RECRUITING STATION ORANGE, Calif. -- The Marines of Recruiting Station Orange bid farewell to SgtMaj. Raul Tena when he passed the sword of the office of sergeant major to SgtMaj. Leonard Rivera, in a ceremony, Feb. 28.
Tena's departure was bittersweet. He was leaving a command he had dedicated so much to over the last three years, but he was headed for a unit who had trained the pilots for the war in Iraq. As the new sergeant major of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron-101, Marine Aircraft Group-11 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, he was leaving the battlefield of discharges and attrition to be the watchful eye of a command launching new pilots into the sky.
Tena was brief as he addressed the Marines of RS Orange for the last time, thanking everyone for their hard work and praising the command for their teamwork and dedication in such a challenging assignment. "I have seen so many of you grow and excel beyond what I think even you thought was possible," said Tena. "I'm proud to have been a part of such a great group of Marines. Continue to march and I know you?ll keep doing whatever it takes to maintain the great standards you've set for RS Orange."
Rivera felt much like Tena did when it came to working at RS Orange.
"The first time I talked to the Marines here and said that I was glad to be coming into a unit with such a good reputation, I meant it," said Rivera. "When you're sitting off the Horn of Africa or the coast of Jordan and you hear 'That's a good station,' when you tell someone you're going to RS Orange, that's pretty impressive."
When looking back on his previous recruiting assignments, Rivera laughingly mused that, "it must have been my destiny to be a recruiter."
Twenty-three years later, it came as no surprise when he was selected to serve as the sergeant major at a recruiting station.
"At first, back when I was a sergeant, I didn't realize the importance of recruiting," recalled Rivera. "But coming out here, I see the big picture. This RS puts in the equivalent of a battalion of Marines a year. The sergeant major is really involved in the total numbers. The pool analyzing they do here is amazing. They've got it down to a science. The formulas they use are a true indicator of what's going to happen with the pool."
Rivera said, "I'm glad I have such a successful group of Marines to work with. I hope -- I think like every sergeant major does -- that I leave this command even better than it was when I got here."