Have you ever noticed the pull-up bar in front of B commons? If you have, did you stop by or wonder what it’s for? That pull up bar isn’t just there to impress all your friends by doing as many as you can, it’s there to raise awareness and to encourage students to join the military program known as the Delayed Entry Program. Staff Sergeant Clere better known as the “pull up bar guy” has been coming to CHS as well as other Virginia high schools to educate students about the program and the benefits that come with it.
Clere explains that the overall purpose of the program is to “prepare people, (seniors or graduates) to get mentally and physically ready for military recruitment training”. Once students have reached their senior year, they can be in the program for the entirety of their senior year and after graduation, they may leave whenever they want to go to recruitment training. Training is every Thursday for an hour, from 5:00 to 6:00pm. Training includes intense strength building (i.e. mile and a half runs, pull ups, etc). Post both high school and recruitment training, students may choose to go straight to the military or attend a university of their choice, recruitment training even includes college/university benefits!
Staff Sergeant Clere describes the overall benefits to joining the program as, “You actually see self improvement, so your self confidence comes out a lot more, you see a lot more kids that may have struggled in high school realize they have something to offer and you’ll see a switch, and it’s really cool seeing that.” The program is a way to bring kids out of their comfort zones and help them grow into a strong and confident person, even if you choose to not enter the military after finishing the program you still get to experience the benefits that come from joining the program.
The way the program spreads information is by going to schools in Virginia every other Tuesday and setting up information programs about the program, Clere uses a pull up bar to catch students attention. Sergeant Clere, is always there and is happy to answer any and all of the questions you may have about the programs and the benefits that come with it. If you are originally interested, Clere will ask you to join one workout with them to see what it’s like and to see if this is something you really want to do. “They can decide, ‘alright, I wanna do it at this moment’, or figure out what they have going on in their current stage of life and come back when they’re ready.”-Sergeant Clere, he is open to working with any student to figure out what the right plan is for them.
Typically, not very many people come to the table, but people start becoming interested when students start looking for ways to pay for college, or “they’ll decide hey I’m bored, I don’t wanna go to college, I wanna try out the military”.
Clere’s strongest argument that joining the Delayed Entry Program as well as the military being worth it is that “joining the military can help you get from point A to point B without you taking the debt… nowadays it’s college, college, college, and there’s other ways to be successful and I would say it’s worth exploring. My argument would be, at least sit down with a recruiter, whether it be marines or any other branch and just explore that opportunity because it might fit you more than you think it would.” The Delayed Entry Programs can help you grow as a person, in your confidence and your mental and physical strength. It also gives you a head start before military training, as well as many college benefits if you choose to not take the military route!
