Gen. Joe Dunford, the new commandant of the Marine Corps, is featured in a video message celebrating the service’s 239th birthday. Dunford issued the message celebrating Marines’ Nov. 10 birthday the day after a passage of command ceremony during which he became the Corps’ 36th commandant. This year’s message includes interviews with Marines from some of the Corps’ most brutal battles, from Pfc. John Lahm, who fought in the Battle of Peleliu during World War II, to Sgt. Maj. Bradley Kasal, who earned a Navy Cross for his role in the Battle of Fallujah in Iraq. The Corps’ newest Medal of…
Author Gina Harkins
Those who assumed only a “terminal lance” would have the gall to list his barracks room on Craigslist might be surprised to learn who was really behind the stunt. A staff sergeant hoping to carry out a career in the Corps was behind the entertaining Craigslist advertisement. He said he has a “penchant for shaking things up when it comes to having to conform to the Marine Corps way.” The Battle Rattle post about his ad was viewed nearly 380,000 times. He described a 225 square-foot barracks room as a lovely space in a gated community with wake-up calls and “motivation specialists.” The…
Marines who are preparing for a permanent change of station to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, might be trolling Craigslist for housing. Well, this listing might have everything you’re looking for — or perhaps everything you’re hoping to escape. On July 20, a Craigslist user posted a one-bedroom rental that would be available in two weeks. The “lovely” 225 square foot space is located in a “gated community with 24-hour private security,” the advertisement states. Rent is $1,000 per month, and can be conveniently paid “on the 1st or split between the 1st and 15th with automatic withdrawal.” There are…
A video showing two Marines confronting a man dressed as an Army sergeant major is making the rounds on Facebook. The video, posted on Sunday from Florida, shows two Marines on funeral detail questioning a man claiming to be a battalion sergeant major, military policeman and special operator. The two catch up with him in a parking lot and begin asking him questions about his uniform — including why he’s wearing medals and ribbons at the same time. [HTML1] The Marines ask the man who his commanding officer is, and he replies, “Lt. Col. Smith.” They also ask him for…
A man who runs public speaking seminars faced severe backlash on social media from Marines and veterans groups after he dressed up as a drill instructor during one of his recent engagements. Marines took to Facebook and Twitter to launch a social media campaign to stop Marc Accetta, the founder of a company that provides seminars and training programs, from donning official Marine Corps uniform items during his engagements. [HTML4] The photo, which showed Accetta dressed as a first sergeant with the classic DI smokey cover, appears to have been removed from Facebook. And just hours later, Accetta issued a…
A Marine recruit — or soon to be recruit — took to the Internet to ask for some advice about whether drill instructors care if your birthday falls during boot camp. Here’s the question that was posted to Yahoo! Answers on Wednesday: “What if I tell the drill instructors it’s my birthday? What if the platoon was lined up and I stepped out of line to announce to everyone it’s my 19th birthday. What’ll happen?” One Army veteran responded that it would go down as one of the “Worst Birthdays Ever.” Another user who goes by the name Goose said, “Please do…
[HTML1] A Marine Reserve officer is taking some heat for an opinion piece he wrote analyzing the reaction to a viral video in which Marines filmed themselves belting out the lyrics to the girl-power anthem, “Let It Go.” In a piece for The Daily Beast titled “Why these Marines love ‘Frozen’ and why it matters,” Aaron B. O’Connell — a lieutenant colonel in the Reserve and history professor at the U.S. Naval Academy — said the public’s reaction to the video is flawed. Those who were calling it “adorable” missed the point, he wrote. Instead, he says the Marines’ performance is…
[HTML1] Marine Master Sgt. Jacinto Bernardo and his family bought a fixer-upper in California before deploying to Okinawa, Japan. But when he returned from his deployment, the fixing-up part was complete — a surprise orchestrated by an old boot camp buddy. Bernardo and his wife returned to Suisun City, California, on Tuesday — their final homecoming as the master sergeant completed his 21-year career in the Corps, according to ABC7. Before leaving for Japan, Bernardo asked his friend, Jeremy Epperson, to look after his new place, according to ABC7. But Epperson decided the retiring master sergeant rated a better house after more than two decades in…
The Corps is once again looking for a few good Marines willing to make a lateral move into a community that sometimes allows them to grow out a beard, ditch the high-and-tight and work undercover. First-term Marines are being solicited to join the 0211 counterintelligence/human intelligence specialist military occupation specialty. Intel is considered a high-demand, low-density military occupational specialty, one for which officials consistently dangle plump re-enlistment bonuses in front of Marines willing to change MOSs. For Marines who go intel, it could mean a bonus of $45,500. Last year, Marine Corps Times wrote this cover story lifting the veil on the somewhat…
A Marine veteran who earned the Navy Cross for actions in Iraq but later refused it, filed a complaint with the federal government alleging treatment by a ranger at a national park in California could result in the loss of his leg, which was damaged when he stepped on an IED. Dominic Esquibel, who served with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, was awarded the nation’s second highest valor award for braving enemy machine gunfire three times to save two fellow Marines during Operation Phantom Fury. Esquibel declined the Navy Cross. Seven years later, he stepped on an explosive device in Afghanistan, which tore…
