To: Young Marines Adult Volunteers

From: Headquarters Young Marines

Date: June 1, 2018

Re: Young Marines launch of the 12th SMMC Gene Overstreet Shooting Program

We here at Headquarters Young Marines have the sincere pleasure of announcing our first National Young Marines Shooting Program, the 12th SMMC Gene Overstreet Shooting Competition. This program is being named after 12th Sgt. Major Gene Overstreet to honor him for his services in the United States Marine Corps and his dedication to the Young Marines program.

While we are sure that naming the program for Sgt. Major Overstreet will generate a high level of honor and enthusiasm within our program for this event, we also hope that it will in turn energize units themselves to attract more Young Marines to the program and retain high school aged Young Marines who sometimes leave to pursue competitive sports.

To assist us with this new endeavor, we’ve chosen an existing national shooting program as our program partner. The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, SSSF, and their Scholastic Action Shooting Program, SASP, are highly regarded shooting programs with over 20,000 youth participants who compete in all fifty states. They feature comprehensive shooting sports safety and education elements as well as local, regional, and national competitions. The programs also offer coaching and certification training, all of which we intend to incorporate in our program.

In order to participate, you will be expected to follow the safety guidelines outlined in the SSSF program materials. In addition to all the firearm safety requirements outlinedby our partner programs, the Young Marines have added two additional rules for unit participation:

  1. All Young Marines must have their parent or guardian present while shooting. This includes practice sessions and matches or competitions.
  2. Only unit leadership or the adults designated as the shooting program leaders are allowed to transport and handle the unit’s firearms and ammo to and from practices and events.

All rules set forth by the SSSF, SASP, and the Young Marines are non-negotiable and must be strictly adhered to by all participants.

We are also happy to announce that in additional to the local, regional, and national shooting matches that will be made available to the Young Marines through the SSSF and SASP programs, in late summer of 2019 we will also be instituting the 12th SMMC Gene Overstreet Division Competitions across the country. The top two Young Marines shooting squads in each of the six division will face off against one another. The winners from each division will then compete for the 12th SMMC Gene Overstreet shooting title. In addition, we will also be honoring another important figure in our program, Gunny R. Lee Ermey, “The Gunny,” by awarding individual honors to the top Young Marine competitors in each shooting division.

Note: Young Marines will also be granted access to existing SSSF shooting competitions effective immediately. The event calendar for the organization is posted at .

The attached presentation features instructions for your unit to follow to access the forms and information necessary to sign up for the program and to help get you started. Additional information about the 12th SMMC Gene Overstreet Competition is also included. Please review them and follow the instructions carefully to begin.

If you have any questions about the program or the materials provided to you, please contact Gary Weisbaum at .