Headquarters Marine Corps Special Duty Assignment Screening Team visits Camp Foster

Photo By Sgt. Douglas Simons | Marines stand in line to ask Gunnery Sgt. Nicholas Deweever about drill instructor duty June 2 aboard Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan. Deweever briefly explained what being a drill instructor is like, and the hardships that come with it. Deweever is the drill instructor monitor for the Headquarters Marine Corps Special Duty Assignment screening team (Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Douglas Simons/Released)  

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JAPAN

06.02.2016

Story by Cpl. Douglas Simons 

Marine Corps Installations Pacific

The Headquarters Marine Corps Special Duty Assignment Screening Team visited Marines June 2 on Camp Foster.
The team came to meet with Marines to teach them about special duty assignments and how they can enhance their careers, according to Capt. Brian Stacy, the Headquarters Marine Corps SDA officer in charge.
“A SDA allows Marines to go outside of their military occupational specialty,” said Stacy. “Marines who complete a SDA are considered the best and fully qualified for promotion.”
SDAs open up doors for better promotion opportunities, according to Master Sgt. Derald J. Nash, career planner with 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force.
“Meritorious promotion quotas double or even triple for SDAs,” said Nash, a Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, native. “SDA completion is also the very first thing from your master brief sheet that gets briefed during a regular promotion process.
There are five SDA opportunities in the Marine Corps: recruiter, drill instructor, combat instructor, Marine Security Guard, and Marine Security Forces.
Each SDA has its own challenges, according to Gunnery Sgt. Nicholas Deweever, drill instructor monitor for the Headquarters Marine Corps SDA screening team.
“As a drill instructor, I faced challenges that a recruiter or Marine Security Guard doesn’t have to deal with, and vice versa,” said Deweever. “You have to find the one that matches your personality and works best for you”
Although a SDA is challenging, it is also rewarding, according to Master Sgt. Ric Feliciano, Marine Security Guard monitor for the Headquarters Marine Corps SDA screening team.
“It’s a way for you to give back to the Marine Corps,” said Feliciano. “It’s not easy, but you always feel better when you know you gave something back to an organization that has taken care of you.
To find more information on SDAs, visit your career planner.

• Date Taken: 06.02.2016
• Date Posted: 06.02.2016 20:17
• Story ID: 199807
• Location: CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP
• Hometown: WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI, US