WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:02.176 This place is absolutely fantastic . I 00:02.176 --> 00:04.287 got to walk the uh building about two 00:04.287 --> 00:06.509 months ago before there was furniture . 00:06.509 --> 00:08.620 I just walked it again today with the 00:08.620 --> 00:10.509 furniture in it . Just an amazing 00:10.509 --> 00:12.453 facility . Uh It's a night and day 00:12.453 --> 00:14.565 difference between what it was before 00:14.565 --> 00:16.453 to what it is now as it's been uh 00:16.453 --> 00:19.260 recapitalized with uh brand new insides 00:19.270 --> 00:21.214 to go along with the building . So 00:21.214 --> 00:23.103 Marine Fighter Track squadron 225 00:23.103 --> 00:25.103 they're coming back from deployment 00:25.103 --> 00:27.214 this weekend . Uh They've been aboard 00:27.214 --> 00:29.103 the US S Boxer for the last seven 00:29.103 --> 00:31.214 months . Having a place like this for 00:31.214 --> 00:33.437 them to call home is a very important . 00:33.437 --> 00:35.659 Number one is a fantastic facility uh , 00:35.659 --> 00:38.665 here in Yuma , having uh we , we all 00:38.674 --> 00:40.730 know how hot it gets here during the 00:40.730 --> 00:42.563 summer time , having a brand new 00:42.563 --> 00:44.825 building with a brand new H factor . Go 00:44.834 --> 00:46.945 along with that . That's a huge force 00:46.945 --> 00:48.778 multiplier during the summertime 00:48.778 --> 00:50.890 because this all comes down to combat 00:50.890 --> 00:50.884 readiness . The fact that these marines 00:50.915 --> 00:52.915 have a place to come lay their head 00:52.915 --> 00:55.305 that's safe , secure , it's clean and 00:55.314 --> 00:58.090 cool . That's huge because that means 00:58.099 --> 01:00.377 they can go to work during the daytime . 01:00.377 --> 01:02.488 They can do their job , they can turn 01:02.488 --> 01:04.655 the wrenches on the airplanes and that 01:04.655 --> 01:06.710 gives the United States Marine Corps 01:06.710 --> 01:06.599 the ability to deploy our forces 01:06.610 --> 01:09.540 forward with , with combat firepower . 01:09.550 --> 01:11.717 So the way I understand the initiative 01:11.717 --> 01:13.939 is , uh it's a commitment number one to 01:13.939 --> 01:15.883 taking care of our resources . And 01:15.883 --> 01:17.828 these are resources that have been 01:17.828 --> 01:20.050 funded by the American taxpayer . Uh So 01:20.050 --> 01:22.050 we have that responsibility to make 01:22.050 --> 01:23.994 sure that every single time one of 01:23.994 --> 01:25.994 these rooms turn over , they are as 01:25.994 --> 01:28.254 nice as the , the day one . Today . Uh 01:28.264 --> 01:30.486 The second part of that is investing in 01:30.486 --> 01:32.653 barracks . Barracks has been something 01:32.653 --> 01:34.764 that often falls to the uh cut list . 01:34.764 --> 01:37.919 And my understanding of uh the 01:37.930 --> 01:40.480 2030 barracks initiative is we're gonna 01:40.489 --> 01:42.849 make barracks a priority and , you know , 01:42.860 --> 01:44.860 something's a priority when you put 01:44.860 --> 01:47.027 your money towards it . And that's the 01:47.027 --> 01:49.193 commitment the Marine Corps is willing 01:49.193 --> 01:51.082 to make towards barracks and more 01:51.082 --> 01:53.304 importantly towards the quality of life 01:53.304 --> 01:55.249 of our marines . And I'm not gonna 01:55.249 --> 01:54.900 answer that question with my favorite 01:54.910 --> 01:56.854 feature . I just took some marines 01:56.854 --> 01:58.854 around the building . And what they 01:58.854 --> 02:01.614 noted was a stark contrast between the 02:01.625 --> 02:03.785 old barracks and the new barracks are 02:03.794 --> 02:05.627 the bathrooms , particularly the 02:05.627 --> 02:07.516 showers . They loved how nice the 02:07.516 --> 02:09.627 showers are , they loved how nice the 02:09.627 --> 02:12.134 bathrooms were , are , are overall . Uh 02:12.145 --> 02:14.845 and they uh they , they noticed that , 02:15.690 --> 02:18.023 yeah , we feel they every uh every week . 