Back to Quantico for MCMAP

[RACastanet]

This summer has been pretty busy as I am going to summer school for career switching teachers so have not been to Quantico for a while. Fortnately I have a two day break this week that coincides with a course for a company of new 2nd Lts... So, off I went for a refresher.

All tan belt classes start with a 2.5 hour intro starting at O dark 30. Here are two pics of the morning session:





Note the size of this company. the Marines have had to expand the officer companies to 275 to accommodate all of the new Marines. No recruiting problems here!

The beginning classes have been tweaked a bit in the last year. The early morning sessions include more core body conditioning and more stretching. MCMAP now works on wrists, necks, shoulders etc.






And as always, as soon as the prelims are done it is time for rolls and falls. Learning basic ukemi is now mandatory before any punching, kicking or grappling techniques are taught.

The program just keeps getting better!

Rich

[Bill Glasheen]

Learning basic ukemi is now mandatory before any punching, kicking or grappling techniques are taught.

Music to my ears!

- Bill

[chef]

Good stuff, Rich.

Regards,
Vicki

[mikemurphy]

Rich,

You state:
<<Note the size of this company. the Marines have had to expand the officer companies to 275 to accommodate all of the new Marines. No recruiting problems here!>>

You've send this before even though news reports continue to say different. Even though your class seems to be full (which is good), the fact remains.

From Commandant General James Conway:

“For May and June, the Army did not make their recruiting quotas and that’s against last year’s numbers. That doesn’t include their plus-up of an additional 7,000 or so a year,” Conway said. “I’m concerned what that means to us in the long term.”

The Defense Department is expected Tuesday to release June recruiting numbers for all of the services. Maybe June is different.

mike


[/quote]

[Bill Glasheen]

It's worth mentioning that those are Army recruitment statistics. That is a different branch of the service. It's also worth mentioning that those are monthly stats. Recruitment stats wax and wane by month. If it's a good economy, recruitment in the services suffer. If it's a bad economy, they have to turn them away.

Here's another more stable statistic to ponder. This from Ask.com.

Oct 23 2006
The Department of Defense has announced its recruiting and retention statistics by the active and reserve components for the FY 2006 recruiting year.


Recruiting Statistics

Componant .......... Accessions .... Goal ...... Percent
Army .......................... 80,635 ..... 80,000 ..... 101
Navy .......................... 36,679 ..... 36,656 ..... 100
Marine Corps ............ 32,337 ..... 32,301 ...... 100
Air Force .................. 30,889 ...... 30,750 ......100
Army National Guard . 69,042 ...... 70,000 ...... 99
Army Reserve ........... 34,379 ...... 36,032 ...... 95
Navy Reserve .............. 9,722 ....... 11,180 ..... 87
Marine Corps Reserve . 8,056 ....... 8,024 ..... 100
Air National Guard ....... 9,138 ...... 9,380 ....... 97
Air Force Reserve ........ 6,989 ....... 6,607 ..... 106

Active duty retention also appears to have met or exceeded goal, although it's reported that the Navy disqualified a number of first-term sailors due to a new emphasis on performance in physical fitness tests.

- Bill

[mikex1337]

Note the size of this company. the Marines have had to expand the officer companies to 275 to accommodate all of the new Marines. No recruiting problems here!

That's good to hear.

[Mary Chant]

Bill, I sent you a p.m.---Mary

[RACastanet]

You've send this before even though news reports continue to say different. Even though your class seems to be full (which is good), the fact remains.

seems to be full

Not seems, is. The classrooms are standing room only. There are four companies of this size in some stage of the 6 month evolution and that does not count the Warrant Officer class that must also be run or the large 'Mike Company' of new officers on deck waiting for the next training company to form up. Camp Barret is a very busy place!


