There is a lot more here than we find in a usual DivThu --- but you can find here an outline of what is being done in the name of the Marine Corps and being ordered to Marines.
This letter was not sent to me for distro - but I managed to get a copy. It is from a new member of the Salamander Underground; but it looks solid and seemed like a safe bet; so I'm running with it. The original distribution list is on the bottom of the first page.
Read it all, but (D)iversity related items are in bold red.
Below is the open letter.
Below is the open letter.
(NB: The linked article below by then Maj. Vold is from '98, so this isn't a new problem)
Marine Corps officer recruiting is a broken and dysfunctional system. The officer recruiting community is stressed, undervalued and struggles to find necessary support. The officer recruiting community meets its core mission, Officer Accession, only because the Marine officer mission is so inflated. The accessions goal is always met.
NO CONTINUITY
-GS/civilians are the only mainstays
-No 8412 involvement (no career path)
-RFA (appointments) untenable
-SF86/JPAS untenable
-De facto diversity quota system
-Improper manpower in AO’s
-Improper training (all levels)
-Improper civilian leadership
POOR SUPPORT
-Medical support (BUMED/NAMI)
-Automated system untenable (ACP)
-200+ page- paper applications
-IT support untenable (server space)
-Advertising (low levels) ineffective
-Administrative support
-Financial/disbursing support
-Logistical support
-Officer applicants expected to pay for medical/dental exams
NO OWNERSHIP
-MPPM (last updated in 1989?)
-Frost Call situation(s) 1st, 2nd, 3rd tier effects
-No standardization across MCRC
-Poor initial training
-Applicants turned away (reverse discrimination)
-No special duty allowances (RS SgtMaj rates?)
-Political correctness RUNS AMUCK!
-Tragedy of the commons (RS or District??)
A serious inquiry/investigation needs to be conducted into the tactics, techniques, treatments, personnel and procedures of the officer recruiting system. This proper authority will see a system that has serious and detrimental flaws. The system will be found as improperly managed and supported, underfunded, maltreated, and undermanned by proper duty experts.
POOR SUPPORT
-BUMED is totally broken and unacceptable. BUMED is under-staffed. NAMI is not conducive to Marine aviation candidates.
-ACP is not user friendly. ACP has too many glitches. ACP does not make contracting more efficient or timely (actually makes contracting more difficult and logistically harder to conduct). A common “MCRC SharePoint” should be utilized where all documents can be uploaded and downloaded by all users (server space). MCRISS OSS should be upgraded and utilized to control systematic recruiting but not in conjunction with ACP. Use a simple software program to generate contracts (upload all documents to “MCRC SharePoint” – this can be viewed by all users.).
-Hard copies of contracts/applications should be kept at local level but electronic versions uploaded to the “MCRC SharePoint”.
-IT support untenable (server space):”MCRC SharePoint” will need server space.
-Advertising (low levels) ineffective: tactical advertising is run by civilians (JWT), not Marines!
-Administrative support: 8412’s trained in officer recruiting to take over GS. More staffing is needed at higher echelons to support processing.
-Financial/disbursing support: bureaucratic system in place to administer and track funds. Complete redesign is needed.
-Logistical support: RS’s don’t like to support and neither do Districts. Where does the specific support come from?
-Officer applicants expected to pay for medical/dental exams: MEPS does not conduct all tests that are needed for officer applicants (DENTAL EXAMS, FEMALE EXAMS, EYE EXAMS, etc)???
NO OWNERSHIP
-MPPM (last updated in 1989?) Self-explanatory. No categorized, searchable or user friendly database for frost calls or updates.
-Frost Call situation(s) 1st, 2nd, 3rd tier effects: Frost calls are implemented/dictated from established law; some frost calls seem to neither apply law nor take into consideration tactical level effects.
-No standardization across MCRC: Contracts, selection boards, waivers, RFA, RFO, administrative procedures, forms, training, applicant standards?
