WASHINGTON -- Gunnery Sgt. Andrew Lynch, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal in recognition of being named the Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC) Prior Service Recruiter (PSR) Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (SNCOIC) of the Year for fiscal year 2017 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., April 10, 2018.
The PSR SNCOIC of the Year award was presented as part of the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Combined Awards Program 2018, which recognizes Marines serving in special duty assignments throughout the Marine Corps. The award recognizes one SNCOIC who works tirelessly in the PSR field and exceeds the recruiting mission.
Prior service recruiters recruit Marines who have completed their active duty contracts and want to rejoin the Corps as an active duty reservists.
Lynch currently serves as the PSR SNCOIC of Recruiting Substation (RSS) Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“He thinks big picture,” said Maj. Charles Larson III, 1st Marine Corps District PSR officer in charge. “Even as a recruiter, he recognized what actions he needed to make in his sector to make his substation better. Now, as SNCOIC, he implements that at a station level.”
During his time at RSS Philadelphia, Lynch surpassed every mission requirement, recruiting over 450 men and women to rejoin the Marine Corps. He also manages four recruiters who are spread across 590 thousand square miles, conducts quality control for all accessions, analyzes daily activities, implements plans to achieve mission and develops and maintains professional relationships with local commands and the community.
“I find myself still in the office well after my team has left for the day in an effort to ensure they are set up for success the following day,” said Lynch. “I truly enjoy what I do, which is why I work so hard at it.”
Lynch, who was originally a landing support specialist, before laterally moving to be a logistics embarkation specialist, has served in the Marine Corps for over 14 years. In the later part of his career, he laterally moved for a second time to have the military occupational specialty (MOS) of career recruiter.
Since beginning his recruiting service, Lynch has been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a gold star, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a gold star and the Marine Corps Recruiting Ribbon.
According to Lynch, his success as a recruiter is credited to the collective success and hard work of those around him, including his wife, Meredith, and the recruiters under his charge.
“Nowhere else in the Marine Corps will you learn as much about the institution,” said Lynch. “I am certain you will not have as much of an impact on a Marine’s life as you do in this role and profession.”
Lynch was awarded alongside three recruiters who served in other recruiting billets.
“3,900 [Marine recruiters] are screened and selected from among the best the Corps has to offer,” said Col. William Gray, the G-3 operations officer for MCRC. “Then, from that number, these four individuals rose to the top. Not only are they the very best in MCRC, they are the best in the Marine Corps.”