MARINE FORCES RESERVE, New Orleans - -- Sgt. Maj. Jimmy D. Cummings assumed duties as the Marine Forces Reserve sergeant major here Nov. 2, and as with every leadership change, he brings with him a different perspective.
Though he’s only been in his current job a month, he sees many of the same challenges he did as the Marine Aircraft Wing sergeant major.
One of those challenges is the process of junior Marines blossoming into well-rounded, well-trained warriors.
“The biggest challenge I see here is, because of the shallow depth of personnel we have, there is very little opportunity for headquarters Marines to deploy,” said Cummings. “Deployments really help Marines grow, and sometimes, it’s not easy to take that one Marine out of the shop. At the same time, however, that Marine really needs an opportunity to get outside of their desk.”
Deploying may be a welcome rain in the growing of Marines, but it’s not always possible due to manning issues. But that’s not to say a Marine who can’t deploy can’t grow.
“Professional military education helps all Marines grow,” said Cummings. “Things like correspondence courses and distance education programs … our Marines need to be thoroughly engaged in those. Every day, our Marines need to be improving their professional military education.”
There are also situations neither deployments nor education can fully prepare Marines for. Hurricane Katrina and the wake she left destroyed many lives, and she tested Marine Forces Reserve on many fronts.
“[Hurricane Katrina] showed us all that the status quo is not part of the Marine Corps,” said Cummings. “We must always be ready for new challenges. With those new challenges, MFR adapted well and is in a great position to continue to provide the active forces with trained Marines and prove that we are still a viable part of this country’s defense.”
Cummings is uniquely perched, as the highest enlisted leader to the largest command in the Marine Corps, to see exactly how viable MFR is to the country’s defense. But he says his last billet was not much different from this one.
“The only real difference is the information coming to me,” Cummings said. “My job is still to advise the commander on every aspect of the unit’s mission and the welfare of the Marines who make up the unit.”
Cummings learned the troop welfare part of his job early in his career.
“One of the most influential people on me when I was a junior Marine was Staff Sgt. Penix,” Cummings said. “He was my first staff non-commissioned officer. He knew everything about us - what we were doing for the weekend, about our families. He got that through talking to us, and I never realized, until I became a staff NCO, how important that is.”
While he can lead his Marines and look out for their welfare, Cummings feels Marines are in charge of their own destiny, no matter their background, race, religion or sex.
“The Marine Corps is a great organization … it’s up to the individual to seek and grab hold of success,” he said. “Marines promote themselves. Individual accomplishments are awarded through various accolades, but their hard work and pursuit of excellence is what shows where a Marine really wants to be.”
Many Marines attribute their ability to be successful to having a strong family, and in MFR, family is just as important.
“Our Marine families are another extremely important and challenging element,” said Cummings. “I say important, because they are the foundations and pillars which make our efforts successful. I say challenging, because we're spread all across this great country and being able to reach out to those families with information and support is a huge task, but it is a task worthy of the challenge.
“Marines and families of Marine Forces Reserve, thank you for what you do for the defense and success of this country and our way of life. Because of you, Americans can go to the movies, sporting events and such and not worry about their freedoms or safety.”