-Poor initial training at all levels: 8412’s should be emplaced into officer recruiting at all levels to provide all training and continuity. 8412’s should be used at OCS (use 8412s as OCS sergeant instructors or staff --- 8412’s can be used much as MOI’s; as most colleges and universities are slow for officer recruiting in the summer) to gain basic understanding of what officer candidates go through(this will assist with prospecting and selling). 8412’s should be emplaced at the OSS, the DIST and OA/MCRC. Career path and promotion considerations should be emplaced to provide incentive for 8412 “buy-in”. Screening and selection of 8412’s should be very competitive (and should be E-7 and above for maturity and administrative experience).
-Quality applicants turned away (due to diversity): quality applicants are turned away or placed on backburners in order to accommodate diversity applicants (usually of lesser quality – i.e. GPA, PFT, ACT/SAT, BACKGROUND). This is not conducive to employing the best and the brightest and will have 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier effects in the operating forces for years to come! A quality applicant is a quality applicant.
-No duty allowances: officer selection officers are the only production recruiters that do not receive a duty allowance. These Marines are the liaisons with community and key influencers, the liaisons with career services, deans and professors of universities and local advertisers. Why would they not receive an allowance to assist them in connecting and working these influencers? Also, incidentals and misc. expenses (dental and misc medical exams for applicants) are experienced all the time. Are these Marines expected to pay out of their own salary? RS SgtMaj receives an allowance; what is a SgtMaj billet’s recruiting production quota? Nil. Switch allowances from the RS SgtMaj to the OSO. No further funding needed.
MARINE CORPS OFFICER RECRUITING; A BROKEN SYSTEM
Marine Corps officer recruiting is a broken and dysfunctional system. The officer recruiting community is stressed, undervalued and struggles to find necessary support. The officer recruiting community meets its core mission, Officer Accession, only because the Marine officer mission is so inflated. The accessions goal is always met.
The current officer recruiting system is a patchwork of temporary fixes built up through years of neglect and bureaucracy. The current system is extremely wasteful, inefficient and undermines effectiveness on all levels.
Over the years, senior Marine Corps leaders have ignored or been ignorant to the deficiencies of the officer recruiting program and community. There has been a de facto block, or ceiling emplaced, in which top Marine officials have not been made aware of the problems at the lowest levels of officer recruiting. Since prudent changes have not been implemented, there is now no coherent, streamlined system that makes sense. All that is left is a shell of haphazardly established tactics, techniques and procedures.
NO CONTINUITY
-GS/civilians are the only mainstays
-No 8412 involvement (no career path)
-RFA (appointments) untenable
-SF86/JPAS untenable
-De facto diversity quota system
-Improper manpower in AO’s
-Improper training (all levels)
-Improper civilian leadership
POOR SUPPORT
-Medical support (BUMED/NAMI)
-Automated system untenable (ACP)
-200+ page- paper applications
-IT support untenable (server space)
-Advertising (low levels) ineffective
-Administrative support
-Financial/disbursing support
-Logistical support
-Officer applicants expected to pay for medical/dental exams
NO OWNERSHIP
-MPPM (last updated in 1989?)
-Frost Call situation(s) 1st, 2nd, 3rd tier effects
-No standardization across MCRC
-Poor initial training
-Applicants turned away (reverse discrimination)
-No special duty allowances (RS SgtMaj rates?)
-Political correctness RUNS AMUCK!
-Tragedy of the commons (RS or District??)
A serious inquiry/investigation needs to be conducted into the tactics, techniques, treatments, personnel and procedures of the officer recruiting system. This proper authority will see a system that has serious and detrimental flaws. The system will be found as improperly managed and supported, underfunded, maltreated, and undermanned by proper duty experts.
A non-exhaustive examination will expose serious fraud, waste and abuse into allocations of recruitment funds — such as contracts with advertisers and ―diversity‖ biased projects, GS/civilian employees that are ineffective (and detrimental to mission), preferential hiring of former senior Marines, and wasteful conference and training seminars.