Bill's response covers this pretty well. The Marines are on target for the year overall and are doing particularly well with officer candidates. Plus, the Marines have not had to lower their standards and will not hesitate to wash out a candidate. I cannot speak to the Army's situation though. If necessary the USMC will pick up the slack... that is what the Commandant was referring to.

Rich

[RACastanet]

The new Commandant, General Conway, has made MCMAP a requirement for all Marines, including reservists. This could result in a little more activity for me!

Read on...

Every Marine to be a Kung-Fu Fighter
Stars and Stripes | Jeff Schogol | July 23, 2007
ARLINGTON, Va. - First the Marine Corps made Chuck Norris an honorary Marine. Now the Corps wants all Marines to follow in his footsteps.

All Marines must now qualify for their tan belt in the Corps' version of martial arts by the end of 2007, Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said in a recent Corps-wide message.

The move mostly affects those who joined before 2001, when the service made the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program part of basic training and the Basic School, said 1st Lt. Brian P. Donnelly, a spokesman for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

The Corps originally hoped to have all Marines earn their tan belt by the end of fiscal 2003 and then have Marines attain higher belts by the end of fiscal 2004.

Now the higher belts are no longer goals but requirements for Marines, Donnelly said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.

"All infantrymen will be trained to green belt by the end of CY [calendar year] 2008," Conway said in the July 16 message. "All other combat arms Marines will be trained to gray belt by the end of CY 2008."

The changes apply to all Marines, including reservists, said retired Lt. Col. Joseph C Shusko, director of the Martial Arts Center of Excellence.

"A Marine is a Marine," he said.

The tan belt shows that Marines have mastered basic skills such as how to fall, move, throw punches, choke an opponent and counter someone coming at you, Shusko said.

The gray belt is the next step up and shows Marines have learned techniques such as lower-body strikes, chokes and how to get out of a headlock, he said.

The green belt is third in the series and shows Marines have learned skills such as how to rip muscle from bone, Shusko said.

The martial-arts training also teaches Marines how to hone their mental skills as warriors, Shusko said. This involves learning about other cultures such as the Spartans, Zulus and Apaches.

Another component of the training is character development, which ties the physical skills Marine learn with what they do as good citizens, he said.

Conway praised the character development aspect of the martial-arts training in the message.

"It has, at its center, the Marine Corps ethos that includes our core values of honor, courage, and commitment, as well as the legacy of selfless and honorable services passed from one generation of Marines to the next," Conway said in the message.

The switch to mandatory martial arts training came after Training and Education Command recommended revamping the program as part of changes to Marine character training, Shusko said. Those changes include moving the climactic "Crucible" exercise — where Marines march about 40 miles over 54 hours with little food or sleep — to the end of basic training.

Rich

[mikemurphy]

Rich,

Like I said, I'm glad the class size is up. Someone should be protecting us at home while everyone is away. The information is contradictory though. Why is that? Sorry Bill, but I wasn't talking about the army. General Conway was speaking about the Marine Corps.

mike

[TSDguy]

The switch to mandatory martial arts training came after Training and Education Command recommended revamping the program as part of changes to Marine character training, Shusko said. Those changes include moving the climactic "Crucible" exercise — where Marines march about 40 miles over 54 hours with little food or sleep — to the end of basic training.

I've seen this on TV and heard about it from relatives who did it... how is this changed? I thought this was always at the end of basic training? I'm talking about the Crucible.

[Glenn]

The green belt is third in the series and shows Marines have learned skills such as how to rip muscle from bone, Shusko said.

OK, I'm curious as to how they test this!

Rich, What happens after these classes/certifications, are the marines expected to keep up on their own with the techniques they have learned, or are there refresher classes periodically? If they are expected to continue training in the techniques on their own, has any assessment been done of how well they actually keeping up with it? What I am getting at here is, is there constant training for retention of techniques, particularly at the speed and quality marines would need them, and if so is it provided by the corp in class format or by each marine for his/herself?

