Military-based program teaching mini Marines

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- The staff sergeant stood at the front of the room, affixed his best poker face and bellowed orders.

"Engelbrecht, what did I tell you to do?" Staff Sgt. Kenny Pearson, 18, demanded of a boy who didn't appear to be following directions.

Pearson had told the new recruits of the Salty Dawg Young Marines to put their canteens down by the wall, pick up their guidebooks and get back into formation.

Avoiding eye contact, Joseph Engelbrecht, 15, admitted he thought he was supposed to leave both the guidebook and canteen at the wall.

"Sir, I did the same thing, Sir," another recruit confessed.

The micro-soldiers stood at rigid attention -- some dressed in camouflage gear, with the recruits wearing red sweat pants and yellow T-shirts. They were practicing formations as part of the weekly unit meeting at Grandview School. The Hutchinson unit is part of the Young Marines of the Marines Corps League, which has units in most states across the U.S.

On a recent Tuesday night, the tiniest female in the unit, 8-year-old Brandelein Soergel, of Newton, was promoted in rank from private first class to lance corporal.

"If you study, it's not hard," Brandelein said about her promotion, which was earned by studying such things as the history of the organization and patriotic trivia.

Learning respect

Joining the group provides not only sociability, but also lessons in discipline and respect, Brandelein said. A bonus is the time she spends together with her dad, a former Marine.

"Wearing the uniform makes me feel special," she said. "I feel like my dad must have felt like."

Adult volunteers such as Hutchinson Police Sgt. Steve Stowers lead the local unit.

Stowers, a former Marine, is the current commanding officer and helps the youth between the ages of 8 and 18 learn things like leadership, self-respect and manners. He in turn permits the youth to take leadership roles when they are able.

One thing the group isn't is a recruitment tool for the Marines, Stowers said. However, it's an organization much like 4-H and Boy and Girl Scouts. Members of the unit can qualify for ribbons through conservation and outdoor life projects.

The exception is this group seems more like boot camp.

No combat training

"We don't teach the tactics of warfare," Stowers said. "We do have a marksman class similar to hunter safety school, but we don't teach them how to storm a machine gun pit."

As Pearson leads the unit in the front of the room, the troops' parents sit in the back, looking over paperwork. Teachers and parents must sign weekly progress reports attesting to the members' behavior.

"It's absolutely important to support him," Crystal Pearson said about attending the meetings with her son. "It's our connection."

Even with her son so immersed in the unit, gangs and drugs are still a lurking threat.

"Every parent should be worried about their children and the choices they make," she said. "But I see the respect he has for Young Marines. This keeps him very active."

First Sgt. Tyleigha Kane, 13, of Bentley, has hopes of someday becoming a colonel in the military. However, that will come after fulfilling another dream -- attending West Point Military Academy.

The rainbow of ribbons on her chest, though, could fool a civilian into thinking she's already there.