For tens of thousands of Americans, Sgt. Allen J. Banks Jr. is the embodiment of the Marine Corps.

Sgt. Allen J. Banks Jr. knows what it means to carry the Marines' Colors.

As the 36th cColor Ssergeant of the Marine Corps, the 28-year-old is recognized as currently the Corps' senior sergeant and national flag bearer for the commandant, making him one of the most visible Marines in the countryCorps.

"Every day you have to come here giving 110 percent, because that's what the Marine Corps expects of you," Banks told Marine Corps Times.

"When you wear this uniform and you carry those flags, you're representing every Marine past and present: you have to hold that to heart and uphold what you represent."

The cColor Ssergeant of the Marine Corps leads the Commandant’s Four and is responsible for the Corps’ Color Guard Battle Color at all formal ceremonial commitments, including funerals at Arlington National Cemetery for fallen Marines, White House events, joint service events, and the 8th & I and Sunset Parades and events across the country and around the world.

They carry the organizational colors and the streamers for the entire Marine Corps: for every battle, every organization and every award ever received.

The battle colors bear fifty-four streamers representing U.S. and foreign unit awards as well as periods of service, expeditions and campaigns in which the Marine Corps has participated since the American Revolution.

"Being the cColor Ssergeant of the Marine Corps is an honor and a privilege in itself," Banks said.

"You have to continue to stay humble; you're expected to be the epitome of honor, courage and commitment, you have to be above reproach, you have to be a Marine of integrity."

Banks also serves as the platoon sergeant for the color guard at the Barracks, overseeing 26 junior Marines in their daily operations, from morning formation to and daily practice drills to and ceremonies.

At any given time of any day, he has Marines out conducting one of approximately 12,000 annual events.

At any given time of day, he has Marines out at an event, one of the approximately 12,000 they conduct every year.

"Not a lot of people know that," Banks said. "The ceremonies are great, but the best part of my job is leading Marines, leaving my imprint on these young Devil Dogs."

Looking for a few good Marines

Yet Banks is approaching the end of his two-year term, and Marine Barracks Washington has put out the call for his replacement.

In a recent MARADMIN, the oldest post in the Corps is soliciting nominations for the next color sergeant of the Marine Corps; nominations should be submitted no later than Sept. 1ember 1st, 2015.

"It’s a lot of responsibility for a Marine of that grade," said Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Gray who, as the senior NCO of the Barracks, is responsible for screening and recommending Marines for to the position.

"We all have personal goals, but what we need to find is someone whose personal goals will advance the Marine Corps as a whole."

The basic requirements for the assignment are straight-forward. Nominees must:

  • Be from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-6 in height74 to 78 inches tall (exceptions considered on a case-by-case basis);
  • Possess outstanding physical stamina and be within height and weight standards;
  • Be a sergeant and not selected for promotion to staff sergeant;
  • Have a minimum of two years obligated service remaining upon permanent change of station;
  • Be eligible for a top secret clearance with access to sensitive compartmentalized information

But intangible qualities such as character, humility and professionalism will drive the selection process, according to Gray.

The assignment requires a high degree of maturity and confidence without arrogance, he said, in order to work at the White House, in front of foreign dignitaries, heads of state, and the most senior members of the American political system and the Department of Defense.

"There’s more to it than just carrying the cColors at a parade," Gray said.

"We have to represent the whole Marine Corps: all those troops throughout the Corps, around the entire globe, and all the hard work they do on a daily basis. We're their face."

Yet finding qualified candidates has become increasingly challenging as the Marine Corps downsizes after Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gray said the Barracks, as good keepers of the organization, won't take someone from a critical billet.

"When we were at the height of the deployment cycle, when the Corps was a little bit larger, we had more NCOs," Gray said.

"You might have a sergeant who’s an active platoon sergeant in the fleet on a deployment, I can’t just pull him because he wants to be the cColor Ssergeant of the Marine Corps."

Gray also stressed that the assignment is gender-neutral, but finding qualified female Marines is exceedingly difficult due to the height requirements of the billet.

The rest of the Fleet has more leeway in building a color guard of the same height, he said.

"We're a fairly tall organization, since the majority of our color guard members are 74-78 inches," he said. "[The candidate] has to be fairly close, because the national ensign can't fly lower in height to the organizational."

The 36th color sergeant

Sgt. Banks said he didn't realize how tall the color guard was until he stood next to them.

Banks, who is 6-foot-3, found himself one of the shortest Marines when he came aboard Washington Marine Barracks as the 36th color sergeant of the Marine Corps in February 2014.

"I was used to being the tall guy in the room, but when I came here for the first time and walked into the colors room, these guys are 6-4, 6-5, 6-6 … I'm like 'wow, I feel short!'"

Banks had been working as a 3043 supply administrator in the active reserve at Marine Corps Forces Reserve in New Orleans, Louisiana when the previous MARADMIN came out.

