MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Camp Pendleton’s noncommissioned officers gathered recently to learn how to better lead and train Marines on a range of topics from post-deployment combat stress to finance management.
More than 1,140 Marine corporals and sergeants packed into the South Mesa Staff Noncommissioned Officers’ club here for the Heroes and Healthy Families Conference Aug. 29.
The conference gave Marine small-unit leaders a chance to learn about family violence advocacy, sexual assault and harassment and personal safety, among other topics.
Sponsored by Marine Corps Community Services, the conference was funded through private donations made to the Family Violence Project – a Santa Ana, Calif.-based nonprofit organization “dedicated to serving the special needs of women, children, and men who are experiencing domestic violence and abuse,” according to the Family Violence Project website.
The one-day conference also offered the Marines tips on how to ease back into daily life in the United States after returning from deployment.
The conference – the second given to Marine leaders since Camp Pendleton-based units returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom last year – was specifically designed to train Marine leaders about current issues facing today’s U.S. servicemembers, said Pamela L. Iles, a California superior court judge in the Superior Court of California and conference host.
Specifically, the Marines received information from a variety of residential experts, such as medical officials and law enforcement officers, to aid them in training junior Marines to make good decisions and stay out of trouble, said Iles.
Tom V. Wall, a reserve officer in the Laguna Beach Police Department and a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, captivated the audience with interactive examples of what not to do when confronted with authorities.
“Since January of this year I’ve seen 12 Marines arrested in Laguna Beach,” Wall said. “This is only one city of the 34 in Orange County.”
Although Wall didn’t cite any specific reason for the alarming statistic of Marines arrested in Laguna Beach this year, he did note that many confrontations Marines have with local law enforcement can be avoided if Marines make the right decisions in life.
“Every community around Camp Pendleton is a military community and genuinely care for the Marines and don’t want to see them get into trouble,” said Wall.
“The civil law system and the military law system see a lot of Marines screw up their careers,” said Iles, who cited several examples of cases she’s seen in her courtroom.
Through education and proper training, military families and servicemembers can deal with their problems before they result in family violence, run-in’s with the law and other criminal activity, added Iles.