Natchaug River Young Marines Wins Unit Of The Year And DEA Award

The Young Marines, a national youth organization, has named the Natchaug River Young Marines the “Division 1 Unit of the Year.” The commander is Joseph Couture of Dayville, Connecticut.

The unit has 80 active Young Marines and 16 registered adult volunteers. It meets at Upper Maple Street, Danielson, Connecticut.

The Young Marines is a national youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development ion of a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Each Young Marine unit is led and guided by adult volunteers.

“Our unit is very active,” said Commander Couture. “We perform community service at least two times a week and at times, we are double booked trying to fit the community’s needs. We have highly motivated Young Marines who hold their community service in high regard.”

Unit activities include assisting other non-profits with fundraisers, helping communities with their town projects, and assisting Veterans.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Young Marines, also announced the Young Marines unit winners of the Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Award. The award honors six units, one award per division, for drug demand reduction efforts through community education and peer-to-peer role modeling.

The awards were presented by Special Agent Oscar Negron, DEA’s Miami Field Division, at the Young Marines Annual Adult Leaders' Conference on Thursday, May 16, in Orlando, Florida.

The winners are:

• Division One – Natchaug River Young Marines, Danielson, Connecticut
• Division Two – Quantico Young Marines, Stafford, Virginia
• Division Three – Orlando Devil Dogs Young Marines, Orlando, Florida
• Division Four – Mountain View Young Marines, Monument, Colorado
• Division Five – Miami Valley Young Marines, Huber Heights, Ohio
• Division Six – Southeast County Young Marines, Fountain Valley, California

“Congratulations to all of the winners of the Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena Division Award,” said Uttam Dhillon, acting administrator of the DEA. “The Young Marines are true leaders in the community. Thank you for your commitment to educating your peers about the importance of staying drug free. I commend each of you for getting the message out on drug prevention and making a positive impact on your community.”

Young Marine units are judged on drug demand reduction (DDR) hours, curriculum and the steps taken to reach out to the community to include peers and others. Units can enter pictures, endorsements, proclamations, videos and other items that help demonstrate their drug demand reduction efforts. The best three entries per division are sent to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s headquarters, and a winner from each division is selected.

"We are extremely proud of our relationship with the DEA, and we congratulate the six outstanding units who won this prestigious award," said Joe Lusignan, drug demand reduction resource officer with the Young Marines. "We had more submissions for these awards than ever in our past. Each year the submissions get more and more creative, with units taking initiative to get out of the classrooms and out into their communities, spreading our message of leading a healthy drug free lifestyle. Our Young Marines are truly committed to making a difference, and their efforts are being recognized."

The award is named in memory of DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena who served as a Marine. He was very concerned about the drug problem in the U.S., and in 1974, he became a special agent with the DEA. He worked in Mexico, and he had come dangerously close to exposing the top leaders of a multi-billion drug pipeline. He was abducted and brutally murdered in 1985 at the age of 37.

Agent Camarena received numerous awards while with the DEA, and after his death, he posthumously received the Administrator's Award of Honor, the highest award given by the organization. In 2004, the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation was established in his memory.

In addition, National Red Ribbon Week was established in Agent Camarena’s memory. It is time set aside to teach young people to avoid drug use. One of the qualifiers for the award is Young Marines units’ participation in Red Ribbon Week, which takes place each year October 23 - 31.

About the Young Marines

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c (3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline, so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

Since the Young Marines' humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 264 units with 8,500 youth and 2,500 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Japan and affiliates in a host of other countries.

For more information, visit the official website at: https://www.YoungMarines.com.