His master gunnery sergeant approached him on a Friday afternoon to ask if he'd be interested.

"I didn't even know what it was," Banks said. But he researched it over the weekend and reached out to the color sergeant at the time, Sgt. Timothy Spreder, to walk him through everything the position entails.

"I said, 'OK, this sounds pretty legit,' so I went back to him Monday morning and said, 'Master Guns, I want to submit my package.'"

After all packages were submitted, Washington Barracks brought in the top three candidates for a week-long in-person interview in January 2014.

Within that time, each had to learn and perform the rigorous drill unique in the Corps to the Barracks.

"For the past eight years I had been used to Fleet drill, snap and pop and all that good stuff they teach you in boot camp," Banks said. "In three days we had to flush out all of that, learn a new set of drills and actually perform it like we'd been doing it the whole time."

The differences are minute, but make a big difference when it comes down to technique and how it looks to the public. In Fleet drill, for example, each footstep is 30 inches, but only 24 inches for the Barracks color guard., which

Banks was a quick study. Unlike the other two candidates, he had minimal exposure to color guard drill, which he thinks worked to his advantage.

But aAt the end of the end of the day, however, Banks believes his commitment clinched the deal.

"I think I wanted it more," he said. "After doing the research and talking with Sgt. Spreder and my wife, I said 'I really want this.'"

What drew Banks most to the assignment was its "brilliance in the basics."

For Banks, the color sergeant of the Marine Corps represents the culmination of everything he'd been taught since mastering basic skills in recruit training, as well as the opportunity to pay that forward as a non-commissioned officer.

"There's people that invested in me: several years of training, of mentorship, of discipline in order for me to get to where I am, and I wanted to be an example for every other NCO in the Marine Corps," he said.

"So that's why, and I really hold that to heart."

Banks cites Master Sgt. Deirdre Chapman, the staff non-commissioned officer in charge at G-4 Customer Service, MARFORRES in New Orleans, Louisiana, who taught him the concept of 'seed, time and harvest:' never give up, but keep pushing and pushing and each time you'll do something more than you did before.

Banks applied this when he set out to become NCO of the quarter at MARFORRES three quarters in a row and came in second each time. Each time he doubled down on his efforts, and reached his goal the fourth time around.

"That always stuck with me and that's something I tell my boys, because it does get monotonous, tedious, arduous, and sometimes you want to quit," he said.

"But you've got to continue to put the work in because it takes time … those vegetables don't grow overnight."

For Banks, maintaining this consistency has been his greatest challenge as cColor sSergeant of the Marine Corps, both for himself and for his Marines.

As the platoon sergeant of the color guard, his young MarinesDevil Dogs look to him every moment of every day.

"Even onI days when I may be tired, where I may not be feeling that great, I still have to come in and give that same 110 percent effort that I did yesterday, last week, last month, last year," Banks said.

What keeps him going is a combination of strong external and internal motivation.

Externally, he receives a lot of positive feedback from his Marines' performance, as well as kudos from friends and colleagues when they see pictures of him with President Obama on Facebook.

"But there's also a bigger piece and that's internal motivation," he said. "I want to do this and that's what keeps you going when days get long and times get rough, when you're having to deal with a hundred issues from all your junior Marines along with all of the ceremonial commitments."

"Every day when I'm driving home I say, 'You know what? I love my job.'"

Optempo

That mindset has to carry Banks and his Marines through a grueling schedule.

Following a six-week, high-intensity training package starting in January in Yuma, Arizona, to fine-tune their expertise, the Marines embark on a high-tempo tour and performance schedule in addition to continued daily drill training.

According to Gray, each week the Marines perform on average 12 full-honors funerals, 10 to 15 joint color guard events, two parades and dress rehearsals as well as several other official functions.

"It's a phenomenal amount of work, the hours and the travelling," Gray said. "They'll get done at midnight or 0100 on Friday night, then get up at 0500 Saturday morning to mount on buses and go do a show."

The key to maintaining such a high operations tempo is quality leadership, Gray said.

Noncommissioned officers such as Banks are highly screened and hand-selected before coming to the Washington Marine Barracks to ensure they have the mettle.

"When I get quality leaders that are operating at this high operations tempo, in such a high visibility bubble, they're the ones that are making sure that everything's taken care of: they're getting chow properly, they're getting what they need in order to execute the mission, and they're also getting quality mentorship," Gray said.

Additionally, vVeterans and Gold Star families from World War II2, Korea and Vietnam regularly approach the men and women of the Battle Color Detachment — which also includes the Marine Drum & Bugle Corps and the Silent Drill Platoon — after performances to tell them they’ve never seen anything so patriotic, and how proud they are to see how the Corps operates.

For an 18-year-old Marines men or women young man or woman on their first duty assignment, to hear that first-hand pays immense dividends, according to Gray.

"The Marines hear that, and they just feel utterly humbled," Gray said. "It doesn't sustain them, it fuels them."

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