James Sanborn

Corporal to receive Grateful Nation Award

By James Sanborn on November 15, 2010 Battle Rattle

A Marine corporal who received the Silver Star for actions taken in Afghanistan is set to receive the Grateful Nation Award Nov. 15 in Washington, D.C. Cpl. Daniel Hickey will receive the award, presented by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, for heroic actions taken in 2008 while serving in Afghanistan with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. On Aug. 2 of that year, Hickey was on mounted patrol when his unit came under a vicious enemy ambush. After Hickey’s vehicle commander dismounted to repel the ambush, he was struck by machine gun fire. Hickey braved a hail of bullets and…

Behind the Cover: Gunny's plan to jumpstart MCMAP

By James Sanborn on October 27, 2010 Behind the Cover, MCMAP

In this week’s print edition Deputy News Editor James K. Sanborn gives readers and overview of one gunnery sergeant’s innovative plan to overhaul the Marine Corps Martial Arts program by bringing mixed martial arts competition to bases and incorporating MCMAP into existing required career courses. Gunnery Sgt. Samuel Carter, a battle-hardened 3rd-degree martial arts instructor trainer based at Quantico, Va., says MMA competition, long shunned by Marine leadership, would give Marines a positive outlet to stay sharp and build morale by competing against each other and even soldiers. “That would be as good as Army-Navy football,” he said. He laid…

Gunny Ermey on tattoos

By James Sanborn on October 6, 2010 Battle Rattle

[HTML1] A year-old video of Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey slamming the Corps’ tattoo policy has resurfaced after being re-posted on several blogs. In the video taken last September at Camp Pendleton, Ermey reveals that he has a pair of lips tattooed on his buttocks. Its just one of a grab bag of tattoos he has all over his body, including some on his forearms, that he says never stopped him from being a squared away Marine. He echoed those comments in February 2010 during an interview with Marine Corps times, saying that the Marine Corps’ policy has gotten too…

MarPat never looked so good

By James Sanborn on August 31, 2010 Battle Rattle

Marines are known for looking sharp, but they don’t hold a candle to Maxim Magazine’s 10 finalists in the Hometown Hotties 2010 competition. The top 10 recently made a stop Aug. 27 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., for a pickup game of touch football with a few Marines. They also signed posters, posed for photos, and took a ride in an Amphibious Assault Vehicle. One of the women, Victoria Virgen, tweeted, “Loved spending the day with all the Marines at Camp Pendleton had alot of fun Guys! XOXO V.” Another, Lisa Morales, wrote, “Pendleton camp was soo much…

Spray and pray: Westboro group targeted with mace

By James Sanborn on August 30, 2010 Westboro Baptist Church

A 62-year-old man who attempted to pepper spray members of a church group known for their inflammatory views on the military and homosexuality accidentally hit counter-protesters instead. [HTML1] Members of the Westboro Baptist Church stood on a street corner in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday about a block from the funeral of Staff Sgt. Michael Bock. Bock, a Marine, died Aug. 13 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province Afghanistan. The man, in a maroon truck, drove by the group and used an industrial sprayer to unleash a cloud of pepper spray, but he accidentally hit counter protesters who oppose the…

Behind the cover: The Corps' new drug war

By James Sanborn on August 30, 2010 Behind the Cover

This week’s cover story is the latest in a Marine Corps Times series about an emerging drug commonly known as spice. The drug, marketed as a marijuana substitute, has steadily grown in popularity among Marines despite the Corps’ attempts to curb its use. The inspiration for the story was the personal account of a father who said he almost lost his son, who is a Marine at Camp Pendleton, to spice. After one of our previous stories, the father wrote in saying that his son had been sick for months with symptoms that baffled family and doctors alike. The cause…

Marine LAVs gets an upgrade

By James Sanborn on August 19, 2010 Vehicles

The Marine Corps received its first upgraded command and control variant Light Armored Vehicle on Aug. 10. The upgraded version is capable of, “providing advanced communication capabilities to Marines in the field, improving their battlefield knowledge and situational awareness,” according to Lockheed Martin. The Marine Corps provided the company with the outmoded LAV C2s for upgrade as part of a 2009 contract. Over the next two years, 50 more are slated for deliver. The Corps’ entire LAV fleet, not just C2 variants, is undergoing an overhaul. The vehicles, which have been in service since the 1980s, are being made lighter…

MCMAP instructor guides UFC fighters to victory

By James Sanborn on August 6, 2010 Battle Rattle

In the latest edition of Marine Corps Times, on newsstands Monday, read about Sgt. George Lockhart, a Quantico, Va.-based Marine and MMA fighter who is making a name for himself as an adviser to Ultimate Fighting Championship prizefighters. He’s been helping some of them drop weight and get in shape, including headline fighter Jon Jones who won in a first round technical knockout during the most recent UFC event Aug. 1 in San Diego. We sat down for a one-on-one interview with Lockhart and he filled us in on his hopes for the future, including making the jump to UFC…

Behind the cover: MARSOC needs more ninjas

By James Sanborn on August 2, 2010 Battle Rattle

Critical skill operators are the Corps’ most elite Marines. As members of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, they are tasked with the most sensitive, often riskiest missions that take them in small units far behind enemy lines. Trouble is, MARSOC has had a historically difficult time recruiting guys to fill these very demanding jobs. Today, the command is still about 200 CSOs shy of where it needs to be. This week’s cover story, on newsstands now, explores why this struggle persists, while laying out in detail MARSOC’s new plan to mine the Reserve for qualified applicants. On the surface,…

Wounded warriors on Nightly News

By James Sanborn on May 17, 2010 Battle Rattle

Marines made a strong showing at the first ever Warrior Games last week, winning at least five gold medals. Among those participating in the games in Colorado Springs, Colo., was former Marine Travis Greene, who was recently featured on NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams. Check out the story here: [HTML1] Greene enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 2002 and became an 0311 rifleman. In 2008, on his third deployment to Iraq, an IED hit his convoy near Ramadi. After he rushed to the aid of fellow Marines, a second IED detonated and gravely injured him. As a result,…

Author James Sanborn