Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, reassured Marines in Hawaii last week that he was committed to keeping the distinctive MARPAT camouflage pattern for Marines, even as lawmakers consider adopting one single camo pattern for all the services. Amos has so far been quiet regarding the proposed changes, even as Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has come out in support of a common camouflage–or at least a reduction from the ten-plus patterns now being utilized across the services. But on July 15 he had some folksy fighting words regarding a change for troops aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii. “We…
Browsing: Deployments
[HTML1] Status of forces (as of May 30) Active duty: 194,326 Selected Reserve: 39,398 Reservists on active duty: 2,417 Check out these sweet photos of Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Pacific (FASTPAC) completing advanced driven combat drills in the South China Sea. Members of FAST are the guys who deployed to Libya in the wake of the Benghazi attacks on Sept. 11, 2012. They’re now training in the Pacific and conducting exercises and port visits to promote security and stability in the region. Elsewhere, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Marines deactivated aboard Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii as part of the ongoing…
[HTML1] Take a look at what Marines are doing around the globe in our newly updated Status of Forces map! Highlights include: Marines in Darwin, Australia conducting squad-attack exercises at a place called “Kangaroo Flats” Some lucky Marines doing coalition exercises with French partners in kayaks in the Mediterranean Urban crisis contingency training with local counterparts at Mihail Kogalniceanu Military Base, Romania. Major moves: About 160 reserve troops from Camp Lejeune’s R4OG (Retrograde and Redeployment in Support of Reset and Reconstitution Operations Group) deployed to Afghanistan this month, replacing an R4OG from Camp Pendleton. About 200 Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air…
Cpl. Tick was a two-year-old, friendly black lab. She was a decorated Marine. And she was a hero. Last year Cpl. Tick and her handler, Lance Cpl. Bryan Utrilla were attached to Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines at Combat Outpost Shir Ghazay near the town of Musa Qala in Helmand province Afghanistan, assigned to patrol the region for Improvised Explosive Devices. Utrilla told me by email that Cpl. Tick was a natural when it came to getting the job done. “Cpl. Tick was an awesome friend/Marine, and when she wanted to work, she worked,” he wrote. “She knew the…
[Updated: High winds and strong seas churned by that winter storm the National Weather Service dubbed Saturn has pushed the deployment start by several days, the Navy announced. The three ships of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group will depart the Norfolk, Va., area on Monday, March 11, according to U.S. Fleet Forces Command. That will give a few extra days at home for the sailors and Marines before they take their final equipment aboard and begin the scheduled deployment with, hopefully, smoother seas and calmer stomachs.] The federal budget crisis has put a halt to some ship deployments, but the 2,200…
Cpl. Karim Delgado said he’s still learning to live with his demons. But unlike some Marines who struggle with the piercing memories of combat, Delgado is haunted by what he calls “non-deployment guilt.” “You feel guilty for not having gone, like you did a disservice. You have this shame because you have people who will say, ‘you’re a Marine and you can’t talk about combat,'” said Delgado. “What you’ve got left are boot camp stories.” The combat correspondent did a tour in Okinawa and worked on several humanitarian missions while he was in the Marine Corps from 2004-2008. But one…
The first of 2,300 Marines and sailors will be streaming home starting Sunday as the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit closes out an overseas shipboard deployment that’s stretched eight-and-a-half months. On Sunday, crews aboard dock landing ship Gunston Hall and transport dock New York, which is wrapping up its maiden deployment, will offload Marines and their vehicles and equipment at the port in Morehead City, not far from the 24th MEU’s home in Jacksonville at Camp Lejeune, N.C., officials announced today. The Marines will load buses and head over to the base later in the afternoon to reunite with their family and friends. On…
The Marine Corps Times interactive map showing what Marines are doing around the world has been updated with new information provided by public affairs for the week ending Oct. 5. [HTML1]
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Last week, while following the coverage of all the unrest in the world after the attacks on U.S. embassies, I came across this map that showed where protests were happening globally. I was reminded of our Marine Corps Times deployment map, and thought we should illustrate that information the same way. Every employee here at Marine Corps Times has spent their fair share of time gathering information on where Marines are around the world. But I always thought it was something that would be especially cool if it was digital — something that allowed our readers to interact with the information more. So here’s…
