Jul 24, 2018 4 min read

GRAYSVILLE – Teamwork was paramount last week when nine Young Marines from Washington and Greene counties worked together to overcome an obstacle course similar to the one their military namesakes use to train in boot camp.

So when 8-year-old Maya Makel of Carmichaels – the youngest of the Washington County Young Marines – pulled with all of her might on the rope climb, the rest of the members rallied around her below to shout encouragement, with one of them pushing her feet up to help elevate her halfway to the top.

“This is what teamwork looks like,” said Donald “Top” Bailey, who serves as the group’s unit commander. “This is what every kid needs.”

There are 38 members, or “recruits,” of the Washington County Young Marines – ages 8 to 18 – who hail from Allegheny, Greene and Washington counties. Nine participated in the daylong exercises Wednesday afternoon that was preceded with overnight camping and survival training at a property in rural Gray Township.

Fred Rasel of Mt. Pleasant serves as the group’s executive officer and ran the Young Marines through various disciplines to open the obstacle course.

“This is a culmination of a lot of work,” Rasel said. “Do this obstacle course with pride. You’re the first to do it. It’s yours.”

He also noted that importance of teamwork needed to make it through each obstacle.

“If you get through and the rest of your team didn’t, then you weren’t successful,” Rasel said.

The obstacle course sprung up nearly overnight at this property on Route 21 just east of Graysville, which is the location for Firearms-Archery-Survival-Training Center – or FAST – a company that specializes in shooting courses, survival training and active shooter drills.

Ryan Mechtel and his business partner Tim Nease, both Hickory residents, own the FAST Center and began discussing the obstacle course with the Washington County Young Marines’ leaders about two months ago. At the time, though, they thought it would take a year to materialize. Instead, the course, which includes a 30-foot-tall “stairway to heaven” climb, climbing ropes, walls and log hurdles, was completed in just 45 days with the help of material and financial donations from various companies, including $2,000 from First Energy.

There are 13,000 Young Marines in nearly 300 chapters across the country, so Mechtel noted that the obstacle course is a “once in a country opportunity” for children in the organization.

“I don’t care about what (Young Marines) unit you are, the training opportunities are limited. We invited them down here and wanted to give them opportunities.”

Mechtel, himself a Marine who served from 2000 to 2004, said the obstacle course mirrors military boot camp training. They hope to eventually add a 45-foot-tall rappelling wall and zip line.

“This is pretty close to what Parris Island (the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in South Carolina) has in its confidence course,” Mechtel said.

The children helped assemble some of the obstacles last Tuesday before taking to the course the following day. Owen Farrier, a rising freshman at Waynesburg Central High School, was thankful for the opportunities to train and exercise at the property.

“It’s impressive,” Owen said. “We’re very lucky to be able to do all of this with everyone being so generous.”

It was challenging at times for each of the nine children who participated in the activities, although Reed Coyle, who will be a sophomore next year at McGuffey High School, made the dizzying climb over the 30-foot ladder look easy.

“I didn’t think anything of it. I just went over,” Reed said. “It was pretty fun. If you can do that, you can do anything.”

Maya, the youngest member who was dwarfed by the boys in her unit, eagerly sprinted to each obstacle to give it her best shot. The new recruit said “teamwork” is her favorite part of being involved with the group.

The local chapter is sponsored by the Three Rivers Leathernecks and under the direction of Bailey, who served in the Marines from 1957 to 1979, and his wife, Joyce, the group’s adjutant. The Canonsburg couple started the local chapter more than a decade ago and have been heavily invested in shaping the members ever since by participating in parades, service projects and volunteering.

“This is what we need with training,” Bailey said of the obstacle course that adds another layer of physicality to the typical exercises. “We don’t have anything like this.”

There is a $95 fee to join the Young Marines, and uniforms and other gear are provided. For more information about the group, search on Facebook for Washington County Young Marines 1. The group is also accepting donations on its GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/washington-county-young-marines.