Force Recon Diary, 1970 by Bruce H. Norton

Author:Bruce H. Norton
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Author Coach
Published: 1992-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

12

1ST SERGEANT—MAURICE JACQUES

IN LATE MARCH 1970, 1st Force Reconnaissance Company witnessed the arrival of a new company 1st sergeant, Maurice Jacques. The previous company 1st sergeant, Flores, had been relieved of his duties and removed from the company, pending an investigation for suspected illegal financial dealings with junior Marines. Allegedly, he would “fine” junior Marines for some small infraction of regulations as he made a daily tour through the company area and then pocket their money. The Marines who were “fined” paid him the money because they were dedicated and wanted very much to remain in 1st Force Recon rather than run the risk of possible non-judicial punishment and having their military records blemished at the hands of a crooked 1st sergeant. With this scheme finally exposed and legal actions taken to prevent its recurrence, the arrival of 1st Sergeant Jacques was a very welcome relief to all the Marines in the company.

During the afternoon that I was in Captain Centers’s office explaining my concerns about 1st Lieutenant Blotz, 1st Sergeant Jacques entered the company admin hooch, and after being told about what was happening behind the XO’s closed doors, told Sergeant Scanlon that I was to report directly to the company 1st sergeant’s office when the XO was finished. I could only imagine the kind of trouble that I had now gotten myself into because of my personal remarks about Blotz, but I was much relieved to find out that was not the case. After repeating my story to 1st Sergeant Jacques, I found that he agreed with me.

I was assigned as 1st Sergeant Jacques’s SCUBA diving partner while I was in 1st Force Recon, and having spent many hours in the water with this Marine, I learned a great deal about him, but a lot more from him. As the senior enlisted Marine in 1st Force Recon, 1st Sergeant Jacques served as the enlisted advisor to the company commander and as the example of Marine noncommissioned officer leadership at its best.

First Sergeant Jacques had enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1948 from the small town of Lawrence, Massachusetts. After boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, he saw combat in the Korean war with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, as a demolitions man. After returning from Korea, he taught his demolition skills to the students of the 1st Marine Division who attended Camp Pendleton’s division schools. The 1st sergeant’s interest in special operations had begun early in his career when he joined 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. The company had become a reality after two years of research, field tests, and exercises, including ground reconnaissance, pathfinder operations, and amphibious reconnaissance operations that allowed a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) commander to use deep surveillance to a distance of up to a hundred miles from a beachline. In March 1957, the commandant of the Marine Corps had directed that the officers and men who had engaged in parachute and reconnaissance work as members of Test Unit #1 be assigned to duty as members of 1st Force Reconnaissance Company.

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