Young Marines
Young Marines National Headquarters, 17739 Main St, Suite 250, Dumfries, VA 22026
About
Young Marines is a national youth program where participants take part in leadership training, community service, and activities that emphasize leadership, teamwork, self-discipline, character building, and good citizenship. The program includes drug demand reduction efforts that focus on raising awareness of common gateway drugs such as tobacco, alcohol, inhalants, prescription drugs, and marijuana, along with activities that emphasize living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Participants also engage in physical fitness, honor veterans, and are encouraged to maintain academic achievement.
• Ages: 8–18 years old
The Young Marines mission is to positively impact America’s future by providing youth development programs for boys and girls that nurture and develop members into responsible citizens who enjoy and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The organization began in 1959 in Waterbury, Connecticut, when several former Marines formed an organization for boys that would mirror the values of the Marine Corps. Its leadership includes a Board of Directors supported by the National Headquarters Young Marines staff and over 1,950 adult volunteers.
Young Marines is organized into six geographic divisions across the United States and includes over 5,000 youth and over 1,950 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Japan, and affiliates in other countries. Each division selects a Young Marine of the Year, who must have graduated from Advanced Leadership School at the National Leadership Academy, maintain high academic achievement in school, and maintain high standards of physical fitness. The National Young Marine of the Year travels to other units throughout the country to lead, motivate, and serve as a role model, and also travels across the world to participate in remembrances and ceremonies such as the Reunion of Honor on Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and National Navajo Code Talkers Day.
In the past three years, Young Marines and Adult Volunteers have contributed over 1.8 million volunteer and community service hours across the nation. The Young Marines has received the Department of Defense’s Fulcrum Shield Award for Excellence in Youth Anti-Drug Programs thirteen times as of 2023. The program’s “Closing the Gate on Drugs” initiative focuses on raising awareness of common gateway drugs, including tobacco, alcohol, inhalants, prescription drugs, and marijuana. Chester is the official Young Marines mascot and has membership-style benefits such as the opportunity to earn rank and ribbons, wear the Young Marines uniform, and receive a free subscription to the Young Marines Esprit magazine.
Last updated January 19, 2026.
• Ages: 8–18 years old
The Young Marines mission is to positively impact America’s future by providing youth development programs for boys and girls that nurture and develop members into responsible citizens who enjoy and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The organization began in 1959 in Waterbury, Connecticut, when several former Marines formed an organization for boys that would mirror the values of the Marine Corps. Its leadership includes a Board of Directors supported by the National Headquarters Young Marines staff and over 1,950 adult volunteers.
Young Marines is organized into six geographic divisions across the United States and includes over 5,000 youth and over 1,950 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Japan, and affiliates in other countries. Each division selects a Young Marine of the Year, who must have graduated from Advanced Leadership School at the National Leadership Academy, maintain high academic achievement in school, and maintain high standards of physical fitness. The National Young Marine of the Year travels to other units throughout the country to lead, motivate, and serve as a role model, and also travels across the world to participate in remembrances and ceremonies such as the Reunion of Honor on Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and National Navajo Code Talkers Day.
In the past three years, Young Marines and Adult Volunteers have contributed over 1.8 million volunteer and community service hours across the nation. The Young Marines has received the Department of Defense’s Fulcrum Shield Award for Excellence in Youth Anti-Drug Programs thirteen times as of 2023. The program’s “Closing the Gate on Drugs” initiative focuses on raising awareness of common gateway drugs, including tobacco, alcohol, inhalants, prescription drugs, and marijuana. Chester is the official Young Marines mascot and has membership-style benefits such as the opportunity to earn rank and ribbons, wear the Young Marines uniform, and receive a free subscription to the Young Marines Esprit magazine.
Last updated January 19, 2026.
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