Christine Colacion-Zuniga sure has come a long way from being a carpool mom. For nearly a decade, she was busy shuttling her daughter, Kayla, to and from her Young Marines unit meetings in Fort Worth each week. Along the way, she’d pick up a few of the other recruits to ensure they all got there at the same time and on time.
Fast-forward to today, and Christine is not only the proud parent of a former National Young Marine of the Year and current aviation structural mechanic in the US Navy, but she’s traded carpooling for a bigger role as the Unit Commander for the Denton County Young Marines unit.
“There was a unit in Dallas called Big D. It was one of the oldest chapters in the area at the time, having started in 1965, but enrollment was down, and the unit commander at that time was stepping out of the program,” Christine said. She formally chartered the Denton County Young Marines in 2022, making it one of 17 chapters in Texas. “The national organization director called to see if I’d help, and Kayla, who had already graduated by then, thought it was a great idea. This was all during COVID, but I said I’d take it.
“There was just one thing … I didn’t want to commute to Dallas. Denton needed a unit, so we moved everything there.”
To say that decision worked would be an understatement. Denton County Young Marines is thriving, having become one of the top education and service programs for boys and girls ages 8 to 18 that continues to grow and, more importantly, make an immediate impact on the young people who come through its doors. This is not a reform school.
In turn, Christine and her fellow leaders, Executive Officer Roy Cuevas, Ret USMC, MGySgt, and Training Officer Rene Nunez, Ret USMC, MGySgt, are not recruiters. In fact, not every graduate chooses to go into the military. Rather, the goal is to promote the mental, moral, and physical development of its members through character building, leadership, living a drug-free lifestyle, and giving back to Veterans and communities near and far.
Becoming a Young Marine begins with a commitment to 26 hours of structured recruit training, including orientation, close order drill, navigation/map reading, and physical fitness. After they graduate, recruits earn the title of Young Marine. They will wear their uniform, earn ribbon awards for various achievements, strive for promotions, and be involved in additional training and community events.
“Our services encompass a wide range of activities, including Color Guard, Veteran Appreciation events supporting parades, other community services at local events, flag ceremonies, and more,” Christine said. “Our kids today have lost touch with so many important values, and this helps them head down a better path. They learn public speaking, develop interview skills and various disciplines, strive for academic achievement, and maintain grooming standards. These skills help them build self-confidence, a sense of community, and success in their future endeavors.”
Christine certainly saw the benefits firsthand with her own daughter, who started the program in 2011 when she was just 10 years old. Since graduating from the Tarrant County Young Marines Unit in 2020, Kayla has earned a college degree from the University of Iowa and lives out her dream of serving in the military. Including her time with the Young Marines, her career highlights include performing a wreath-laying ceremony in Pearl Harbor in 2018, leading a subsequent Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, and escorting WWII Veterans to Iwo Jima in 2019 and climbing Mt. Suribachi. She’s traveled all over the globe and continues to blossom in ways her parents could only hope for.
Christine is now seeing the same experiences play out with her own recruits. She currently has six active young Marines and five “recruits” who started in the program on Sept. 19.
They meet on the first and third Saturday of each month at the American Legion Post 71 in Denton.
“Every time we go into the community to do work, people are amazed and asking, ‘Who are these kids? Their manners are fantastic,’” Christine said. She added that they take pride in a uniformed appearance and proper etiquette and are committed to upholding the core values of discipline, leadership, and teamwork. “Everyone is impressed, and parents can’t help but talk about the dramatic difference they see in their children. Not all of them go into the military, but many do. Our goal is to simply shape and mold them.”
October is a very busy month for the Denton County Young Marines with the kickoff for Toys for Tots and Red Ribbon Week, their version of the Say No to Drugs Campaign. Last year, the Young Marines helped collect over 121,883 toys for approximately 40,627 children in Denton, Cook, Wise, and Montague Counties.
Annually, Young Marines from across the country gather in Washington, D.C., for the Memorial Day Parade; in Window Rock, Arizona, to participate in honoring the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII; and in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to participate in the National Parade.
If you know a youth interested in joining the Denton County Young Marines, have questions, or would like to donate, please contact Unit Commander Christine Colacion-Zuniga at 940-808-9374 or visit members.youngmarines.org/unit/dentoncounty/page. You can also email [email protected].
