Sangin, Afghanistan – Four weeks ago everything changed here. Where Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, of Camp Pendleton, Calif., had once tread cautiously and without serious incident, suddenly became a minefield. Dormant hidden bombs began exploding underfoot and gunfights erupted following the poppy and wheat harvests. The battalion arrived in Sangin in late April just before the so-called spring offensive, where the Taliban begin fighting the Americans. It was quiet, but now it’s anything but and it is expected to continue throughout the summer. The security situation is better than it was a year ago, but there is a…
Author Gina Cavallaro
Marjah, Afghanistan – It started with two bursts of gunfire outside the Hesco walls of the patrol base, a small square in the center of town at the governor’s compound. Within moments, the 3rd Platoon Marines of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines, were mustered by their vehicles wearing the required uniform: shoes, pants and weapon. It was about midnight. After a quick head count, and a determination that the gunfire had come from unknown activity between Afghan police, the Marines were told by platoon sergeant Staff Sgt. Chad Cada they could stand down and resume their sleep. But something…
Patrol Base Boldak, Afghanistan – A casual conversation with an infantryman, who’s had a few deployments here and in Iraq, reveals a happy history of heat, cold and general discomfort along the lines of “I lived in my vehicle for seven months.” That is still par for the course — and a form of shared misery preferred by many Marines. But the procurement system has brought some smart comfort to enhance existing structures, such as these insulating tent liners I watched being installed here. They’re made by HDT for the 100, 200 and 300 series shelters and can bring the…
Patrol Base Boldak, Afghanistan — Much has been made of the deftness with which some Marine officers have been able to form productive ties and friendships with local tribal leaders in Helmand province. They meet in weekly “shuras,” or consultations, to discuss needs, problems and ideas. The tribal leaders get to report things that have happened as a result of the presence of the Marines, both good and bad, such as “your tanks rolled over my crop field,” (even though the Marines in this area don’t have tanks) and “we like you better than the British unit that comes down…
KABUL, Afghanistan — Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill is not a household name among Marines, but his career has skyrocketed parallel to that of his long-time friend, Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, who stepped down June 9 as sergeant major of the Marine Corps. “I went to high school with Sgt. Maj. Kent, he’s a homeboy and a very close friend,” Hill said June 3 in his office at NATO headquarters, where he is the senior enlisted leader for International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. Translation: He is ISAF commander Army Gen. David Petraeus’ wingman, and has…
It’s called “sexting,” the practice of exchanging sexually explicit photos with another person or sending racy text messages via cell phone. Mirroring a trend in society at large, there is evidence that lots of Marines are doing it, though the Corps does not keep data on the social phenomenon nor is it directly addressed in the UCMJ. It’s not illegal and not everybody thinks it’s wrong. But some Marines have already felt the sting of having what they considered private messages go public and, to their horror and embarrassment, shared with their chain of command. Careers have been ruined, marriages…
As quickly as the news spread of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, a picture of his alleged bloodied death face began circulating. It has been lighting up the pages of Facebook and making the rounds on TV reports, websites and strings of emails. Click here to see the alleged photo. Just as quickly, though, the authenticity of the photo was being debunked on the web. Even the Associated Press, which disseminates photos to news organizations around the world, recalled the photo after determining it was bogus.
As expected, the Marine Corps has expanded the rules for rating a Purple Heart for Marines who suffered mild traumatic brain injury. Bottom line up front: it used to be a Marine had to lose consciousness to get a Purple Heart for mild TBI. Now, if a medical officer determines that a Marine is “not fit for full duty” after 48-hours from the time of the concussive event, the wound merits a Purple Heart. The new policy became effective April 15, and is retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001. This means thousands of Marines whose medical records show that they meet…
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, stopped in at Camp Lejeune, N.C. today for about three hours as part of the launch of their “Joining Forces” campaign to support America’s uniformed troops and their families. Before a crowd of more than 3,000, the two women took the stage at Goettge Memorial Field House to rousing applause, and spoke of their support and admiration for Marines and their famlies. It was the first visit for Obama, but not for Biden, who demonstrated her kinship with the Marine Corps by letting out a hearty…
Former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Charles Krulak has just been named president of Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala., but he’s making noise across the Atlantic of another kind as he gives the players of the Aston Villa Football Club a pep talk worthy of his four stars. In a Guardian article Tuesday, Krulak, who is a non-executive director of the Birmingham, England, soccer team, told his players on a fan forum called Villa Talk that “when my Marines put on their uniforms and the emblem of the Corps and went into battle and things got tough, they did not fight…
