Miami Valley Young Marines Win National Award
On Saturday, 19 October the Miami Valley Young Marines celebrated the end of their operational year at the annual Birthday Ball. This year’s celebration is very special to the Young Marine unit as it culminates a very successful year in accomplishing their primary community service mission of drug demand resistance/reduction (DDR). Earlier this year, the Miami Valley Young Marines won the prestigious national DEA “Kiki” Camarena award for DDR efforts through community education and peer-to-peer role modeling. This is now followed by this month’s winning of the national Department of Defense Fulcrum Shield Award; the nation’s highest for DDR efforts. This award is given annually to recognize U.S. military-affiliated youth organizations around the world that have made intensive efforts at spreading anti-drug messages in local communities. The Secretary of Defense presented the award on 11 October at a special ceremony in the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon in Washington DC. Of particular note is the fact that the Miami Valley Young Marines won both of these significant awards for the second time, the first time being in 2017. The Unit Commander, J. Keagan Miller, said, “We are not stopping there. We are now looking for number three.”
This year, the youth members of the Miami Valley Young Marines completed more than two thousand hours of total community service with more than 800 hours of member training and teaching drug demand reduction (DDR) to others in the community, reaching thousands. The National Executive Director of Young Marines has cited the MVYM for interaction with many community elements and leaders; and, for their remarkable efforts in educating the local community on the hazards of gateway drugs.
The Miami Valley Young Marines is a youth development organization sponsored by the Marine Corps League and the United States Marine Corps. Young people, in military dress, demonstrate their continuing commitment to the most positive of American values: Leadership, Discipline and Teamwork. The program focuses on building character and self-esteem; promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle; and, emphasizes continuing education. It is the number one youth Drug Reduction Program for the Department of Defense. After graduating from recruit training, each Young Marine continues the character building and leadership process. The primary program objective is to instill in each Young Marine the desire to become a life-long, productive, and contributing citizen in the community.
To learn more, see the Young Marine national web site at www.youngmarines.com or our local web site: www.miamivalleyyoungmarines.com.
If you have any questions about the Young Marines, please contact Unit Commander, Keagan Miller at (937) 701-8217 or Email to [email protected]