, the county’s richest borough.” He ends the article talks with Staff Nasteshia Robinson, a female recruiter who told him who she wants to help the people in the area get out of poverty and escape abuse. She talks about how other the recruiters joke about how East Orange is a “war zone” and she say that “This is America. They are Americans.” And I took that as she thinks that the people in community regardless of race or social class should be treated with equally.

               Being in the military myself I have definitely seen some of the things talked about in Linehan’s article as far as unethical recruiting practices, many service members are told many false hopes about the military, many are promised bounces but aren’t told the “fine print” like they have to complete and pass all these different courses in order to get the money and if they don’t pass, they don’t get what they were originally told but instead just given another job and it is only after signing the dotted line that they find out. As far as the topic of diversity regarding race or social class I have to say, the military is definitely doing a better job with that. I served with members of all races; white, black, latino, Asian, even served with people who have got their citizenship by joining the military. If I’m being honest most of the people I served with, I’d say probably about 70-75% came from similar backgrounds as my self and didn’t have a lot of money growing up regardless of race. I was in the Marine Corp though I couldn’t speak on the ranks of the Army but in his article on Starts and Stripes, Corey Dickstein Talks about how the Army ranks; but in his article on Stars and Stripes Cory Dickstein states the Army has seen improvements in diversity in people joining the army with 47% of the 62,150 recruits the Army shipped to basic training being non-white, an improvement from recent years. Although the Army meet their goal for 2020 although it was much smaller compared to the year before but for 2021 the Army has increased its target number of new recruits in infantry career fields by rough 3,500; they are even offering contract incentives up to $25,000(Rempfer). Once covid hit recruiting virtual online became one of only options being that everything was shut down.; it’ll be interesting to see how the Covid pandemic will affect the recruiting process over these next couple of months maybe even years.

Work Cited

            Dickstein, Corey. “Army hits 2020 recruiting, retention goals amid pandemic, but top officials say more diversity needed”. Stars and Stripes.com, 9 October 2020, https://www.stripes.com/news/us/army-hits-2020-recruiting-retention-goals-amid-pandemic-but-top-officials-say-more-diversity-needed-1.648068

            Linehan, Adam. “The Recruiters: Searching for The Next Generation of Warfighters in A Divided America”. Task&Purpose.com, 28 November 2017, https://taskandpurpose.com/community/east-orange-army-recruitment-divided-america/?src=longreads

                Myers, Meghann. “Services met recruiting goals as COVID forced military to modernize, SECDEF say”. Military Times, 15 October 2020, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/10/15/services-met-recruiting-goals-as-covid-forced-military-to-modernize-secdef-says/                 Rempfer, Kyle. “Army seeks about 3,500 more infantry recruits this year”. Army Times, 29 October 2020, https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/10/29/army-seeks-about-3500-more-infantry-recruits-this-year/