MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI -- Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron here is slated to implement a new Lean on Me mentorship program starting Thursday to enhance unit cohesion and aid in the positive development of all Marines and sailors.
Every H&HS service member, regardless of rank, will have an assigned mentor and have monthly mentoring sessions. If service members has a preferred mentor in mind, they can speak to their staff noncommissioned officer to make the request.
“It’s about Marines taking care of Marines,” said Gunnery Sgt. Maria Florentino, station equal opportunity advisor. “It’s about helping each other out from the top to the bottom, from the bottom to the top. (It’s about) not forgetting about each other and pushing each other to the side.”
Although informal mentoring exists throughout the squadron, not every service member has a mentor and no formal structure exists. Currently, not all mentoring hours are tracked and most discussions are not recorded.
“(Mentoring) is just natural (for the Marine Corps); it’s already in there,” said Florentino. “That’s what we do. It’s already in there, but there’s nothing structured. This program kind of brings more structure to what’s already there.”
Through the Lean on Me mentorship program, mentors and their assigned mentees will keep track of their hours on a database accessible on the station share drive. There will also be monthly meetings, which the mentor and mentees can attend. Women mentees and mentors will attend separate meetings from the men to discuss topics ranging from sexual assault to career choice and promotion processes.
Florentino said since both sexes understand the topics differently, she believes it would be more productive to have separate meetings.
Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron-242 currently has a mentoring program in place. All VMFA(AW)-242 service members are required to participate. Many of the junior Marines in the program believe it’s an effective tool that has helped them both on and off duty.
Lance Cpl. Domingo Lagares, a VMFA(AW)-242 maintenance administrative clerk, has been part of the program for more than a year.
Lagares said the mentorship program provided him with the tools he needed to get him to where he’s at today, and it has also helped him outside of work.
A month after Lagares arrived on station, his grandmother passed away. Lagares took emergency leave to attend the funeral and then returned to the station.
“I came back with the mentality that I didn’t want to do anything anymore,” said Lagares. “My mentor helped me get through that.”
Lance Cpl. Jasmin Wyche, a VMFA(AW)-242 maintenance administrative clerk, arrived here two months ago. This is her first duty station.
“When I first got here I was a new Marine to the fleet,” said Wyche. “I was having problems adjusting my attitude. With the mentoring program, what it helped me do was change my attitude.”
Although the mentorship program is designed to provide mentees with the help they need to succeed, many Marines believe the program helps mentors also.
“There’s that old saying that goes, you’re always learning something,” said Staff Sgt. Carlos Calderon, station visiting aircraft line staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge. “Just because I’ve been in the Marine Corps for 15 years doesn’t mean I can’t learn something from the younger generation. Just because I’m the one teaching doesn’t mean I know everything.”
Calderon said the basic thing is to just put your pride aside and be open to learning something from each other.
Another benefit for the mentors is they can register with Marine Cops Community Services at http://www.mccsvounteering.org/ custom/300/index.html to keep track of their mentoring hours. They can then submit those hours to earn a volunteer service medal.
Depending on how well the program works with H&HS, it is slated to be presented for other squadrons here to participate in.