The CMC

Terminal Lance creator sends ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ to commandant

By Hope Hodge Seck on August 19, 2014 Battle Rattle, Terminal Lance, The blogosphere, The CMC

It’s on now. If you’re on Facebook and don’t live underneath a rock, you’ve probably heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge fad sweeping the nation. It reportedly started in Boston with former Boston College baseball star Peter Frates, who was diagnosed with the degenerative disease ALS in 2012. The concept is simple: if you’re challenged, you have 24 hours to film yourself dumping ice water on your head for ALS awareness, or donate $100 to ALS research. Or, preferably, both. Then you get to challenge another handful of people. Well, this morning Maximilian Uriarte, creator of the wildly popular web…

Tattoos and Terminal Lance: the 5 most surprising things we learned from the commandant’s live Q&A

By Hope Hodge Seck on March 17, 2014 Commandant, Pop culture, Rumors, Special operations, The blogosphere, The CMC

The commandant and sergeant major of the Marine Corps took to Facebook last Friday afternoon, answering nearly 30 candid questions from the Marine Corps community in the space of an hour as part of his ongoing “Reawakening” effort to engage directly with enlisted Marines. According to site administrators on the official Marines Facebook page, some 900 questions and comments rolled in during the hour Gen. Jim Amos and Sgt. Maj. Mike Barrett were online. While Amos addressed a number of popular themes, such as women in combat arms roles, recruiting, and sexual assault prevention, he also revealed some surprising facts…

Commandant to do LIVE town hall via Facebook

By gpingersoll on March 13, 2014 General officers, Leadership, Pop culture, The CMC, The Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Michael Barrett will conduct a live social media Q&A Friday, March 14 at 4 p.m. via the official Marine Corps Facebook page. “An announcement post will hit the page and the bulk of dialogue will take place within the comments on that post. We will also be answering as many questions as we can on Twitter,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Fayloga, Marine Corps spokesperson, via email. The Q&A thread will resemble the popular AMA format used on the site Reddit.com; commenters will post questions on…

General: Brass joked about Marine angst over uniform sleeves

By Dan Lamothe on October 8, 2013 General officers, The CMC, Uniforms

As you may have seen, four Marine Corps generals and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett sat down with me recently and discussed a variety of issues, including the commandant’s new tough plans for barracks security, the manpower drawdown and the future of the service after Afghanistan. Times are tough, they acknowledged. But Maj. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commanding officer of 1st Marine Division, said Marines are also afraid of change, or the perception of change. He referenced a hot-button issue — Commandant Gen. Jim Amos’ decision to ditch rolled sleeves for Marines — while addressing it: Marine Corps…

GQ magazine profiles attack on Camp Bastion, Marines who repelled it

By Dan Lamothe on September 4, 2013 Afghanistan, Camp Bastion, Camp Leatherneck, The CMC

The deadly attack last year on Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, has received widespread coverage, especially by Marine Corps Times. But it isn’t every day that a Marine operation makes the pages of a gentlemen’s magazine. The newest GQ magazine profiles the Sept. 14, 2012, battle, sharing a number of details that square with previously published reports. It was written by Matthieu Aikins, whom I crossed paths with last October while embedded with Marines in Helmand province. Aikins’ story is written colorfully, and includes one troubling new allegation that had not previously been reported: But a troubling question still lingers: How could…

Video: Bulldog Lance Cpl. Chesty XIV assumes role as Marine mascot

By Dan Lamothe on August 28, 2013 Animals, The CMC, Washington

English bulldog Sgt. Chesty XIII stepped down as the mascot of Marine Barracks Washington today, allowing Lance Cpl. Chesty XIV to get his paws on the job. Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps oversaw the ceremony, in which the younger pooch also was promoted to lance corporal. Marine Corps Times videographer Colin Kelly was on the scene. Here’s his video: [HTML1] Congratulations, young Chesty. You earned yourself a T-bone.

Behind the cover: Unisex dress blues?

By Hope Hodge Seck on July 16, 2013 Behind the Cover, History and heritage, Marines, Military appearance, The CMC, Uniforms

Everyone recognizes the distinctive dress blues uniform worn by male Marines: the high mandarin collar, the broad belt, the round white cover. Well, female Marines may get to wear that uniform too if all goes well with a wear test taking place now down at Marine Barracks Washington. All female Marines stationed at 8th and I have been wearing the white dress cover this parade season, and a select number have also donned tailored versions of the men’s dress blues jacket instead of the traditional women’s lapel blazer with white-collared shirt and necktab underneath. At the end of the summer…

U.S. Marines reach transition point in Libya mission

By Dan Lamothe on July 12, 2013 Africa, The CMC

The Marine Corps has reached a transition point in Libya, replacing reserve Marines who had protecting the U.S. embassy compound in the capital city of Tripoli with active-duty forces from Camp Lejeune, N.C., officials said. The reserve Marines were with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Africa, a unit established in 2011 primarily to train friendly military forces in the region. Its home base is Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy. The last iteration of SPMAGTF-Africa deployed in January, and send a reinforced platoon to protect the embassy, the unit’s commander, Lt. Col. Daniel Whisnant, told Marine Corps Times in March.…

Two more female Marines fall short at latest Infantry Officer Course

By Dan Lamothe on July 3, 2013 Infantry, The CMC, women

QUANTICO, Va. — From the moment before dawn that we stepped out of our vehicles in the woods here, it was plainly obvious it would be a long, demanding day in the wilderness. Tuesday marked the beginning of the latest iteration of the Infantry Officer Course, the Marine Corps’ demanding 13-week course that determines who leads infantry Marines in combat. IOC has been in the news frequently over the last year as a result of the Women in Service Restriction Review, a Pentagon-directed study that is assessing which additional roles female service members can hold in combat units. Currently, female…

Behind the Cover: How a commandant’s son escaped controversy to become a battalion commander

By Dan Lamothe on May 28, 2013 Afghanistan, Commandant, The CMC, Washington

Marine Corps Times’ cover story this week dives deeply into an issue that has rubbed a number of Marines raw, following the recent publication of news stories about a pending inspector general complaint filed against Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and several members of his staff. The complaint, among other issues, questioned whether the commandant showed preferential treatment to then-Maj. James B. Conway, the son of retired Commandant Gen. James T. Conway, as the Marine Corps investigated Marines caught on video urinating on the remains of dead Taliban fighters. The complaint, filed by Maj. James Weirick, a staff judge advocate with…

Browsing: The CMC