Off-duty

National Museum of the Marine Corps exhibit to commemorate one of the Iraq War’s hardest hit units

By James Sanborn on February 18, 2014 Battle Rattle, Iraq, Marines, Off-duty

One of the Iraq War’s hardest hit units, which lost 22 Marines and a corpsman on a single deployment, is being commemorated by a temporary exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va. The exhibit, which commemorates the dead of Columbus, Ohio-based Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines — known as “Lucky Lima” when it deployed to Iraq in 2005 — will be open to the public from Feb. 20 through March 3. It consists of oil paintings of each of the 23 casualties created by Columbus-based artist Anita Miller. Together they comprise a touring…

Hey Vets! 30 Employers are looking for you!

By Stephen Houserman on July 12, 2013 Battle Rattle, Events, Off-duty, Veterans

More than 30 leading employers who represent over 40,000 jobs will be online on July 30, 2013 at the veteranrecruiting.com Nationwide Virtual Career Fair. The Veteran Recruiting Services, in partnership with the White House Joining Forces Inititive, will host this years installment of the VRS online event. Prior service members are encouraged to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity. This is a great way for veterans to meet live with employers from all across the country, but without the need to travel to a physical location. The career fair is not limited to only veterans. Active duty service members closing in…

Marine leads blind runner through Run Amuck

By Gina Harkins on June 18, 2012 Marines, Off-duty

The Run Amuck Challenge is filled with steep hills, obstacle courses and deep mud pits — but none of that stopped a blind man from participating. Charlie Plaskon, 69, of Long Island, N.Y. , completed the course held Saturday at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. He did so with the aid of a Marine, Master Sgt. Donald Ogden. Plaskon, a marathon-running grandfather, was one of more than 2,500 participants who trekked through three and a half miles of muddy trails and pits. Ogden’s office at Marine Corps Recruiting Command received a request from public affairs to lead a blind runner through…

Are you (really) ready for some football?

By Gidget Fuentes on November 25, 2011 Marines, Off-duty, Safety, Sports

‘Tis the season for turkey, tailgating and that classic game on the gridiron, football. But all that rough play with your best buddies can sometimes turn into a trip to the Doc or, worse, the emergency room. Over Thanksgiving 2010, the Naval Safety Center got 54 reports of injuries, including Marines and sailors who “attempted to work off their turkey tryptophan with a pick-up game.” Some of them suffered poked eyes and sprained ankles from playing on the football field. No word about any resulting lost work days. The fall season typically sees double the number of football injuries than any…

Give me liberty – but where?

By Gidget Fuentes on September 2, 2011 Life at sea, MEU operations, Off-duty, The Pacific

Will it be Hong Kong? Or Australia? For some 4,000 Marines and sailors aboard three amphibious ships on the homestretch of an overseas deployment, liberty this holiday weekend means they will get to spend their days, nights and dollars in Hong Kong and Australia. The crew of amphibious transport dock Green Bay is making its maiden operational deployment, and embarked Marines with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit get to stretch their legs in Darwin, Australia. Darwin sits in the continent’s north-central coast. It’s a tropical city on the Timor Sea and the capital of the Northern Territory, a sparse region most known for…

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