Floating over Marine Week with a helmet camera

Marine Week wraps up in St. Louis on Sunday, so it seemed like a good time to play catch-up on what’s going on in the Gateway City.

In this video, filmed near the famous Gateway Arch, Marines demonstrate a special patrol insertion/extraction. They take off with a CH-46 helicopter from a helipad on the Mississippi River, providng a pretty sweet aerial view of the city from Cpl. A.J. Lugo’s helmet camera:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skKU4axzUXo&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

In another highlight, Cpl. Justin McLoud threw the opening pitch before the Cardinals game Wednesday night.

Other events this weekend include martial arts demonstrations, military working dog exhibitions and a simulated amphibious assault at the Arch. A closing ceremony will be held Sunday at 10:30 a.m., with a performance by the Silent Drill Platoon afterward at city’s War Memorial.

In case you’ve been following along, another controversy has erupted during the event, too.

In addition to Lt. Col. Shane Tomko offending politically correct sensibilities with his tank wisecrack during the Cardinals-Phillies game on Tuesday, the St. Louis mayor’s chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, has apologized after suggesting that three Marines who were robbed at knifepoint in the city were drunk at the time.