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By JAN LOOMIS, Special to the Daily Transcript
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Major Gen. Jan Huly has been in command of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot for two and one half years.
"The Depot's job is to organize, train and equip new Marines for active duty," Huly said.
At 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, as the towers were falling, Huly was hosting a Military Affairs breakfast for 200 San Diego business people. "We didn't have any more information than anyone else," he said, "so we all watched it unfold together."
The events of 9/11 and the need for increased security meant that the Recruit Depot closed its gates to visitors immediately. Huly was planning to host a reception for San Diego business members the following day that had to be cancelled. Since the food was already ordered, "the newly reinforced guard detail was extremely well fed that night," Huly said.
The Recruit Depot graduates a class of new Marines 41 weeks of the year and a class was scheduled to graduate the Friday after 9/11. Usually some 2,000 to 3,000 family members and friends attend these ceremonies.
"Of course the airlines were barely flying, and we didn't know what to expect in the way of a crowd that day," Huly said. Amazingly, the crowd was as large or bigger than the usual crowd. "We had families driving in, coming by bus and by train to get here. One family of eight got on a bus in Kansas City, Mo., and traveled three days to get here," Huly said.
Once the graduation ceremonies were completed, the new Marines normally scatter, often flying out of San Diego within hours. With the airlines still not flying regular schedules and many people stranded in San Diego trying to get out, there was no way to guarantee the reservations for the new Marines.
"We told everyone, we would run the buses to the airport that afternoon and keep running them until everyone was on a flight," Huly said.
Huly was gratified that when the newly minted and uniformed Marines entered the terminals, they received a standing ovation from the travelers. "People let them cut in line and gave them their place on the planes. By Saturday all the Marines were on their way," Huly said.
He continues to be amazed by the response of the recruits' families and the San Diego business community. Graduations regularly now draw between 3,500 and 4,000 attendees. "The ceremony is open to the public, if anyone needs a patriotism fix," Huly said. "It's quite a show." Local business people have offered discounts and provided other services to visiting family members.
According to Huly, Marine recruiting remains stable and "recruiting is not noticeably easier since the 9/11 events." He feels that Marines and their family members received a wake-up call about the importance of their spouse/father/son/daughter's job.
"The tragic events of 9/11 reminded us all of our mission, and we all feel a wave of pride because we are members of the Marine team," said Huly.
He has also been impressed by the wave of patriotism expressed by San Diegans and the groundswell of support the Marines have received. "This is going to a long war, we've all been hurt and there will be more losses and more people getting hurt," Huly said. "Everyone is getting used to that reality."
-- JAN LOOMIS
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