The Army is talking about a similar program for similar reasons. Army senior leaders feel that 10+ years of operational experience has denied soldiers and leaders essential garrison experiences. Manufacturers of shoe polish, edge dressing, floor wax, floor buffers, and cleaning products, as well as barbers, should have enhanced economic prospects due to these perspicacious decisions.
Corps preparing PR blitz for commandant's garrison ‘reawakening' campaign
By Hope Hodge Seck Staff writer
Army Times, Nov. 27, 2013
The reawakening poster campaign for the United States Marine Corps.
The commandant’s campaign to “reawaken” the Marine Corps will be branded across the service via a promotional poster campaign set to debut soon.
Gen. Jim Amos has called for tighter standards and better behavior among Marines in garrison, appealing to those in leadership positions — especially the service’s noncommissioned officers — to “reawaken the soul of our Corps against an enemy emerging within our ranks.” The posters will be distributed to bases and air stations throughout the world, according to Marine administrative message 607/13, published Nov. 18.
A Marine source sent Marine Corps Times copies of two of the posters, which have been posted in garrison at Okinawa. One features a Marine wounded warrior with prosthetic legs built for running. He’s identified in a caption as Cpl. Anthony McDaniel, a survivor of an improvised explosive device. The caption indicates McDaniel participated in last year’s Marine Corps Trials hosted by the Wounded Warrior Regiment.
Another poster shows rows of Marines in desert combat gear, woodland camouflage, and dress blues looking into the distance.
“The Reawakening: What have you done to be a better Marine today?” reads the header on both posters.
It’s not clear whether there are other versions of the posters or if they have been installed aboard other bases. Officials did not immediately respond to questions on Wednesday.
However, the MARADMIN does indicate the posters will vary in size — from 11-by-17 to 24-by-36 — and be distributed through combat camera officers and combat visual information centers. According to the message, 26 installations and commands are slated to receive the posters, including both boot camps, the service’s recruiting districts and Marine Corps Forces Central Command in Tampa, Fla., and Marine Corps Forces Pacific in Hawaii.
“It is recommended that the posters be placed in common areas where NCOs have visibility, such as bachelor enlisted quarters, dining facilities, fitness facilities, etc.,” the message reads.
Amos pitched his “reawakening” initiative in late September, at the General Officer Symposium in Quantico, Va., as a solution to what he sees as a rash of toxic or otherwise lax behavior in the ranks. He has zeroed in on the military’s sex assault epidemic, hazing, drunken driving and shoddy appearance standards.
His plan, which received a mixed reaction among personnel, calls for more oversight of the barracks by senior officers and NCOs; tougher rules for standing duty watch, including required use of the service “Bravo” or “Charlie” uniforms; and future installation of security cameras for all barracks facilities.
“Rather than wait for a creeping complacency to set in,” Amos told Marine Corps Times in September, “I’m turning to my leaders at all levels to refocus Marines on what we do and who we are.”
