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IDEAS & ISSUES (MCCS) • Focus on the captains. The com- pany grade officers are the lifeblood of the O’Club, and until they want to go back there, the club will continue to fizzle toward its grave. Post-11 Sep- tember 2001 security concerns and the post-Tailhook awareness and cli- mate notwithstanding, leaders must initiate creative solutions and liberal policies for welcoming civilian guests at the clubs (particularly during social events, such as Friday happy hours) and allow responsible alcohol use and bar patronage while still improving measures to discourage driving while under the influence and other unac- ceptable alcohol-related behavior. • Integrate new and innovative solu- tions beyond happy hour that will encourage club attendance for active duty social gatherings. These could include coffeebars/lounges, poolside burger huts, wood-fired ovens for “build your own pizza” nights, and similar solutions aimed at the under- 60 crowd. O’Club pools should have signs that state “swim at your own risk” rather than “no lifeguard on duty—pool closed.” Officers are big boys and girls and should be trusted as the adults they are. • Finally, all must remember the rea- son we have O’Clubs, as mentioned before. It’s for the camaraderie, the es- prit de corps. Officers from Australia and several other allied nations main- tain their own officers’ clubs, in sim- ilar fashion to our Navy’s “ward- rooms,” as well as the common non- combat deployment bars many units used to set up. This is not the pre- ferred solution, but a club maintained by the officers themselves, if sup- ported, is better than further degra- dation of the current O’Club facility into a completely dead tradition. Many captains today have deployed three or four times to Iraq or Afghanistan and yet have never had a beer with their fellow Marines while on deployment in Okinawa or Thailand or the Philippines or in the Mediter- ranean—as did so many warriors from a generation ago. With no actual frame of reference for comparison, the Marines of today don’t understand what they are missing, so it’s no won- der they aren’t complaining too loudly about the death of the O’Club. Loss of tradition such as this contributes greatly to ongoing company grade offi- cer retention woes and is a real cause for concern. It’s up to the majors and above to show these young officers—our Corps’ current and future leaders—the over- whelmingly positive things from yes- terday’s O’Club, with respect, responsibility, and maturity. It’s time to bring back happy hour. Memorial Day… Independence Day… A Pair of All-American Three-Day Weekends and Gorgeous Weather… The ONLY Way It Gets Any Better is if You Gear Up in Casual MARINE CORPS Style for the Occasions! MCA Can Help With That: 59GB JOIN MCA AND GET MEMBER VALUE PRICING! <a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/join.asp">www.mca-marines.org/join.asp • 866-622-1</a>775 T-SHIRT – FIRST TO FIGHT 102784 Member Value Price: $16.20 Non-Member Price: $18.00 T-SHIRT BLACK W/ MARINES IN GOLD AND EAGLE, GLOBE & ANCHOR 500619 Price: $14.95 T-SHIRT GREY WITH USMC SCREENED IN BLACK 500636 Price: $14.95 FADED HAT WITH RED USMC 500367 Price: $19.95 T-SMAEAG500 Pric GAME DAY JACKET 500616 Price: $54.95 T-SHIRT OLIVE WITH MARINES AND EAGLE, GLOBE & ANCHOR 500637 Price: $14.95 GA HAT BLACK WITH BLUE BILL AND EAGLE, GLOBE & ANCHOR 500364 Member Value Price: $18.00 Non-Member Price: $20.00 Check Out Our Complete Selection Online: <a href="http://WWW.MARINESHOP.NET">WWW.MARINESHOP.NET Or C</a>all: 888-237-7683 T-S102MeNo >Editor’s Note: Recently Camp Pendleton closed its Officers’ Club.
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