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: Snipers
Earlier today, I hopped on the horn with Maj. Gen. John Toolan, commander of Marine forces in Afghanistan. We discussed a wide variety of issues for several forthcoming articles in Marine Corps Times, but there’s at least one piece that I wanted to report today. Noting that the initial deployment of Marine tanks to Afghanistan was high-profile, I asked the general what the current unit downrange — Alpha Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. — is doing. One answer: Helping Marine snipers lay insurgents to waste. The unit is now partnered with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, deployed…
Earlier this year, I dove into the world of chasing Taliban snipers while embedded in Afghanistan’s violent Marjah district. It’s still one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I bring that up because it’s worth noting that while sniper fire in Marjah has even been raised as an issue on Capitol Hill by Commandant Gen. James Conway, it’s certainly not a problem unique to that area. As the Wall Street Journal points out in a story today, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., has faced the same danger recently in Sangin, another former Taliban stronghold in northern Helmand…
