Marine returns to alma mater; shares 26 years of military experience with Hampton Roads NROTC students

Courtesy Photo | Marine Corps Col. Christopher R. McCarthy, commanding officer at Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group, was a guest speaker at the Hampton Roads Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps meeting, Jan. 26. McCarthy is an Old Dominion University graduate who was commissioned into the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant through the HRNROTC program in 1986. The native of Jacksonville, N.C. was part of the first class of students to graduate from the HRNROTC program.  

NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

02.03.2012

Story by Gunnery Sgt. Alexis Mulero 

Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, Marine Forces Command, Marine Forces Northern Command

NORFOLK, Va. - More than two decades after graduating from Old Dominion University, Marine Col. Christopher R. McCarthy, commanding officer at Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group in Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story, Va., returned to his alma mater as a guest speaker, Jan. 26.

“It was truly a pleasure and a privilege to speak with the midshipmen of the Hampton Roads Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps [HRNROTC],” said McCarthy. “I have a strong affinity for the program and for the school itself, of course, as they were my commissioning source.”

The Jacksonville, N.C. native spoke to students about a wide-variety of subjects to include his career and the lessons he has learned that have made him a successful leader.

“Guest speakers are a key to the student’s success because it makes their knowledge base more well-rounded and the fact that he [Colonel McCarthy] is from ODU is important,” said Sgt. Robert Verrall, who is an active-duty Marine and a full-time student at ODU via the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Education Program. “It gives a real life example to the students of what they can achieve in the military if they apply themselves. The presentation was great, and the "down to earth" suggestions were the most beneficial. Nothing was presented at a level that was out of the students' mental grasp.”

More than 200 midshipmen from a myriad of colleges and universities in the area make up the Hampton Roads Naval Reserve Officer Training Corp and according to McCarthy, the program and its participants have grown substantially through the years.

“I'm proud of how far the Hampton Roads program has come,” McCarthy added. “It is now the fourth largest NROTC program in the country and the largest on the east coast.”

After speaking to the students about his career and the leadership lessons he has learned, McCarthy thoroughly discussed the future role of the Navy and Marine Corps team, and the challenges these future leaders may face.

“The midshipmen of Hampton Roads will be commissioned into service in a different operational environment than we have been dealing with over the last decade,” said McCarthy.

“Resources will be constrained and we will face structure cuts. They have the time and resources available now to help them prepare for this new operational environment.”

At the end of his presentation, McCarthy was joined on stage by Marine Sgt. Maj. Carl Gantt, the senior enlisted advisor at MCSCG for a guided discussion, as well as a question and answer period.

“The most important subject the Colonel spoke about was the use of senior enlisted advisers,” said Verrall, who is a native of Brookville, Pa. “This is a key part of being successful as an officer, but is not part of the typical classroom instruction that the students receive.”

Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group and Hampton Roads Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps leaders hope this is the first of many future engagements.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with what will be the future leadership of the Navy and Marine Corps,” said McCarthy. “The midshipmen of this unit span a significant range of experience and backgrounds and it was good to hear the diverse issues they brought to the discussion.”

“We [MCSCG] would absolutely like to have a long-term mentorship relationship with Hampton Roads NROTC in the future. The Marines and sailors of MCSCG have much to offer in terms of junior officer experience and the challenges of serving in the Fleet.”

Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group is a unit in the Marine Corps that coordinates, manages, executes, and evaluates United States Marine Corps Security Cooperation programs and activities, to include assessment, planning, related education and training, and advisor support to ensure unity of effort in building Partner Nation Security Forces capacity and capability in order to facilitate USMC and regional Marine Forces component support to combatant commanders security cooperation objectives.

• Date Taken: 02.03.2012
• Date Posted: 02.03.2012 09:46
• Story ID: 83285
• Location: NORFOLK, VA, US