[HTML1] A retired Marine said he nearly broke down in tears after finding his white Mercedes covered in black spray paint with messages like “Marines suck.” Bart Gibson, of Fresno, Calif., told KMPH Fox 26 that he walked out to find his car destroyed last week. The vandals broke the car windows, slashed the soft top of the car and ripped mirrors off the sides. Inside the car, the vandals spray painted a black “X” across both of the front seats. But most offensive were the words “Marines suck” spray painted in black across the trunk of the car and…
Author Gina Harkins
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., has confirmed that their security guards will no longer wear repurposed military ribbons on their uniforms after a former Marine corporal issued complaints about the policy. Robert Smith, an infantryman who served in the Corps during the first Gulf War, said he recently showed his son the awards he earned during his time as a Marine. But when they walked through the ticket gates at the Six Flags amusement park on Saturday, his son pointed to the security guards and told Smith they were wearing ribbons just like his. “I saw a 23-…
The Academy Award winning director of military blockbusters like “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July” denounced the U.S. presence in Japan during a recent visit there. Oliver Stone called U.S. military bases in Japan “no longer necessary” during a discussion in Okinawa on Wednesday, Japan Daily Press reported. The event included a former Okinawa governor and other panelists on his trip that coincided with the 68th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allied Forces, which ended World War II. Japan Daily Press reported that Stone visited Okinawa to learn more about the military base issue on the island. He…
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee will attend a benefit dinner next week to raise awareness and donations for the family of a former Marine sergeant who has been imprisoned in Iran for nearly two years. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is slated to attend the Free Amir Benefit Dinner in his home state on Wednesday. The benefit will be hosted by the family of Amir Hekmati, a former Marine sergeant who served four years in the Corps and deployed to Iraq. Hekmati was arrested in Iran while visiting his grandmother in August of 2011. He has been held ever since…
A mixed martial arts fighter who was born with an underdeveloped left arm checked in with a group of Marines and other troops who lost limbs in combat. Nick Newell, a World Series of Fighting lightweight star, visited with members of “Operation Warrior Reconnect,” the Los Angeles Times reported. He met with the troops last Wednesday in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and was humbled by their appreciation of him. “What they’ve done is way more fantastic, more brave, than anything I’ve ever done,” Newell told the LA Times. “Sacrificing your life for our country, that’s something.” The 27-year-old MMA fighter was born…
A Marine who appears on “The Real Housewives of Orange County” is under fire from civilians and other service members following his behavior towards one of the star’s mother’s during Monday’s season finale — but he said there’s more to the story than what made the TV edits. Staff Sgt. Ryan Culberson, a joint terminal attack controller with 11th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., is currently deployed to Afghanistan on his fourth tour. Culberson married his wife, Briana, in 2012. She is the daughter of “Real Housewives” star Vicki Gunvalson, who just wrapped up her eighth season of the Bravo reality TV…
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The staff sergeant who married into a “Real Housewives” family is stirring up drama after schooling a grown woman on respecting others’ property by telling her to get her feet off his couch — or leave his house.[HTML1]Staff Sgt. Ryan Culberson is married to the daughter of Vicki Gunvalson, who is in her eighth season of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” Marine Corps Times first talked to Culberson about his marriage to Gunvalson’s daughter, Briana, last year. After learning Briana was pregnant, the two moved in with Gunvalson so she could help care for their new son while Culberson…
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for the first time detailed the hard choices his department will face if impacted by decade-long budget cuts — and it could include a historically low end strength for the Corps of just 150,000 Marines. This week’s issue of Marine Corps Times examines the true effects the the across-the-board spending cuts — set to continue unless Congress stops them — will have on the Defense Department. Smaller pay raises for troops, major cuts to personnel and reductions in housing allowances are all areas at risk, Hagel said. For Marines, the most jarring news out of Hagel’s…
Marines who label themselves modern-day heathens and wish to mark their grave with Thor’s hammer — their religion’s version of a cross or Star of David — now have Veterans Affairs approval to do so. While some only know of Thor as a comic book hero, he actually dates back to Norse mythology. Thor used his magical hammer to protect humans and other gods from giants. But today, that hammer means something special to those who practice Ásatrú and worship the Norse Gods. And as NPR’s “The World” reported last week, those who identify as such and served in the…
