THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603050227
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
When his fellow Marines tease him about being a ``secretary,'' Sgt. Keith Ross tells them he's sharpening his skills to be well-rounded.
``It's something I wanted to learn myself, anyway, something a lot of Marines need if they get out of the service and go to work for a police force or security company,'' said Ross.
His job at the Marine Security Guard School is to keep track of each student who comes through the five-week course. On a computer, he enters the academic test scores, firing range results and personal reliability program screening results of 40 to 60 students in each of five classes rotating through the school.
In screening students for the personal reliability program, Ross said, supervisors are looking for Marines with a clean record who will make good military security guards.
Even though he came to Northwest as an infantryman more than eight months ago, Ross feels that his record-keeping job on computers has added to his career. Only one other person in the company can do what he does, he said, and that person has gone on to other work after training him.
Ross decided in grade school, when he saw his father's pressed Marine uniform adorned with medals hanging in the family's basement, that he would make a career of the service. His dad, a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, retired from the Marines as a staff sergeant. ``My goal is to make sergeant major,'' said Ross. ``I plan to stay in `til they kick me out because I'm too old.'' by CNB