The Corps’ new leadership development initiative will take a fresh look at mentoring as part of a wider effort that will allow leaders more time to get to know their junior Marines, as the service continues its fight against bad behavior in the ranks. It’s coined Leadership Development, and it will introduce a new brand of more engaged leadership that might remind Marines of what they experienced at boot camp. From values-based discussions on the rifle ranges to more one-on-one mentoring, the initiative is aimed at reminding Marines that their values and behavior shouldn’t change when they hang up their…
Browsing: Behind the Cover
Corps officials are soliciting Marines to consider a lateral move into a job with opportunity for new experiences, deployments and huge cash bonuses. The demand for Marines in the 0211 counterintelligence/human intelligence military occupation specialty has more than doubled over the past decade. The Marine Corps’ intelligence community is asking sergeants, corporals and even some lance corporals, to consider moving to the 0211 MOS. Not much was known about what 0211s did until the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and then Iraq. CI/human intelligence Marines assisted commanders with gathering information they needed to be successful on the battlefield. Now as things wind…
Meet Staff Sgt. Jeff Smith. He’s a veteran marathoner, a two-workouts-a-day gym rat, and a 17-year-Marine who saw his career hit a major speed bump when he landed on the wrong side of the infamous tape test in 2009. If a Marine falls outside the height and weight regulations specified by the Marine Corps (and data provided by manpower officials show about 14 percent of all Marines do), he or she has to submit to the tape test, which takes a tape measurement of the neck and waist and uses an algorithm to arrive at a body fat calculation. Just…
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for the first time detailed the hard choices his department will face if impacted by decade-long budget cuts — and it could include a historically low end strength for the Corps of just 150,000 Marines. This week’s issue of Marine Corps Times examines the true effects the the across-the-board spending cuts — set to continue unless Congress stops them — will have on the Defense Department. Smaller pay raises for troops, major cuts to personnel and reductions in housing allowances are all areas at risk, Hagel said. For Marines, the most jarring news out of Hagel’s…
Everyone recognizes the distinctive dress blues uniform worn by male Marines: the high mandarin collar, the broad belt, the round white cover. Well, female Marines may get to wear that uniform too if all goes well with a wear test taking place now down at Marine Barracks Washington. All female Marines stationed at 8th and I have been wearing the white dress cover this parade season, and a select number have also donned tailored versions of the men’s dress blues jacket instead of the traditional women’s lapel blazer with white-collared shirt and necktab underneath. At the end of the summer…
The latest iteration of the Marine Corps’ Infantry Officer Course began last week, putting dozens of prospective infantry officers through the beginning of 13 weeks of hell. Those who survive will become the service’s latest crop of infantry officers, a demanding profession they were told begins with a simple question: “How do I win?” As mentioned here last week, I was on the scene at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., for Marine Corps Times as the course’s initial Combat Endurance Test took place. It’s an assignment that had us pushing through the forests of Quantico for hours, observing lieutenants as…
Despite the manpower drawdown nearly 100 specialties will still be eligible for generous bonuses in fiscal 2014, with the highest paying nearly $61,000. Also, top performers are now eligible for expedited approval. Marines rated as tier one can receive a reenlistment decision as soon as their request is routed rather than waiting months. For details on who is eligible for bonuses and how you can more quickly secure your place in uniform, Read the full story here, on Marine Corps Times’ Prime website. Or pick up a copy on newsstands now.
As the Corps solidifies its role as the nation’s go-to crisis-response force, new opportunities to serve in unique units are opening up to Marines. The Marine Corps is standing up specialized units that focus on missions relating to crisis response. This includes the new type of special purpose Marine air-ground task force, like that which recently deployed to U.S. Africa Command, which is made up of hundreds of Marines including a reinforced rifle company. With aircraft and logistical support, the special purpose MAGTF-Crisis Response Force, is capable of responding to various emergencies in the region, including embassy reinforcement. Similar forces…
A female Marine finds photos from her personal Facebook account re-posted on a Marine humor page and subjected to derogatory and sexual comments. This happens not once, but again and again, and it doesn’t stay online: she gets honked and yelled at in the street when she’s walking near her base, and her friends tell her she’s developed a reputation as a “barracks mattress,” because Marines think that if she gets posted to these sites, she must be a slut. On Facebook pages like “Just The Tip, Of The Spear,” and others, most users say there’s no problem with what…
Marine Corps leadership has relieved six unit commanders and senior officers in the space of a few weeks, and the commandant, Gen. James Amos, is sending a clear message that COs will be held accountable for everything that happens in their unit. The commandant has portrayed this initiative as a needed course correction following a wave of poor decisions by some and negative publicity that have harmed the Corps’ reputation. But some believe he’s gone too far in his zeal to get the service back on track. During his 2012 Heritage Brief tour promoting individual integrity within the Corps, Amos…
