MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- The transition from one duty station to the next can be a difficult evolution for some Marines or Sailors — married or single. When he or she first checks into a duty station, things can be a little confusing. It is for this reason that having a Sponsorship Program is important.
The program calls for units to assign the newly reported service member a sponsor. It is the unit sponsor who provides the incoming service member with information about the unit, community, and other needed information. All this is provided before the service member reports aboard.
In order to be effective, prospective sponsors must be properly trained.
Here, aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Community Services offers a Sponsorship Course for those who will be assigned to sponsor incoming service members. The course is designed specifically to familiarize prospective sponsors with the different services K-Bay offers and the uniqueness of island living.
“Our goal is to contribute to readiness,” said Marie S. Calvo-Jesus, relocation assistance program manager, MCCS. “This course is not only given to benefit the service members who are sponsored; it is also to benefit the service members who attend the program.”
According to Calvo-Jesus, the class provides information on living and working aboard K-Bay and provides insight into specific areas of concern, such as animal quarantine, lodging and temporary lodging assistance, base housing, financial awareness, on- and off-base schools, child care, and more.
“A lot of service members who are new to the base seem to have emotional and financial issues that they weren’t prepared for,” said Calvo-Jesus, a Guam native. “Things tend to fall into place after a while, but that is after time is wasted and money is spent, needlessly.”
Calvo-Jesus said that it is vital for units to send their service members who are assigned as sponsors to the class because it can make or break the command, the mission and the service member.
“When an incoming service member has a knowledgeable sponsor, he is more comfortable with his surroundings and is more inclined to feel and perform better in his work environment,” said Calvo-Jesus. “If a sponsor is not able to help the incoming service member, the service member will be more inclined to, perhaps, not trust his command or not perform well.”
Calvo-Jesus also said that lack of concern for a newly reporting unit member can cause that person to be less interested in staying in the service, and losing personnel that way will adversely impact the command’s mission.
Because of their mission requirements, some units may not have the personnel to send to the scheduled Sponsorship Courses. In a case such as this, units can call MCCS to arrange a time when the class can be given to the unit’s prospective sponsors. This makes for a more informed group of sponsors who will be able to help each other in a wide variety of issues, according to Calvo-Jesus.
Having a properly trained sponsor assigned to incoming personnel will guarantee an easier transition for that service member and his or her family.
“Having a good sponsor can help clear up misconceptions that service members may have, prior to arrival and eliminate frustrations and undue hardships,” said Master Sgt. Antonio Sears, staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge, Inbound Section, Installation Personnel Administration Center, Headquarters Battalion.
“Service members who do not have sponsors are not usually aware of their entitlements,” said the Daytona Beach, Fla. native. “It may affect their reimbursement for temporary lodging, cost of living allowance, and bachelor allowance for quarters or housing allowance.”
Sears recommends that upon arriving to K-Bay, service members report immediately to the inbound section at Building 1033, so they are properly checked in and their entitlements can start immediately.
“The biggest problem for us is that Marines are not checking in the day they arrive,” said Sears.
Having a sponsorship program that teaches unit personnel how to sponsor incoming personnel helps because the sponsors ensure that the Marines or Sailors they sponsor are aware of what they must do, which clears up any misconceptions, according to Sears.
The Sponsorship Program Course is given every second and fourth Thursday of the month, from 9 to 11 a.m., in the Combat Camera classroom. On-site training at individual units is also available through MCCS. For more information, call 257-7787 or 257-7790.