Gina Harkins

3rd MAW opens obstacle course after corporal asks for one

By Gina Harkins on January 9, 2014 Battle Rattle

Members of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing got a new obstacle course this week, with one section named after a sergeant who spoke up and asked his commanding general why their base didn’t have one. Sgt. Mark Willoughby Jr., an air intercept controller with Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 38, out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., was a corporal when his CG invited him to his house for breakfast. Maj. Gen. Steven Busby, 3rd MAW’s CG, has held breakfasts and lunches at his home for small groups of lance corporals, corporals and sergeants for about a year. It’s part of his Committed…

Dying man’s Marine Corps records adjusted nearly 60 years after discharge

By Gina Harkins on January 6, 2014 Battle Rattle

A man battling terminal cancer had his dying wish answered last week when he was presented with paperwork adjusting his military records to reflect an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, replacing the other than honorable discharge he received in 1956 when his command found out he was gay. Hal Faulkner, 79, joined the Marine Corps in 1953 and served in Philippines. But in 1956, his otherwise flawless career in the Corps ended when he was discharged after a man with whom he had spent some off-duty time informed Hal’s commanding officer that Hal was gay, according to this opinion piece…

Petition seeks Medal of Honor for fallen Marines

By Gina Harkins on January 2, 2014 Awards, Battle Rattle, Deployments, Iraq, Marines, Medal of Honor

A petition posted on the White House website asks the president to award the nation’s highest award for valor to two fallen Marines who in 2008 stopped a truck laden with explosives from barreling through the checkpoint they were guarding in Iraq,saving dozens of lives. But those who want to sign on must act quickly. The deadline is Sunday. Cpl. Jonathan Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, another rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, were awarded the Navy Cross posthumously in February 2009. But the petition asks President Obama to upgrade the awards…

Professor: Marines can stop bad behavior by speaking up, reminding wrong-doers of their identity

By Gina Harkins on December 18, 2013 Afghanistan, Battle Rattle, Leadership, Marines

A Harvard professor is suggesting that bad behavior in the war-zone could be prevented if just one person in the unit stepped forward to say, “Marines don’t do that.” Michael Wheeler, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, posted a piece to his LinkedIn profile examining how someone’s decision-making can be changed in a matter of seconds. He cited the case of British Royal Marine Sgt. Alexander Blackman, who was recently sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty for killing an insurgent at close-range during a 2011 patrol in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. The act was captured on helmet cameras worn by…

Researchers awarded contract to develop injury prevention program for MARSOC operators

By Gina Harkins on December 10, 2013 Battle Rattle

Experts from the University of Pittsburgh will soon head to North Carolina to help develop ways for Marine special operators to better prevent job-related injuries. The university recently announced that its Neuromuscular Research Laboratory/Warrior Human Performance Research Center was awarded funding to conduct research with the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. The project will be built around injury prevention and performance optimization for the MARSOC operator. The researchers will seek to design a program that is “culturally-specific and dynamically responsive to the unique tactical demands” of MARSOC operators, the release states. They’ll conduct the research aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C.,…

Waitress and former Marine out of job following restaurant receipt kerfuffle

By Gina Harkins on December 9, 2013 Battle Rattle

A former lance corporal-turned-waitress is out of a job and returning donations she received from strangers following questions about her claim that she received an anti-gay message from a customer in place of a tip in November. Dayna Morales, a former administrative specialist with Marine Air Group 49, no longer works at the Asian restaurant where she claimed to have received a negative message from a customer about her sexual orientation, according to ABC News. The restaurant owners posted an update to their Facebook page calling the situation unfortunate. The results of their own investigation were inconclusive, they wrote, and that…

26th MEU leaders prepared for mission in Syria

By Gina Harkins on December 6, 2013 26th MEU, Battle Rattle, Life at Sea, Marines, MEU operations

Top leaders of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit said they were preparing to put boots on the ground in Syria during their eight-month deployment, which wrapped up last month. Col. Matthew St. Clair, the MEU commander, and Navy Capt. Jim Cody, who led the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, spoke to a group of reporters at the Potomac Institute in Virginia on Thursday. When President Obama discussed a military strike in September against the Bashar al-Assad regime following an apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians, St. Clair said Marines were preparing for a situation that would require them to make landfall, according to U.S. News…

Marines save two downed pilots during humanitarian mission in the Philippines

By Gina Harkins on December 3, 2013 Aviation, Battle Rattle

Seven Marines aboard a KC-130J Hercules rescued two pilots after their helicopter lost power and crashed into Manila Bay while they were assisting with relief efforts following last month’s typhoon in the Philippines. Maj. Jason Kauffman, a pilot with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152, said the Marines were conducting aerial logistics support on Nov. 24, between Tacloban, Manila and former Clark Air Base, the three hubs the Corps set up during Operation Damayan. They were also transporting three members of Congress who traveled to the Philippines to observe the relief efforts: Reps. Trent Franks, R-Ariz.; Chris Smith, R-N.J.; and…

Report calls former Marine’s claim into question following restaurant bill fiasco

By Gina Harkins on November 27, 2013 Battle Rattle

[HTML1] A new report by NBC raises questions about a former Marine’s claims that she was denied a tip while waiting on a family at a restaurant due to her sexual orientation. Former Lance Cpl. Dayna Morales, an administrative specialist with Marine Air Group 49, who left the service in May, posted a copy of a restaurant receipt to Facebook on Nov. 13. The receipt showed that the customer left no tip, and included the following note: “I’m sorry but I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle and the way you live your life.” The image sparked outrage on social…

Marine Corps band preps for Thanksgiving Day performance

By Gina Harkins on November 27, 2013 Battle Rattle

A Marine Corps band will perform during Thursday’s 87th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the second time in history. The Marine Corps East Coast Composite Band will be featured on NBC tomorrow during the live broadcast of the holiday parade. More than 3.5 million people are expected to gather in New York City for the event, and another 50 million will watch the parade on TV. The band’s performance is expected to begin at approximately 10:48 a.m. EST. The composite band will be comprised of 80 musicians from the service’s three largest east coast installations; Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.; Camp Lejeune,…

Author Gina Harkins