Findings will expose a veritable secret diversity quota system where 80+% of the recruiting effort is focused on meeting diversity quotas. Even then, these secret diversity quotas are improperly imposed; i.e. US current population/enlisted accessions rate Hispanics as number one minority group; whereas the current de facto focus is solely on African American attainment (ALL OTHER MINORITY GROUPS IGNORED – Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, etc). Competitive and highly qualified applicants are ignored or turned away because they will not affect diversity attainment! Findings will also show current proposed changes to applicant standards, such as a sliding scale with ACT and GPA scores, all in the name accommodating ―recruiting, aka; diversity attainment.
Concern with political correctness and the diversity quota system has now progressed into the proposed change in the basic qualification(s) of Marine Officer Candidates? See attached Marine Corps Gazette article. Where has the importance of standards and adherence to these standards, in the Marine Corps gone? Marines are held to the standard. Why would we allow different standards to be emplaced, especially in officer accessions? To suggest that if we did not change the standard, the Marine Corps would suffer; is an untruth, a falsehood and tantamount to saying that the Marine Corps HAS NOT BEEN EFFECTIVE FOR THE LAST 236 YEARS??? ANGLO APPLICANTS WILL START SUING THE MARINE CORPS AND CONTACTING THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS NOT THE ANSWER! SELECTING THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST, REGARDLESS OF RACE OR GENDER IS THE RIGHT ANSWER! THE BRIGHTEST PEOPLE WILL BRING THE DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, THE KNOWLEDGE, THE OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING AND IN TURN THIS WILL MAKE THE MARINE OFFICER CORPS AND THE MARINE CORPS, THAT MUCH BETTER.
Courtesy Copy: Commandant of Marine Corps, Assistant Commandant of Marine Corps, Inspector General Marine Corps, MCRC CG, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, Senate Armed Forces Committee Chairman/Ranking Member, Marine Corps Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times, Army Times, Foxnews.com, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Washington Post, MCRC Marine Corps District Commanders/DROO’s
NO CONTINUITY
-GS/civilians are the only continuity in officer recruiting. Every Marine (3 years +/- tour) leaves the job. Civilians run officer recruiting! Civilians should be replaced with 8412’s. No civilian should be in charge (regardless of enlisted recruiting experience) of officer recruiting!
-8412’s should be the duty experts on recruiting. Currently, there is no incentive nor career path for these Marines in officer recruiting. 8412’s should be the continuity and should have positions where they can progress through the chain as their experience dictates. No more 8411’s!!
-RFA process is cumbersome and inadequate. More MCRC staff is needed to process RFA’s. Current system is keeping officers from commissioning.
-Security clearance system does not work. Complete redesign is needed.
-Diversity quotas are being forced so hard that de facto quotas are in place (LAW?). Time and resources are being unfairly taken away from Marines to find and process QUALITY applicants because of the focus on Diversity. Focus is only on African Americans when in fact Hispanics make up a larger margin of the U.S. population and also of enlisted accessions. Native Americans, Asian Americans?
-Not enough trained and professionally screened Marines (OSO, 8412) on duty in officer recruiting. Assign officer recruiters to where they are from. (i.e. African American officers near HBCU/population centers, Hispanic officers to the southwest, Native American officers near traditionally western states, Anglo officers in their respective areas, etc)
EXPLANATIONS & POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
-GS/civilians are the only continuity in officer recruiting. Every Marine (3 years +/- tour) leaves the job. Civilians run officer recruiting! Civilians should be replaced with 8412’s. No civilian should be in charge (regardless of enlisted recruiting experience) of officer recruiting!
-8412’s should be the duty experts on recruiting. Currently, there is no incentive nor career path for these Marines in officer recruiting. 8412’s should be the continuity and should have positions where they can progress through the chain as their experience dictates. No more 8411’s!!
-RFA process is cumbersome and inadequate. More MCRC staff is needed to process RFA’s. Current system is keeping officers from commissioning.
-Security clearance system does not work. Complete redesign is needed.
