MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga -- Every month, a Military Academic Skills Program class is held at the education building for those Marines who want to improve their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery scores, get better promotion or reenlistment opportunities, or get the necessary skills needed to get a higher education.
According to Donald W. Feazell, education services officer, MASP increases the skill levels of eligible Marines in the areas of reading, mathematics, communication and writing.
The purpose of MASP is to improve the promotion potential and competency of active duty Marine enlisted personnel, which will strengthen the Marine Corps' enlisted personnel base.
"MASP is a four-week program that is conducted during normal duty hours," Feazell said. "It provides academic skills education development related to military, professional and personal requirements at no cost to the servicemember."
"The target audience of this program is those Marines with a GT (general technical) score of 99 or below," he continued. "Anybody can still take the class if they wish to improve themselves, though."
MASP is conducted using two methods of teaching. The methods are the use of the Marine Corps Satellite Education Network or a traditional classroom format. The use of these methods varies on how many Marines participate in the program.
"If there are less than five Marines per class, then the classes will be taught through MCSEN," Feazell said. "If there are five or more Marines in the class, an instructor will be provided for one-on-one assistance."
According to Feazell, an instructor will be provided and the class times will be flexible if there are more than 10 Marines in the program.
"This will allow a class to be held at night or during the day, depending on the schedules of the Marines," he continued.
At the beginning of the program, each Marine is screened using the Test of Adult Basic Education. They are then required to retest on the ASVAB upon completion of the course.
"This program is helping me a lot," said Cpl. Jackie Goodwine of the Transportation Management Office here. "It is like a refresher course for the basic skills from high school. I advise everyone to take this course before reenlisting or going to college."