When he crossed the finish line at the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 31 with a time of 2:24:08, 1st Lt. Sean Barrett got a good old hand slap from Gen. Jim Amos, the new commandant of the Marine Corps. Barrett was the first Marine to finish the 35th annual race, trailing top winner Air Force 2nd Lt. Jacob Bradosky by about a minute. Bradosky won the marathon with a time of 2:23:30.
[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…
Is your unit looking to learn from some of the Corps’ most skilled fighters? The Martial Arts Center for Excellence is accepting requests for martial arts demos and site visits, according to a new Marine Administrative Message. MACE is tasked with managing and maintaining the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. “Every effort will be made to support all requests,” the MARADMIN states. “However, due to the high demands on the MACE, requests will be prioritized and executed based on the needs of the Marine Corps.” All requests must include: unit or organization name, type of support needed, the location and…
If you’re going to invest in an exercise machine that costs nearly $8,000, it might as well have a blood stripe. The Marine Arc Trainer, made by CYBEX International, is a workout machine that comes wrapped in “dress blue” coloring with a blood stripe and the Marine Corps logo, according to a company news release. The device is described as a “calorie-burning” cross trainer that allows the user to exercise at a range of inclines, “without stressing knees and joints.” The machine also comes pre-loaded with exercise programs oriented to fitness-test requirements. The Marine-themed trainer is the first of what…
It’s understood that Hollywood takes liberties when depicting Marines, but this might be pushing it. “High School Musical” star Zac Efron has been tapped to play a war-hardened Iraq veteran with three combat tours under his belt, according to entertainment-news reports. The film, called “The Lucky One,” is about a Marine who returns to North Carolina after three tours and “searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war,” according to a synopsis on the Internet Movie Database. The movie is based on a book by the same name, written by tearjerker-extraordinaire Nicholas Sparks.…
Capt. Joshua Meadows was killed in Afghanistan a year ago during combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan, four months after becoming a member of 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion. When he died on Sept. 5, 2009, he and his wife, Angela, were expecting their first child. Next week, Meadows will be remembered and honored by his fellow operators on a 500-mile bicycle ride from Duluth, Ga., to MARSOC headquarters at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The ride, which begins Tuesday, has been carried out for the past three years by members of the Duluth Police Department and other local police and fire…
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…
Close-crop haircuts — like those in the photo at right — have been the norm in the Corps for a long, long time. But should they be still? Marine Corps Times wants to know what you think about this and other grooming standards. Are they too tough — or not tough enough? Should the regulations be relaxed some while Marines are in the war zone? Are there any appearance guidelines the next commandant should address once he takes command later this year?
This time he really means business. Gates sounded the death knell for U.S. Joint Forces command at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week he had his sites trained on the Marine Corps. In a speech at the Marines’ Memorial Club and Hotel in San Francisco on Thursday, he ordered a thorough force structure review of the Marine Corps. It’s no news that the Corps is prepared to draw down its personnel after operations in Afghanistan wind down. But this goes deeper. He said he wants to determine what an expeditionary force in readiness should…
You can’t instill that Marine attitude too early in life. Hailey Hinkle, at just seven months, is showing she has what it takes to serve in the Corps. “I think I already have a future DI on my hands,” said Hailey’s mom , Jacqueline Hinkle, who sent Marine Corps Times this photo to cheer up the troops. Hailey’s dad, Sgt. Todd Hinkle, is a member of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31, based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C. Tom and Jacqueline have five children, but Hailey is their first daughter.
