Commandant's Message I remember Pearl Harbor and World War Two. If we were lucky, we might get to see a movie twice a year, and as I watched the news-reels of the Marines fighting in the Pacific, I made a promise to join when I came of age. Just days after my eighteenth birthday, I kept that promise and enlisted: without a doubt in my mind, it was one of the best decisions I've made in my life. Most of you know that I served in the tank battalions and I believe that Marines are much tougher than the steel our tanks were made of. As your Commandant, I want to keep reminding all of you that you are cut from that same Marine fabric. When we left our active duty status, we occasionally forgot that we were still Marines. General Amos reminded us that "Once a Marine, Always a Marine". We need to think like a Marine, act like a Marine and look like a Marine. With great pride, we can wear the Marine Corps League uniform and cover whenever we are at our meetings and out into public. The tasks that our Detachments are involved in, whether its Toys for Tots, Veterans Service Officer, Scholarship Programs for our children or others, we can accomplish much better if we do it thinking as Marines. I've included in this message some of my goals for the next two years. I am not an individual, but a member of a team, and a winning Marine team. If we are to accomplish any of these goals, it will be done as this winning Marine team.

1. I cannot visit every one of the 22 Detachments but I do intend to visit and strengthen every Detachment that is having troubles or that has not been active in our Spring & Fall Conferences, and the State Convention.

2. At this time, our Senior Vice is working to simplify the Professional Development Program, to help all of be better at our jobs.

3. I am working on my personal goal of establishing a new Detachment in District 3 in the N.W. part of the state and in District 10, in the S.E. part of Indiana.

4. I believe that our District Vices have one of the most important jobs in our Department, and I intend to keep working to get funding for their mileage they use to visit Detachments within their own areas.

5. I have two Veterans Service Officers and will work with them to get Homeless Veterans off the Street’s and into beds before winter. The Veterans programs will be one of my top priorities.

6. We, together, will keep pressing for a National Advertising Campaign to get the Marine Corps League recognized before the public and other of our Marine brothers.

I believe all of these goals are attainable, but I cannot do them alone. All of you are my eyes and ears throughout the state. Inside of all of us is that young Marine who enlisted to serve a great nation. Never forget who you are or what you are made of. Do your Drill Instructor proud, keep the traditions of the Marine Corps alive and well inside you. Do not be bitten by the civilian virus. If a brother Marine says something hurtful, look him in the eye and say, "Don't be disrespectful to me, I'm a Marine". I look forward to seeing most of you soon. Semper Fidelis Jim Wade Commandant, Department of Indiana Marine Corps League