DENVER -- As of mid-February, the Individual Reserve Readiness component strength of Marine Forces Reserve was 58,141 Marines. Some of those Marines are now police officers, oil riggers, Crossfit Instructors and students in-or around Denver.
Regardless of their civilian status and honorable fulfilled active-duty commitment, these prior active-duty Marines still have obligations to the Corps as members of the Individual Ready Reserve in the event they are called back to the active component.
Approximately 525 IRR Marines who live within a 150-mile radius of Denver gathered for an administrative muster March 24 at the Westin Hotel in Westminster, Colo.
The Marines received briefs on topics such as suicide prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical matters, psychological health and Selected Marine Corps Reserve and Active Reserve Opportunities. The event also allowed Marines to update their contact information and resolve any other health or administrative issues they may have.
“Our main priority is to get these Marines here and show them we care,” explained Lt. Col. Trevor Devine, deputy commander for Readiness Support Program 5. “When they come, the RSP staff engages with each and every one of them to make sure they don’t have any unresolved issues. It’s Marines helping Marines, even if they don’t put on the uniform every day.”
Devine also explained that some Marines come to IRR musters to say “hi,”“bye,” and then collect their $207.50 for attending. After the muster, they leave, and then wait until next year when they are ordered to appear at the next administrative muster. However, others arrive with issues that are not just administrative in nature. These Marines come seeking help for issues others can’t see or problems they have not been able to properly address because as IRR Marines, they believe they don’t have access to the proper resources, as they once did on active duty.
“We have Marines come to this muster with what I like to call, ‘the confused Marine look,’” said Capt. Chris Branch, assistant officer-in-charge for Peace Wartime Support Team, 5th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment in Aurora, Colo. “These are the Marines I know that have issues. I approach them, initiate conversation and ask them what they have going on in their lives.”
If the confused Marine look reveals something more than an administrative or medical matter, Branch ensures they get the help they need.
“Marines tend to hold back because they feel like they should handle all their problems by themselves,” said Branch. “When we speak with them and identify that they have a problem, we get them to go talk to mental health professionals and the VA.”
During the muster, Branch said he was able to assist three Marines who had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related issues, directing them to the appropriate professionals who were also in attendance at the muster.
“These musters show that the Marine Corps makes their best, safe effort to serve Marines even when they get out,” explained Branch. “The transition from Marine to civilian is never seamless; the transition is hard.”
These annual musters are mandatory. RSP 5 takes advantage of this time and uses it to educate the Marines.
“We want Marines to leave here with information they didn’t have when they came,” said Col. Stephen Motsco, commander, RSP 5.
One of hundreds of Marines in attendance was Cpl. Raoul Mancho, a pharmacy technician and full-time student at Front Range Community College. Mancho separated from the Marine Corps about two years ago after his active duty obligation expired. He admitted he wasn’t very eager to attend the muster, but found a lot of the knowledge useful and even sat down with a prior service recruiter to get more information about the available opportunities in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve and Active-Reserve.
“My favorite part of the muster is when the gunnery sergeant was giving info about the SMCR, and AR programs,” said Mancho, who deployed with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit during his time on active duty. “A lot of them sounded very intriguing. I’m considering trying to take advantage of those programs now.”
When the Marines arrive at the muster, they sign in to verify attendance. If they need to, they can update their contact information, assess their medical readiness, and solve any other administrative matters.
Initially, when some of the Marines read their letters ordering them to the muster, some knew it was simply for an administrative muster, while others only read the letterhead and immediately worried.
“I opened it and knew it was an IRR muster,” said Sgt. Nicholas Wolf, a sheriff’s deputy and full time student from the Denver area.
Another orders recipient, Cpl. Danelle Whisenhunt, a student in Denver, wasn’t under the same impression as Wolf when she opened her letter.
“I thought I was getting called back to go to Afghanistan,” said Whisenhunt jokingly. She further explained that her main concern was she was enrolled in school and wasn’t in a position to drop out.
As she read into the letter further, she too realized it was only to an administrative muster.
For Fiscal year 2012, RSPs will support 11 large-scale musters from Boston to Los Angeles.