-Diversity quotas are being forced so hard that de facto quotas are in place (LAW?). Time and resources are being unfairly taken away from Marines to find and process QUALITY applicants because of the focus on Diversity. Focus is only on African Americans when in fact Hispanics make up a larger margin of the U.S. population and also of enlisted accessions. Native Americans, Asian Americans?
-Not enough trained and professionally screened Marines (OSO, 8412) on duty in officer recruiting. Assign officer recruiters to where they are from. (i.e. African American officers near HBCU/population centers, Hispanic officers to the southwest, Native American officers near traditionally western states, Anglo officers in their respective areas, etc)
POOR SUPPORT
-BUMED is totally broken and unacceptable. BUMED is under-staffed. NAMI is not conducive to Marine aviation candidates.
-ACP is not user friendly. ACP has too many glitches. ACP does not make contracting more efficient or timely (actually makes contracting more difficult and logistically harder to conduct). A common “MCRC SharePoint” should be utilized where all documents can be uploaded and downloaded by all users (server space). MCRISS OSS should be upgraded and utilized to control systematic recruiting but not in conjunction with ACP. Use a simple software program to generate contracts (upload all documents to “MCRC SharePoint” – this can be viewed by all users.).
-Hard copies of contracts/applications should be kept at local level but electronic versions uploaded to the “MCRC SharePoint”.
-IT support untenable (server space):”MCRC SharePoint” will need server space.
-Advertising (low levels) ineffective: tactical advertising is run by civilians (JWT), not Marines!
-Administrative support: 8412’s trained in officer recruiting to take over GS. More staffing is needed at higher echelons to support processing.
-Financial/disbursing support: bureaucratic system in place to administer and track funds. Complete redesign is needed.
-Logistical support: RS’s don’t like to support and neither do Districts. Where does the specific support come from?
-Officer applicants expected to pay for medical/dental exams: MEPS does not conduct all tests that are needed for officer applicants (DENTAL EXAMS, FEMALE EXAMS, EYE EXAMS, etc)???
NO OWNERSHIP
-MPPM (last updated in 1989?) Self-explanatory. No categorized, searchable or user friendly database for frost calls or updates.
-Frost Call situation(s) 1st, 2nd, 3rd tier effects: Frost calls are implemented/dictated from established law; some frost calls seem to neither apply law nor take into consideration tactical level effects.
-No standardization across MCRC: Contracts, selection boards, waivers, RFA, RFO, administrative procedures, forms, training, applicant standards?
-Poor initial training at all levels: 8412’s should be emplaced into officer recruiting at all levels to provide all training and continuity. 8412’s should be used at OCS (use 8412s as OCS sergeant instructors or staff --- 8412’s can be used much as MOI’s; as most colleges and universities are slow for officer recruiting in the summer) to gain basic understanding of what officer candidates go through(this will assist with prospecting and selling). 8412’s should be emplaced at the OSS, the DIST and OA/MCRC. Career path and promotion considerations should be emplaced to provide incentive for 8412 “buy-in”. Screening and selection of 8412’s should be very competitive (and should be E-7 and above for maturity and administrative experience).
-Quality applicants turned away (due to diversity): quality applicants are turned away or placed on backburners in order to accommodate diversity applicants (usually of lesser quality – i.e. GPA, PFT, ACT/SAT, BACKGROUND). This is not conducive to employing the best and the brightest and will have 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier effects in the operating forces for years to come! A quality applicant is a quality applicant.
-No duty allowances: officer selection officers are the only production recruiters that do not receive a duty allowance. These Marines are the liaisons with community and key influencers, the liaisons with career services, deans and professors of universities and local advertisers. Why would they not receive an allowance to assist them in connecting and working these influencers? Also, incidentals and misc. expenses (dental and misc medical exams for applicants) are experienced all the time. Are these Marines expected to pay out of their own salary? RS SgtMaj receives an allowance; what is a SgtMaj billet’s recruiting production quota? Nil. Switch allowances from the RS SgtMaj to the OSO. No further funding needed.
