A Norwegian news outlet posted a call-out to the 16,000 international troops participating in Exercise Cold Response for “selfies” from the field, and the results are pretty amazing. The news site VG Nett posted 51 selfies they received from troops training above the Arctic Circle. They got pictures of fur hats, bearded men, berets and some bloodied mock casualties in return. About 440 North-Carolina based Marines are in Norway for Cold Response, a handful of which threw their own selfies into the mix. Most of the troops are smiling despite the frigid climate and reports of icy rain. The 11-day exercise wrapped…
Browsing: Allies and training
We told you the Marines are conducting experiments with a futuristic landing craft prototype called the Ultra Heavy Lift Amphibious Connector. Now, watch it in action. [HTML1] In this demonstration video supplied by the company Navatek, half-size and quarter-size versions of the UHAC (which is big enough to carry 3 tanks at full size) conduct impressive maneuvers. The prototypes climb sea walls, launch directly into the water over berms, and maneuver through choppy seas at speeds of up to 10 knots. Officials with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab were in Hawaii earlier this month to conduct experiments with the UHAC…
Appearing before members of Britain’s Parliament on Tuesday, a top British general disputed assertions that his forces are to blame for the security failures that led to last year’s deadly Taliban attack on a coalition airfield in southwestern Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. David Capewell, who oversees the planning for British military operations abroad, told lawmakers that even though the Brits were in charge of security for Camp Bastion at the time of the attack, they are not responsible for the deaths of two Marines gunned down after 15 insurgents breached the base perimeter in September 2012. His testimony before Parliament’s Defence…
According to reports, the president is weighing a plan that would engage U.S. troops to train Syrian rebels, enhancing their military skills and capabilities. The big question remains: would Marines be tapped to conduct such training? According to Lolita Baldor of the Associated Press, “any training would take place outside Syria, and one possible location would be Jordan.” If approved, this training would expand on work being done to train small groups of rebels in Jordan in the use of communications equipment and certain weapons systems, according to her report. “The new discussions center on whether the U.S. military should…
Marines participating in exercise Cobra Gold took the concept of tasting the local cuisine to new levels when they sliced open a freshly caught cobra and drank its blood. With the pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, Marines could soon find themselves spending more time in jungle environments. About 5,000 members of III Marine Expeditionary Force are participating in Cobra Gold 2013, a joint multinational exercise based out of Thailand. In addition to local troops there, they are working with military members from Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. Thai troops were giving Marines a lesson on jungle survival, which…
Members of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton, Calif., joined Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces for this year’s “Iron Fist” exercise, held in Southern California. The three-week interoperability training exercise has the combined forces training on this side of the Pacific along the coast, in the desert, out at sea and back ashore as the Marines and soldiers hone their warfighting skills with patrolling, assaults, mechanized attacks and live-fire and maneuver drills. This is the eighth year for the bilateral training, which “promises to be bigger and better than in previous years,” Maj. Gen. Melvin G. Spiese, the I Marine Expeditionary Force deputy…
KHANASHIN, Afghanistan – From behind his wooden desk, Lt. Col. Rasoul held court for hours today, answering Marine questions about everything from his unit’s recent operations to insurgent activity in the region. The short, bearded commander of the Afghan Border Police unit here meets with Marine Border Adviser Team 1 regularly near the village of Taghaz, discussing the way ahead as their partnership evolves. The advisers –- attached to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines -– are gradually pulling back from assisting with day-to-day operations for the ABP battalion as the U.S. drawdown continues, and Rasoul knows it. Photographer Colin Kelly and…
Natural disasters like typhoons and heavy storms that lead to mudslides are no stranger to the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, which sees almost annual devastation from Mother Nature from heavy rains and winds. When that happens, the Marine Corps and the Navy sometimes get the call to respond and help in what’s been a long-running relationship well predating the so-called “pivot” to the Pacific. Starting Oct. 8, Marines and sailors with the Okinawa, Japan-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, currently aboard amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, will join with Philippine military forces for a two-week bilateral exercise in the Philippines…
The Washington Post published a disturbing report Friday evening, detailing the deadly Aug. 10 attack on Marines at Forward Operating Base Delhi in the Garmser district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Among the revelations, according to reporter Kevin Sieff’s story: These killings were carried out, allegedly, by a 15-year-old Afghan boy — described as a personal assistant to the district police chief, who’s been accused of having an affinity for young boys and abusing them. Moreover, Sieff’s report contends the boy lived on the base but was never put through the coalition’s rigorous vetting process used for all members of the…
This year’s deployment of a Marine infantry company, the first in what will become a larger rotation of units to Australia, has garnered lots of attention Down Under and throughout South Asia as officials and analysts lauded or questioned the larger strategic reasons, namely China’s rising influence and expanding military, for the new quasi-permanent U.S. military presence. Gen. Jim Amos, visiting the Australian Army’s Robertson Barracks that’s been the main garrison for the deployed Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, praised the benefits of these renewed U.S-Aussie ties and dismissed any notions the deployments were an attempt to…
