Water scarcity, regional conflict zones, and the “youth bulge:” these are all problems that may become the Marine Corps’ business in the near future. That was the message from Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos this week when he gave an audience at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space expo a glimpse into what’s ahead for the Corps. By 2020, he said, expect two new crisis Marine Corps crisis response forces positioned near potential conflict zones and a rotational force established in Guam like the one already conducting training deployments in Australia. Amos also indicated that the future of the Corps…
Browsing: Deployments
Marine Corps commandant Gen. Jim Amos sat down for an interview with Leatherneck Magazine recently, which is freshly out in the magazine’s February edition. The interviewer, Arthur P. Brill Jr., asked Amos if one of the dire consequences he predicted would result from shrinking the Corps to 174,000–having to ship troops straight from “the drill field to the battlefield”–was really likely to happen. The answer: not terribly, but conditions will still be more constrained with a smaller force. Leatherneck: You testified recently that Marines could go straight from boot camp to combat without giving them precombat training. Would you really do that?…
A petition posted on the White House website asks the president to award the nation’s highest award for valor to two fallen Marines who in 2008 stopped a truck laden with explosives from barreling through the checkpoint they were guarding in Iraq,saving dozens of lives. But those who want to sign on must act quickly. The deadline is Sunday. Cpl. Jonathan Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, another rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, were awarded the Navy Cross posthumously in February 2009. But the petition asks President Obama to upgrade the awards…
The last UH-1N Huey ever to deploy with Marines recently conducted its final flight Nov. 5, ending a storied era of Marine aviation. The two-bladed version of the Huey recently deployed with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced) out of Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., in support of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 26th MEU recently returned from a float in the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. The two bladed UH-1N variant has now been replaced by the heavier-hitting four-bladed UH-1Y. The specific UH-1N that was the last to deploy was also among the oldest…
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…
This week, Marines around the world are battling drug trafficking in Guatemala, training with Dutch, British and Spanish counterparts in western Africa, and providing embassy security in Libya, along with a host of other forward-deployed missions. Here are the latest available status of forces totals: Active duty: 195, 231 Selected Marine Corps Reserve: 39, 984 –Reservists on active duty: 2,266 [HTML1] As always, if you don’t see your unit on the map, shoot us an email at hseck@marinecorpstimes.com.
According to reports, the president is weighing a plan that would engage U.S. troops to train Syrian rebels, enhancing their military skills and capabilities. The big question remains: would Marines be tapped to conduct such training? According to Lolita Baldor of the Associated Press, “any training would take place outside Syria, and one possible location would be Jordan.” If approved, this training would expand on work being done to train small groups of rebels in Jordan in the use of communications equipment and certain weapons systems, according to her report. “The new discussions center on whether the U.S. military should…
Marine Corps as of Aug. 16 THE STATUS OF FORCES Active duty: 194,656 Selected Marine Corps Reserve: 40,288 –Reservists on active duty: 2,330 [HTML1] Featured exercise: Africa Endeavor 2013, featuring reservists from every military service and troops from 38 African countries completing communications exercises and training in Zambia. Check it out!
This Fall The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will become the first West Coast MEU to deploy with the Osprey. Set for a pump through the Asia-Pacific region, the 13th MEU will depart with a compliment of 12 MV-22 Ospreys aboard the amphibious assault ship Boxer, according to a Navy news release. The aircraft will be piloted and maintained by Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. While the 13th MEU is not the first to have ever deployed with the Osprey, it is the first that will take it afloat in the Pacific — the…
Check out what Marines are up to around the world, as of Aug. 7: [HTML1]
