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    Deployed officers meet face-to-face with assignments monitors

    Deployed Officers Meet Face-to-face With Assignments Monitors

    Photo By Cpl. Ryan Rholes | Marine officers fill part of a dining facility here Sept. 14 as Maj. Brian Mulvihill,...... read more read more

    CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN

    09.16.2010

    Story by Cpl. Ryan Rholes 

    Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

    CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Eleven monitors with the 2010 Manpower Management Officer Assignments ‘road show’ are in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 12-18, giving deployed officers the opportunity to shape their careers by meeting face-to-face with their monitors.

    Both aviation and ground monitors are visiting Camps Leatherneck and Bastion, Forward Operating Bases Dwyer and Delaram, and Kandahar Air Field so officers can conduct one-on-one interviews.

    “No one cares more about your career than you – if someone tells you differently, they are lying,” said Maj. Brian Mulvihill, the combat arms branch head for MMOA, during a brief Sept. 14. “That is why we come here to educate you.”

    “Obviously it’s important to us that we keep that face-to-face line of communication open, otherwise it’s just another random person on the other end of the computer,” he added.

    The Marine Corps is the only service that allows service members to meet with their assignment representatives in person, allowing each Marine a chance to ask personal questions and make an impression on the monitor. This personal time allows monitors to gauge each Marine and helps them make informed decisions on where to send that Marine.

    “The bottom line is that this is both a science and an art,” said Mulvihill. “The science part is us having to fill a certain amount of billets. The art of this job is finding the right officer at the right time and placing that officer somewhere that is good for them and their career.”

    The MMOA assigns officers based on needs of the Marine Corps, military occupational specialty variety, availability of an individual, overseas control dates, seniority and individual preferences.

    The MMOA also hopes to diversify the Marine officers’ experience, enabling them to develop into Marine Air-Ground Task Force officers capable of succeeding in a myriad of settings.

    “Our intent is to inform officers of their choices and generate questions during these briefs that we can hopefully answer at the end of the briefs or during one-on-one sessions,” said Col. Ronald Gridley, the head of MMOA.

    The two monitors emphasized that preparation is the key to a successful interview with a monitor. Officers should consider taking a company grade interview sheet, master brief sheet, recent fitness reports and a list of available billets to their interviews.

    Mulvihill also pointed out to officers attending his brief that they should not expect orders until at least February.

    “We won’t cut orders or make any promises until the end of the road show, after everyone has had a chance to meet with a monitor,” said Mulvihill. “Otherwise, we could give validity to that age-old adage that the officer who gets the first interview gets the best orders.”

    The Marine Corps places emphasis on developing all Marines as leaders: this commitment does not stop just because Marines deploy to combat zones. Whether at home or abroad, every Marine officer will be afforded an opportunity to shape his or her career.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 09.16.2010
    Date Posted: 09.16.2010 04:27
    Story ID: 56373
    Location: CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF

    Web Views: 201
    Downloads: 5

    PUBLIC DOMAIN