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    Foreign soldiers attend DI School

    Foreign soldiers attend DI School

    Photo By Lance Cpl. Javarre Glanton | Gunnery Sgt. Charles Maddox (left), a Drill Instructor School squad instructor,...... read more read more

    PARRIS ISLAND, SC, UNITED STATES

    07.28.2011

    Story by Lance Cpl. Javarre Glanton 

    Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island           

    MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- The Parris Island Drill Instructor School occasionally trains service members from different countries’ militaries.

    In the current Drill Instructor School Class 4-11, there are two soldiers from Czech Republic and one from the Republic of Suriname.

    The three service members, who proved themselves among the most effective in their units, were granted the opportunity to train with the United States Marines.

    “We’ve learned U.S. Marines are like family,” said Staff Sgt. Martin Uvizl, an infantry school leader from the Czech Republic. “Since we’re foreign, we don’t understand the language too well, but the Marines have been helping us out a lot with that.”

    The language barrier is only one of the challenges they face in the environment of rigorous training at DI School.

    “The physical training here in America is very demanding,” said Sgt. 1st Class Shiam Manniesingh, an administrative staff non-commissioned officer from Suriname. “With the support of the Marines I’m with, I hope to make the very best of it.”

    The service members view how the Marine Corps conducts training procedures and compare them to their
    native militaries.

    “Some things are similar and some are different,” Uvizl said.

    The commands are different, but a lot of the training is similar. It’s just not as intensive as it is in DI School, he added.

    Upon beginning training, each of the three was paired with a Marine from their squad to assist them with American customs and courtesies and communication, explained Master Sgt. Justin Aiken, chief instructor of DI School.

    “They send their best guys over here and so do we,” Aiken said. “We’re supposed to be getting the top 10 percent of the Marine Corps.

    “What I’ve been told is that most of the foreign guys go back to their countries and become instructors. They come to us to become more well-rounded.”

    During the course of the 11 weeks, each student undergoes multiple inspections, that test the students’ attention to detail, including uniform inspections.

    “When we inspect them, we inspect their issued uniforms,” Aiken said. “We learn their regulations and add our level of detail while inspecting them. That’s one thing we want them to learn – our attention and focus to detail.”

    Though the three stand out from the rest of their class because of the different uniforms, they fit right in and were welcomed by the other students.

    “I’ve learned about leadership and about American culture and the culture of the Marine Corps,” Manniesingh said. “They teach us how to be leaders with integrity and honor, courage and commitment as well. I want to take back the discipline that I’ll learn here to my country.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 07.28.2011
    Date Posted: 07.28.2011 12:30
    Story ID: 74459
    Location: PARRIS ISLAND, SC, US

    Web Views: 619
    Downloads: 2

    PUBLIC DOMAIN