02:18.023 --> 02:20.429 So that's not gonna be something new uh 02:20.440 --> 02:24.389 but uh we are going to make sure via 02:24.399 --> 02:27.789 uh inspections when the marines accept 02:27.800 --> 02:29.800 the room that they're accepting the 02:29.800 --> 02:31.967 room . Obviously , this one's in brand 02:31.967 --> 02:33.967 new quality . Uh And when they turn 02:33.967 --> 02:35.967 them back in , the expectations are 02:35.967 --> 02:37.967 that they are just as good when the 02:37.967 --> 02:40.133 marines vacate the room . Yeah . So uh 02:40.133 --> 02:42.220 we did the ribbon cutting uh very 02:42.229 --> 02:44.619 ceremonial in nature , but we did a 02:44.630 --> 02:46.519 ribbon cutting for the opening of 02:46.519 --> 02:49.199 barracks 634 not necessarily for after 02:49.210 --> 02:51.839 the deployment , but any day marines 02:51.850 --> 02:54.072 need to have a , a place that's clean , 02:54.072 --> 02:56.239 secure , safe where they can lay their 02:56.239 --> 02:58.406 head at night where they can unwind uh 02:58.406 --> 03:00.919 where they can relax where they can 03:01.020 --> 03:03.050 recharge for the next day's work 03:03.059 --> 03:05.115 because what marines do is hard . It 03:05.115 --> 03:07.226 takes sacrifice and it's the least we 03:07.226 --> 03:09.448 can do by providing them a place that's 03:09.448 --> 03:11.559 they can call their own that they can 03:11.559 --> 03:13.726 keep their gear in that they can sleep 03:13.726 --> 03:15.948 soundly in to recharge , refresh and be 03:15.948 --> 03:18.003 ready to fight the next day . Yeah , 03:18.003 --> 03:20.115 I'd like to see the commitment uh the 03:20.115 --> 03:22.281 monetary commitment to barracks reform 03:22.281 --> 03:24.503 uh that we're all talking about when it 03:24.503 --> 03:28.020 comes to um the Marine Corps priorities . 03:28.029 --> 03:30.196 We can often see it by where the money 03:30.196 --> 03:32.850 goes . And if our priorities are to get 03:32.860 --> 03:34.804 the marines better quality of life 03:34.804 --> 03:36.916 through the barracks , then where the 03:36.916 --> 03:39.027 money goes is uh where our priorities 03:39.027 --> 03:41.027 will go . Well , I , I would say my 03:41.027 --> 03:43.082 role as commanding officer is number 03:43.082 --> 03:45.138 one to be responsible for everything 03:45.138 --> 03:47.360 that happens in these barracks . Uh And 03:47.360 --> 03:49.527 that means uh maintaining the barracks 03:49.527 --> 03:53.130 to standard uh distilling that sense of 03:53.139 --> 03:55.250 responsibility down to the individual 03:55.250 --> 03:57.472 marine . So they take pride in the room 03:57.472 --> 03:59.583 that , that they are accepting , just 03:59.583 --> 04:01.869 like they take pride in the gear that 04:01.880 --> 04:04.550 they're issued or a weapon system that 04:04.559 --> 04:06.670 they are issued . No , I think uh the 04:06.670 --> 04:08.726 last thing that tie into all this is 04:08.726 --> 04:10.448 that , uh , this is also about 04:10.448 --> 04:12.781 retention . So when marines feel valued , 04:12.781 --> 04:15.529 it's , that is when they wanna stick 04:15.539 --> 04:17.779 with the Marine Corps . Uh And that's 04:17.790 --> 04:20.690 where we get our , um , reenlistments 04:20.700 --> 04:23.970 for first term , second term . Uh And 04:23.980 --> 04:25.869 that's how we keep a force that's 04:25.869 --> 04:28.091 professional , that is skilled in their 04:28.091 --> 04:29.929 M Os s beyond this first tour 04:29.940 --> 04:32.089 experience . And , uh , this is an 04:32.100 --> 04:34.450 investment in the future , not just in 04:34.459 --> 04:36.809 the quality of life of the marine , but 04:36.820 --> 04:39.049 in marines who want to stay marine .