Terminal Lance

Marines returned Obama’s latte salute on social media, and the results are hilarious

By Joshua Stewart on September 25, 2014 Battle Rattle, Marines

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…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: Why’s First Sergeant so upset?

By Andrew deGrandpre on December 11, 2012 Terminal Lance

It’s Tuesday, so we’re opening the vault once more to bring you another exclusive “Terminal Lance” strip, published heretofore only in the pages of Marine Corps Times. “Dismay,” one of my all-time favorites, appeared in the issue dated Feb. 27, 2012. Seeing this, I imagine that First Sergeant’s a real close-talker — the sort of guy whose breath you have to smell every time he barks at you. And given his proclivity for java, as Max has depicted here, I’ve got to think First Sergeant’s breath has its own pulse. Ugh. That said, coffee in the workplace is a serious…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: We’re cool with ‘Boot’

By Andrew deGrandpre on November 27, 2012 Terminal Lance

First, our apologies for the two-week hiatus. Now, here’s this week’s installment of “Terminal Lance” Tuesdays, newly released from the Marine Corps Times archive. “Anatomy of a New-Join” first appeared in the March 7, 2011, issue. When the strip’s creator, Max Uriarte, submitted this strip for publication, he prefaced it — as he frequently does — with a disclaimer. “The original title was ‘Anatomy of a Boot,’ but I figured ‘New-Join’ might be more socially acceptable for the newspaper,” he warned me. “At least I remember when I was in, they wouldn’t let us call them ‘boots’ anymore.” I’ll say…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: At the intersection of IEDs and grooming standards

By Andrew deGrandpre on November 6, 2012 Terminal Lance

If there’s one thing I think we’ve all learned from “Terminal Lance,” it’s that the strip’s creator, Max Uriarte, doesn’t pull any punches. Case in point: “Numbers,” another exclusive from the Marine Corps Times archive. This strip first appeared in the newspaper dated Aug. 29, 2011. “It’s a fairly simple image,” Max told me when he submitted this last summer, “but I think it speaks pretty clearly.” For me, this strip calls to mind the story of Gunnery Sgt. Benjamin “Gus” Lepping, whom Marine Corps Times’ senior staff Dan Lamothe encountered three summers ago while embedded with Marines at an…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: Knife-Hands and Yoo-Hoo

By Andrew deGrandpre on October 30, 2012 Terminal Lance

We’ve pulled another “Terminal Lance” strip from the Marine Corps Times archive. “Vigilance” first appeared in the issue dated June 27, 2011, and includes, in my opinion, one of TL creator Max Uriarte’s most outstanding depictions of the infamous — or dreaded? — knife-hand. This strip calls to mind a cover story we did back in 2010 examining the Lance Corporal Underground’s growing presence on the web. Max, not then a contributor to Marine Corps Times, was interviewed for that article, which includes (tragically) the newspaper’s only known reference to the term “knife-hand” — references to the title of Max’s…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: A day late, but worth the wait

By Andrew deGrandpre on October 24, 2012 Terminal Lance

Here we are. It’s Wednesday, and we’ve yet to post another “Terminal Lance” strip from the Marine Corps Times archive. It was only a matter of time, I suppose, before we dropped the ball on “Terminal Lance” Tuesdays. My apologies; we’ll do better. So without further delay, here’s “Fun with Puns,” which first appeared in print in the Marine Corps Times dated July 4, 2011. Enjoy! This issue contained numerous stories of import, including the annual re-enlistment bonus rates, a contentious proposal (since squashed) to have female Marines complete pullups as part of their Physical Fitness Test, and a first-hand…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: Presidential debate special

By Andrew deGrandpre on October 16, 2012 Terminal Lance

In honor of this evening’s presidential debate, here’s a very recent “Terminal Lance” strip from Marine Corps Times’ archive. “Election Season” was published in the Sept. 17 issue. So in thinking about important policy decisions … do you think a future commandant will reverse the new sleeves-down rule? Or is the change proving a winner among most Marines?

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: ‘Master Chief’ by request — and the moto Marine’s million-pushups challenge

By Andrew deGrandpre on October 2, 2012 Terminal Lance

When we launched Terminal Lance Tuesdays last month, a fair number of readers posted feedback saying what a great idea it is to showcase online some of the strips creator Max Uriarte has made exclusively for Marine Corps Times. (All of the credit for this goes to Max, by the way, who was relentless persistent in nudging me to create a forum on our website to display his work.) Among the first to weigh in was Trevor, an obvious Marine Corps Times reader and fan of Terminal Lance, who told us “I have been dying to show my ‘Halo’ fan…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: Reconnecting with your recruiter

By Andrew deGrandpre on September 25, 2012 Terminal Lance

Here’s your weekly dose of heretofore unpublished — at least online — “Terminal Lance” shenanigans. This strip, titled “Run-in with an Old Friend,” first appeared in the Marine Corps Times dated June 4. Has this ever happened to you? When he submitted this strip back in May, TL creator Max Uriarte noted in his email that it’s based on a true story. “I ran into my recruiter in Iraq,” he said, “in Sahl Sinjar (of all places) while I was on a random layover for 12 hours on my way back from a photography mission up at COP Heider. It…

‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: Gunny’s guide for Birthday Ball decorum — and Sgt. Scott Moore’s advice for inviting celebs

By Andrew deGrandpre on September 18, 2012 Terminal Lance

It’s Tuesday, so we’re opening the “Terminal Lance” vault once again to share another from the dozens of strips creator Max Uriarte has inked exclusively for readers of Marine Corps Times. Up this week: “Expectations,” first published in the issue dated Oct. 17, 2011. With Birthday Ball season nearly upon us, this seemed like a fitting choice. Plus, it’s pretty damn funny. And, too, you’ll recall the frenzy last year when, one by one, Marines took to YouTube to invite celebrities as their Birthday Ball dates. Mila Kunis. Justin Timberlake. Et cetera. We can’t help but wonder whether a similar…

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