Job Corps



Here I am beside Mr. Craig Marks (to my left) and few of the cadets from the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps.

I have had the pleasure of working with these fine young people for almost a year now. They are attending the pre-military / law enforcement academy at the Gerald R. Ford Job Corp Center in Grand Rapids Michigan. This program is headed up by Mr. Craig Marks a former Marine himself (if there is such a thing as a "former Marine!"). He has an un-dieing commitment to the program and more importantly to each of the cadets. He helps each of them to reach out for their dream of having a career in law enforcement, military service or private security. It' s amazing that he has the time because he is also a father of six wonderful children and a wife who (hopefully) keeps him sane...or maybe makes him just that much crazier, it's hard to tell!! Anyway Craig you are doing a fantastic job and definatly making a big difference to not only each of the cadets you come into contact with, but our entire community!

Last year Craig asked me if I was interested in teaching close quarter combatives and warrior ethics at the Academy; I felt very honored to accept the position. Yes, sometimes the scheduling gets a bit crazy and things usually don't go off with out a hitch, but to say it's all worth it would be an understatement. I get a lot of fulfillment sharing in the growth of each of the cadets as well as the entire program. It is my way to contribute to them and the community that I live in. We are all in this together and the more we help one another, the better we all are!!

The cadets and I generally go over hand to hand combatives, restraining tactics and most importantly warrior ethics. I have a lot of respect for these young folks. They are a high energy group filled with many questions and real life experiences. I think I learn more from them than they do me! Tonight we reviewed the material we covered in our last session and introduced some new ground work including side control, mount escapes and reversals from the guard as well as escapes from standing head locks, chokes and a bear hug or two.

It was a smaller group tonight than last time so, unfortunately a few of the cadets weren't able to be in this pic, but hopefully we can get them in the next one.

All in all great job tonight gang. Keep going!!

~Craig

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