Photo By Keith Hayes | Albert (A. J.) Jacobs, coordinator, Single Marine Program, prepares pancakes for the...... read more read more
The Single Marine Program that has been helping single and geo-bachelor Marines aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., find new ways to get out of the barracks, has just hosted 20 Marines for a sit down breakfast to ask them what improvements they would like to see.
Albert (A. J.) Jacobs, SMP coordinator aboard MCLBB, talked to the crowd during the program’s Annual Assessment Breakfast at the Active Duty Recreational Center, Jan. 31.
“I wanted to see what they would like to change, what trips they would like to go on, any ideas that they have,” Jacobs explained. “The ideas could be something as simple as a movie or a video game.”
The SMP began Corps-wide in 1995 to address morale concerns of barracks-bound single Marines, focusing on the main components of advocacy for the single Marine, quality of life issues, recreation, and community involvement, according to information from an SMP brochure.
The program is offered to not just single Marines, but also Sailors and Soldiers stationed aboard MCLBB, Jacobs said.
“The SMP is telling Marines to get out of your barracks, get out of your rooms, put down the video games and go to places that you’ve never seen before and have new experiences,” he said.
For example, in 2017 the SMP provided transportation to the world-famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
“That’s an opportunity for them to see something that is historical,” Jacobs said, “to see something that is amazing in regards to all of the different kinds of prehistoric fossils t h e r e .”
The schedule for upcoming events for the SMP includes trips to Las Vegas, the Comic-Con in an Diego in July, a trip to Universal Studio’s Horror Night Weekend in October, and snowboarding excursions, to name a few.
Jacobs said the SMP is also about participating in community service events such as Dr. Seuss’s Birthday Bash and the Read Across America campaign in March, the Big Marine, Little Marine program in April, or the Feed Barstow’s Homeless mission the last Sunday of every month.
Private First Class Jessica Hernandez, a native of Houston, and the newly elected secretary of the SMP, said she thinks the Assessment Breakfast is important.
“We’re here to try and get everybody’s input and see what everybody’s opinion is so that everyone can get what they want,” she said.
Galveston, Texas, native Lance Cpl. Louis Guilry, said he had used the SMP at MCB Camp Pendleton when he was stationed there, but has been at MCLBB for less than a month.
“I got some valuable information today about the Single Marine Program,” Guilry said. “I’m going to make sure I pass it on to other single Marines.”
Brand new to MCLBB from his previous station at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, Lance Cpl. Brendan McDowell said he thinks the SMP is a great tool to meet people.
“Being new, it’s a good experience to come here to explore and understand what’s going on in Barstow,” the Long Island, N.Y. resident said.
The breakfast provided for the Marines was cooked by Jacobs himself.
“We don’t have a chow hall aboard base, and that’s a quality of life issue,” he said. “A young PFC has to either get in their car or ask their roommate for a ride into town to eat.”
The SMP hosts several dinners a month for the participants as a way to encourage single Marines to get together and help with the expense of food, as Jacobs said “... rather than have them go into town and have that unhealthy burger, they can come here and get a home-cooked meal.”
The SMP coordinator said the program also helps with culture shock and the feeling of being stuck in the middle of nowhere when new Marines arrive aboard base. They see what they think is nothing more than a dry landscape, devoid of anything to do, which Jacobs points out is not the way to look at it.
“We’re not in the middle of nowhere, we’re in the middle of everywhere,” he said. “The fantastic mountains are just a few hours away, the ocean is just a few hours away, even Las Vegas is just two hours away.”
“The whole purpose of the SMP is to enhance the quality of life for the single Marines, Sailors, Soldiers and geo-bachelors,” Jacobs continued. “Any unmarried Marine can participate in the SMP.
| Date Taken: | 02.08.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2018 16:36 |
| Story ID: | 265749 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Hometown: | GALVESTON, TX, US |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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