North Carolina-based Marines will make it into the next book of Guinness World Records for achieving the longest push-up chain in history. Guinness World Records announced the fan favorites for records broken this year on Friday. Included was the longest chain push-up, which involved 138 Marines and sailors. They were linked together while they completing three push-ups, with their legs resting on the shoulders of the person behind them. The attempt to break the record took place in September aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., according to a Marine Corps news release. The event was organized by Camp Lejeune’s Single Marine Program. Cpl. Andrew…
Author Gina Harkins
The Army colonel in charge of that service’s review on opening roles to women in combat, sent an email instructing public affairs to uses photos of “average-looking women” in place of those who might be viewed as too pretty for the warzone. Army Col. Lynette Arnhart, who leads the team of analysts considering what combat roles to open to women, sent an email indicating that images of “nice looking” female soldiers could undermine their communication strategy, Politico reported, after obtaining a copy of the email. “In general, ugly women are perceived as competent while pretty women are perceived as having used their…
Retired Gen. James Mattis, one of the most revered Marine Corps generals of this generation, will be presented with an award for tremendous public service on Monday night. Mattis was named the 2013 recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Service. He’ll be the ninth recipient to receive the award, which is sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank. The general will be recognized for serving more than four decades in the Marine Corps, before retiring in May. He led the 1st Marine Division, during the initial invasion of Iraq and served as head of U.S.…
Anyone who has ever doubted a Marine’s skills on the dance floor hasn’t met Sgt. Maj. Michael Miller. The top enlisted member of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Marine Corps Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., took to to the dance floor to show off some pretty sweet movies during a recent Marine Corps birthday ball. The worm, the moonwalk and the Roger Rabbit were all on display during Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean.” And like a true sergeant major, Miller clearly motivated his Marines. Others quickly joined in — one Marine even broke into the splits on the dance floor.…
A sergeant in the British Royal Marines was found guilty of murdering an insurgent during a court-martial on Friday, after helmet camera footage of him emerged showing him shooting the man in the chest at close-range. The man, identified only as marine A, faces a life in prison after being found guilty of murder, the Guardian reported. He and two other Royal Marines were on trial for their actions during a Sept. 2011 patrol in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Royal Marine A was accused of dragging an insurgent who was hit in a helicopter attack to the side of a field…
The Corps’ tests on common uniform items for male and female Marines stemmed from the Navy secretary’s philosophy that all service members should look the same — regardless of gender. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said when he looks at a group of Marines, he shouldn’t see female and male Marines, just Marines. “That’s the advantage of having one cover,” he told Defense Media Activity during an Oct. 31 interview. “We don’t ask any other group to wear a different uniform, and the whole term of uniform means, the same.” Many Marines, unhappy with the proposed unisex covers, laid the blame…
The Corps’ tests on common uniform items for male and female Marines stemmed from the Navy secretary’s philosophy that all service members should look the same — regardless of gender. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said when he looks at a group of Marines, he shouldn’t see female and male Marines, just Marines. “That’s the advantage of having one cover,” he told Defense Media Activity during an Oct. 31 interview. “We don’t ask any other group to wear a different uniform, and the whole term of uniform means, the same.” Many Marines, unhappy with the proposed unisex covers, laid the blame…
[HTML1] Marine Corps Times recently sat down with former Sgt. Joe Chamblin, one of the Marines involved in the infamous video that shows four scout snipers urinating on Taliban corpses. Chamblin, who served as the the scout sniper platoon commander during the 2011 deployment to Afghanistan, said he hates that all anyone will ever remember about his Marines is that 30 second video. The scout sniper platoon deployed with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. They filmed the video during a patrol in Helmand’s Musa Qala district on July 27, 2011. The video led to backlash, both home and abroad. But…
A fallen Marine’s brother is making a film to collect people’s memories of him in order to tell his life story to others so that he will never be forgotten. [HTML1] Sgt. Dan Patron was an explosive ordnance disposal technician who died during a 2011 deployment to Helmand province in Afghanistan. He was assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was 26-years-old. Patron’s older brother, Matthew, is a filmmaker. While he grew up alongside Patron, he recognized that once he joined the Corps, he had other brothers in his life. He decided to tell the story…
The Corps’ new leadership development initiative will take a fresh look at mentoring as part of a wider effort that will allow leaders more time to get to know their junior Marines, as the service continues its fight against bad behavior in the ranks. It’s coined Leadership Development, and it will introduce a new brand of more engaged leadership that might remind Marines of what they experienced at boot camp. From values-based discussions on the rifle ranges to more one-on-one mentoring, the initiative is aimed at reminding Marines that their values and behavior shouldn’t change when they hang up their…
