Silent Drill Platoon, helicopter landing part of Marine Week events at ASU

Marine Week 2015 is coming to the City of Phoenix, and Arizona State University will host activities on the Tempe and Downtown Phoenix campuses starting Sept. 10.

As part of Marine Week Phoenix 2015, more than 600 U.S. Marines will engage with local communities through free, family-friendly events open to the public. Thursday, Sept. 10, is designated as “ASU Day,” but events will take place on campus throughout the week.

“This is a purposeful visit for the campus and local community to really get in touch with the Marine Corps and understand their mission to keep us safe in the U.S. and abroad,” said Joanna Sweatt, a veterans advocate with ASU’s Pat Tillman Veterans Center and Marine Week committee member. “ASU is the perfect place to host the Marines because we are proud supporters of our service members, veterans and those who will serve in the future. “

ASU is considered one of the nation’s top universities for veterans and has a population of more than 4,000 veteran and military students, with about 20 percent of the total associated with the Marine Corps.

On-campus events will include static equipment displays (armored Humvee, Jeep and UH-1Y Huey helicopter, which is scheduled to land around 4 p.m. Sept. 10 on the west practice field near the Sun Devil Fitness Center in Tempe), leadership panels and sports competitions. One of the highlights will be two halftime performances by the renowned Marine Silent Drill Platoon.

The first performance will be during a free soccer game between the ASU Football Club and the Marine Corps team at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. The second will be during the ASU-Cal Poly football game starting at 8 p.m. Sept. 12 at Sun Devil Stadium. Based out of Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., the drill team members are individually selected from Marine infantry schools and exemplify the discipline and professionalism associated with the Marine Corps.

“The drill team is phenomenal,” said Sweatt, a Marine Corps veteran. “Their performances are moving and instill a sense of pride in our military and country.”  

Sweatt also hopes students, faculty and staff will take the opportunity to attend two leadership presentations with seasoned Marine officers at the Tempe and Downtown Phoenix campuses.

“The panels will be very beneficial because leadership is not just a military subject; we need leaders everywhere,” said Sweatt, who learned about leadership during her time in the Marine Corps. “It’s a necessity. I am a product of what you can make of people when you provide that initial investment.”

Brig. Gen. Helen Pratt will lead an all-female Marine officer panel from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication's Cronkite Theater on the Downtown Phoenix campus. Pratt is the president of Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. The seminar is titled “Send the Marines, All of the Marines: Women’s Leadership in the U.S. Marine Corps.”

The Tempe campus seminar from 8:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 11 will feature ASU alumnus Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo providing a workshop-style presentation titled “Standing Out From the Competition.” Yoo serves as the commander of the 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, California. He is an ’84 graduate justice studies major from ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Complimentary lunch will be provided for those who RSVP by Sept. 4 to VeteransRSVP@asu.edu.

For full details on the scheduled events, visit asuevents.asu.edu/marine-week-asu-day.