Channeling pin-ups of old, reality television bombshell Kim Kardashian paid Marines and sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship San Diego a visit just days before Thanksgiving. The socialite-turned-celebrity-turned-businesswoman toured the ship, which is home to members of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and is stationed in Abu Dhabi, on Nov. 24. She occasionally posed for photographs and took selfies with some of the Marines aboard. True to her status as a social media maven, Kardashian later posted the shots to Twitter and Instagram where they quickly spread around the globe. A photo of her planting a kiss on the cheek…
Gen. Joe Dunford, the new commandant of the Marine Corps, is featured in a video message celebrating the service’s 239th birthday. Dunford issued the message celebrating Marines’ Nov. 10 birthday the day after a passage of command ceremony during which he became the Corps’ 36th commandant. This year’s message includes interviews with Marines from some of the Corps’ most brutal battles, from Pfc. John Lahm, who fought in the Battle of Peleliu during World War II, to Sgt. Maj. Bradley Kasal, who earned a Navy Cross for his role in the Battle of Fallujah in Iraq. The Corps’ newest Medal of…
Update: This event is open to all Marines, not just ones who fought in the Battle of Fallujah. A decade after the Battle of Fallujah, California-based Marines are holding a reunion and ceremony to honor those who were a part of one of the most significant fights in Iraq and some of the heaviest urban warfare in the Corps’ history. Members of 1st Marine Division is will host the Nov. 7 event for veterans ranging from privates to general officers at Camp Pendleton, California. Now-retired Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, the commander of 1st MARDIV during the battle, is attending. By…
[HTML1] If you’re looking for some cinematic firefights after Christmas Day presents and brunch, you’re in luck. The film version of former Navy SEAL Chief Special Operator Chris Kyle’s best-selling American Sniper memoir is coming to theaters Christmas Day, the tale of his path toward 160 confirmed kills, the most of any shooter in American history. Actor Bradley Cooper was able to meet with Kyle once before the SEAL was murdered in 2013. “Thank God I got to talk to him once on the phone. It was a very quick conversation. But I did tell him how serious I was…
[HTML1] If you’re looking for some cinematic firefights after Christmas Day presents and brunch, you’re in luck. The film version of former Navy SEAL Chief Special Operator Chris Kyle’s best-selling American Sniper memoir is coming to theaters Christmas Day, the tale of his path toward 160 confirmed kills, the most of any shooter in American history. Actor Bradley Cooper was able to meet with Kyle once before the SEAL was murdered in 2013. “Thank God I got to talk to him once on the phone. It was a very quick conversation. But I did tell him how serious I was…
Bonnie Amos and her husband, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Jim Amos, are busy packing up for what she says is their 30th move in not quite 44 years. It will be the last move of her husband’s military career, however, as the Marine Corps’ “first couple” readies for retirement and begins vacating the Home of the Commandants at 8th & I, in Washington, D.C. The passage of command, when Gen. Joseph Dunford will officially take charge as the 36th commandant of the Marine Corps, is set to take place Oct. 17. The Amoses won’t be taking everything though.…
We just finished our cover story on changes coming to Marine Corps marksmanship qualifications. Naturally, we know that any changes to marksmanship are a huge deal (I can remember when ACOG rifle sights were incorporated, I thought my fellow Marines were going to lose their minds). Now, I’m not going to give you all the details, because I want you to buy the paper, but there is one little tidbit I’ve decided to share. The idea of shoot/no-shoot scenarios are almost certainly some changes coming to Table 2. More importantly, shooting a no-shoot target will result in penalty, and an…
Obama’s controversial latte salute has entered the world of self-parody — and it’s hilarious. Maximilian Uriarte, the grunt-turned satirist who created the “Terminal Lance” comic strip, posted a slew of pictures on Facebook of people doing their own salute with a beverage in hand. We can’t guarantee they are all Marines, but the vast majority of Uriarte’s audience is comprised of active and discharged Marines. Some substituted the latte for a beer, a glass of scotch, a giant bottle of vodka or put on a horse mask and saluted with a half-filled bottle soy sauce (that contributor wrote “Of course…
On his way to participate in a United Nations talk on Climate Change, and coming from his national address on airstrikes in Syria, President Barack Obama stepped off Marine One and proceeded to salute Marines with a coffee cup in his hand. White House aides later posted that video to Instagram, and that’s when things went downhill. The White House press department didn’t immediately respond to queries about the salute. ABC published a story dubbing it the “Latte Salute.” Washington Times ran a headline that incorporated the words “Semper Latte.” Finally, a Daily Caller story cited the manual for Marine…
Update: This post originally identified the male as a Marine. Upon further inspection, the uniform is not consistent with Corps regulations, but those of the Marine JROTC program. The girl in the video, Kaylyn Mintz, is headed to tryouts for the Junior Olympics team. That, at least, would explain how she cranked out so many push-ups. Losing can be tough on the psyche, but losing in front of a crowd in a shopping mall must be brutal. One JROTC cadet is likely licking his wounds after getting trounced by a sandal-wearing opponent in a push-up contest at a mall. “She…
