A man who runs public speaking seminars faced severe backlash on social media from Marines and veterans groups after he dressed up as a drill instructor during one of his recent engagements. Marines took to Facebook and Twitter to launch a social media campaign to stop Marc Accetta, the founder of a company that provides seminars and training programs, from donning official Marine Corps uniform items during his engagements. [HTML4] The photo, which showed Accetta dressed as a first sergeant with the classic DI smokey cover, appears to have been removed from Facebook. And just hours later, Accetta issued a…
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A Marine recruit — or soon to be recruit — took to the Internet to ask for some advice about whether drill instructors care if your birthday falls during boot camp. Here’s the question that was posted to Yahoo! Answers on Wednesday: “What if I tell the drill instructors it’s my birthday? What if the platoon was lined up and I stepped out of line to announce to everyone it’s my 19th birthday. What’ll happen?” One Army veteran responded that it would go down as one of the “Worst Birthdays Ever.” Another user who goes by the name Goose said, “Please do…
As Marine veteran Andrew Tahmooressi appeared in a Mexican courthouse in Tijuana today for an evidentiary hearing, a host of lawmakers and a movie star are voicing their support for him. Tahmooressi says he missed his exit at the San Ysidro border crossing March 31, entering Mexico with three firearms and dozens of rounds of ammunition in his truck before being arrested by Mexican authorities. His court proceedings were delayed by a series of legal hiccups: he has fired his attorney twice before hiring lawyer Fernando Benitez to represent him. While the results of the hearing, which began at 11:30a.m.…
Last year, 12-year-old Ethan Arbelo earned his Eagle, Globe, and Anchor when he was made an Honorary Marine, joining a group of fewer than 100 who have received that title. Last week, Ethan’s family said he had earned his angel’s wings. Diagnosed with Anaplastic Astrocytoma Grade III, an aggressive brain cancer, in Feb. 2012, Ethan embarked on a mission to make the most of the time he had. His mom, Maria Maldonado Arbelo, herself a Marine veteran, created “Ethan’s Bucket List,” a tally of her son’s dream adventures. With donor support raised in online fundraisers and through various charitable organizations, Ethan…
[HTML1] A Marine Reserve officer is taking some heat for an opinion piece he wrote analyzing the reaction to a viral video in which Marines filmed themselves belting out the lyrics to the girl-power anthem, “Let It Go.” In a piece for The Daily Beast titled “Why these Marines love ‘Frozen’ and why it matters,” Aaron B. O’Connell — a lieutenant colonel in the Reserve and history professor at the U.S. Naval Academy — said the public’s reaction to the video is flawed. Those who were calling it “adorable” missed the point, he wrote. Instead, he says the Marines’ performance is…
[HTML1] Marine Master Sgt. Jacinto Bernardo and his family bought a fixer-upper in California before deploying to Okinawa, Japan. But when he returned from his deployment, the fixing-up part was complete — a surprise orchestrated by an old boot camp buddy. Bernardo and his wife returned to Suisun City, California, on Tuesday — their final homecoming as the master sergeant completed his 21-year career in the Corps, according to ABC7. Before leaving for Japan, Bernardo asked his friend, Jeremy Epperson, to look after his new place, according to ABC7. But Epperson decided the retiring master sergeant rated a better house after more than two decades in…
Retired Marine Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, who received the Medal of Honor at the White House last week, entered the home stretch of a week on the road with an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in New York last night. [HTML1] Carpenter, who showed up sharp in his dress blues with his medal at his collar, revealed to Letterman that he had driven home from class to receive the call from President Barack Obama congratulating him on his award. Then, he had gone back to class. “I’m sorry I’m late, professor, I just got a call from the…
I wasn’t the best at rolling sleeves in my time, wasn’t the worst either, probably right around the middle of the pack. Leading that pack from Guatemala, though, is their marine corps commandant. Seriously, those rolls are so sharp, they probably outmatch half the Marines in the Corps. Col. Medardo Monterroso Suarez is so pumped about U.S. Marines training his troops that he not only wants to completely adopt their doctrine, but apparently their uniform presentation as well. Recently, we sent Marine Corps Times reporter Gina Harkins and staff photographer Mike Morones down into the heart of Central America to…
The Corps is once again looking for a few good Marines willing to make a lateral move into a community that sometimes allows them to grow out a beard, ditch the high-and-tight and work undercover. First-term Marines are being solicited to join the 0211 counterintelligence/human intelligence specialist military occupation specialty. Intel is considered a high-demand, low-density military occupational specialty, one for which officials consistently dangle plump re-enlistment bonuses in front of Marines willing to change MOSs. For Marines who go intel, it could mean a bonus of $45,500. Last year, Marine Corps Times wrote this cover story lifting the veil on the somewhat…
Edit: It has been brought to our attention that recent Army MOH recipient Kyle White began the tradition of live online Q-and-As earlier this year. Kyle Carpenter participated in the first of these events for the Marine Corps, though. We’ve updated this post to reflect that. Marine Corps hero Kyle Carpenter made a bit of history today, conducting what is the first-ever live online Q-and-A with a Marine selected to receive the military’s top honor. He’ll receive the Medal of Honor Thursday in a ceremony at the White House, nearly four years after covering a live grenade to save a…