[RACastanet]

First this:

I've seen this on TV and heard about it from relatives who did it... how is this changed? I thought this was always at the end of basic training? I'm talking about the Crucible.

I saw that as well, and need to do some followup to get the answer. The 'Crucible' has been done in midweek of the 12th of 13 weeks of bootcamp. Week 13 is a 'healing ' week ending with graduation on the parade deck at the end of week 13. Perhaps the 'Crucible' will take place early in week 13.

The event is really nasty. About 7 years ago I asked about taking part in it and to my surprise was put on an airplane to SC, put on a bus, and dropped off at Parris Island. I was warned to be careful about what I asked for and then dumped into a company of recruits midway thru the event. It was filmed and turned into an advertisement and short news special in NC and SC. I was pulled out before the 9 mile hike back into camp only to be dropped into the 5 mile 'Moto' run with another company instead. Wow. Good memories but not something someone around 50 should try.


Now to Glenn...

OK, I'm curious as to how they test this!

It is tracked in the Marine's file. Unless the Marine meets the requirements of his specialty he will not be promoted, and might even be asked to retire at the end of his/her contract. So if you are infantry you need to have a green belt. All infantry officers are now Green Belt Instructors.

There are onging classes throughout the fleet to advance. Seven or so years into the program means there are a lot of instructors available. All Marines must PT throughout the week and MCMAP training counts. Only certified instructors can test Marines, and only to one rank below their belt, but they can train up thru their belt so a higher ranked instructor can perform he test.

Quality Control is excellent. Black Belt Instructor Trainers can only achieve that rank at Quantico via a gruelling 7 week course. The requirements are so tough that in the current MAIT class about 15 candidates out of 40 washed out. The successful MAITs then go out into the fleet to train instructors and all Marines.

MAITs and Instructors must recertify every two years to make sure they are still first class, Only the Director (Shusko right now) can approve a Marine for the MAIT rank.

I'm currently allowed to train up to and including MCMAP black belts but I cannot test to certify rank. I would need to send a candidiate to Quantico to test or have an MAIT come to Richmond to certify the test.

Marines are encouraged to work on their own time to maintain skills. If an MAIT or MAI is available they can sign off on the hours toward sustainment or the next belt level.

Here are some pics from a group I worked with in Richmond:


These four Marines all were MCMAP students working on their own time under me at some point. The Marine on the right is Sean, and he at this point had achieved MAIT status and he ran the test of the other three and certified the results...



This pic is the end result of a correct and painful takedown. Note the downed Marines pounding the mat in submission with his free hand...



Here is a good pic of a reversal about to occur...



A good throw as Sean observes...



I'm the proud papa on the right after a successful test...



This took place in the gym where Bill Glasheen has his dojo.

With the edict by the new commandant that all Marines have until the end of this year to get the tan belt training I expect a few local reservists and recruiters to give me a call soon. Lots of fun coming!



As for how do they know the effectiveness of what is being taught? Well, lots of Marines have been in very close combat in the last four years and share the results of their training upon return. Some MCMAP techniques have been modified a bit to reflect lessons learned in combat. Some techniques have been added and some deleted as well. There is no end to the feedback.

Rich

[Stryke]

Excellent stuff Rich !!

The green belt is third in the series and shows Marines have learned skills such as how to rip muscle from bone, Shusko said.

I`d assume this is attacking tendons and pressing/seizing cavitys , all good stuff , I guess it sounds better to the lay person as tearing muscle from the bone .

will be interesting to see where the continual improvement leads , and the effect this programm will have on the wider MA community when these folks drift back into the civy world . The marines deffinatley have a better/worse testing enviroment than the rest of us .

[RACastanet]

I`d assume this is attacking tendons and pressing/seizing cavitys , all good stuff , I guess it sounds better to the lay person as tearing muscle from the bone .

That is correct. On the performance test it is simply labeled 'muscular gouging', but it refers to tearing or ripping attacks to soft tissue.

Rich