If you visited Marine Corps Times online around the middle of last week, you may have seen our initial report introducing the commandant’s effort to re-evaluate how Purple Hearts are awarded to wounded Marines. In this week’s print edition, on newsstands now, we kick the can significantly farther down the road, laying out in greater detail how the plan is expected to take shape and why thousands of Marines — past and present — could soon to qualify for a medal if they suffered a concussion or other form of mild traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan or Iraq. Are you…
Author Andrew deGrandpre
If you love the sound of friendly artillery, be sure to crank the volume on your speakers before watching this little gem. Marine Corps Times’ senior video journalist Colin Kelly caught up with members of Romeo Battery, 5th Battalion, 10th Marines, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in early February — just a few weeks before the start of their six-month deployment to Okinawa. They were good enough to give him a demo of this wondrous Howitzer, which we — in turn — are happy to share with you. Enjoy. And please be sure to keep these Marines and their families in…
In an exclusive this week, senior writer Gina Cavallaro details the newly approved plan to create three military occupational specialties for operators, specialists and officers assigned to Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Plus, Cavallaro and San Diego bureau chief Gidget Fuentes team up to explain why the commandant shot down MARSOC’s effort to rename its units and personnel after the legendary Marine Raiders of World War II. Both stories came to light after Marine Corps Times obtained a detailed presentation provided to Gen. Jim Amos and his most senior general officers late last month in New Orleans. Amos, a…
Late Friday, Headquarters Marine Corps released the following three-minute video featuring Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and his top enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, discussing the imminent repeal of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, which since the 1990s has prohibited military service by men and women who are openly homosexual. [HTML1] The pair explain that the service has established an operational planning team that’s working with the Defense Department “to determine the best way forward.” They do not specify any forthcoming changes or indicate what the timetable is for implementation. However, both lean heavily on leaders throughout the ranks —…
Pssssssssst. Have you heard rumors the Corps is planning to cancel housing allowance for sergeants and below, and order all those Marines to move back into the barracks? Last week, a Marine Corps Times reader leaked us a copy of the unsigned MARADMIN detailing how the plan would work. We went to HQMC, which released this statement: The MARADMIN was a working draft. It was drafted as part of a pre-decisional informational package for the Marine Corps to understand and evaluate the possibility of modifying current policy regarding BAH (“own right”) for sergeants and below. After careful consideration, the Marine…
In this week’s print edition, West Coast bureau chief Gidget Fuentes lays out the host of complaints made by Marines about a full-bird colonel currently serving as Headquarters Battalion commander at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Col. Stephanie Smith, a judge advocate by training, is a decorated officer and the recipient of numerous judicial accolades over her 23 years in the service. The complaints against her — which include claims made by officers and NCOs that she abused her authority and intimidated subordinates — came to light recently after a former drill instructor filed an appeal of his special…
Commandant Gen. Jim Amos went to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., last week to discuss his planning guidance and field questions from Marines. Check out video here: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwddBf1UDOY&feature=channel[/youtube] And here: [HTML1]
In this week’s print edition, on newsstands now, staff writer Gina Cavallaro takes readers inside the Corps’ new special operations warm-up course at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Called the Assessment and Selection Preparation and Orientation Course, or ASPOC for short, it represents Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command’s latest effort to curtail a 46 percent attrition rate among Marines looking to become elite critical skills operators. The commandant has challenged MARSOC leadership to cut that rate to 20 percent — a tall order indeed, and one the command is taking very seriously. This three-week course, conducted at Lejeune’s Stone Bay training…
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?
