If you’ve never had a lousy boss, consider yourself lucky. The sad fact is that at some point in our professional lives, most of us — military and civilian alike — will encounter a superior who is an absolute pain to deal with. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is taking aim at so-called “toxic leaders” by encouraging each of the services to adopt 360-degree evaluations, a process in which commanders are reviewed by their peers and subordinates in addition to the officers who oversee them. The objective is to identify bad apples early, before they’re…
Browsing: Behind the Cover
Brian Stann took being a “warrior athlete” to new heights, but some of the training he did to get there as a Marine left him with permanent damage to his body — and he doesn’t want to see the same happening to you. Stann attended the grand opening of the Corps’ new High Intensity Tactical Training facility at Join Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., on April 15. He demonstrated how Marines can use the premiere functional fitness program designed just for them to work out smarter and faster than they trained in the past. “As Marines, we sometimes think a good…
They’re in your space, in your face, in your nightmares — but screaming aside, what’s really going on in the heads of Marine Corps drill instructors? Drill instructor duty is no joke. Whatever recruits do, DIs do. And the Marines on the three-year-long special duty assignment set the example for what it takes to become part of their Corps. That means yelling the loudest, moving the fastest and having the most squared away uniforms. Marine Corps Times was afforded access to drill instructors aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., recently to find out some of the secrets behind the…
It’s no April Fools’ joke, Marines — some leaders want you to think about sheathing your knife hands. Most Marines are introduced to the crisp, flat-palmed gesture in boot camp. It’s one of the tools drill instructors use to emphasize to civilian recruits how they want things done. But beyond a training environment, some say Marines should exchange knife hands — and the yelling that typically accompanies them — for better leadership tools. The shift from 12 years of combat to a garrison environment is going to pose challenges for leaders. They’ll need to continue to motivate the young corporals and sergeants,…
Like no other officer in a generation, Gen. James Mattis has inspired those around him with his wisdom, candor and appreciation for rank-and-file U.S. service members. Now, he’s planning to retire, wrapping up a 41-year career in which he led Task Force 58 during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 1st Marine Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. I examine Mattis’ place in history in Marine Corps Times’ cover story this week. The story is currently available online on Marine Corps Times Prime. Since 2010, the general known by the call sign “Chaos” has run U.S. Central Command, overseeing…
This week’s Marine Corps Times takes readers behind the scenes at one of the service’s most secretive organizations — Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command. We gained rare access to sit down with its chief of staff, Col. Mark Butler, who told us the future has much in store for the young but burgeoning command. That includes ample career opportunity, generous financial incentives to join and stay, and an increasingly central role on the modern battlefield. Despite austerity measures across the Defense Department, leaders recognize the growing threat to the nation and its military machine from cyber attacks abroad. Those attacks…
For years, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command has received attention mostly for its actions in Afghanistan. It’s far from the only theater the elite force has teams in, however. From Africa to the Pacific, Marine special operators have deployed across the globe to work, mostly in the shadows. This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story takes a look at those missions, focusing closely on one high-speed rescue in the Philippines. I caught wind of the rescue recently during a dinner in Washington, D.C., and MARSOC provided enough details afterward to make it clear how dangerous special operations can be,…
Harry Chaires and his wife, Nan Cuchens, recently traveled to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., to see their nephew graduate from boot camp. It was a bittersweet trip for the couple from Tallahassee, Fla., because it brought back memories of the day they watched another new Marine walk that same parade deck. Their son, Lance Cpl. Daniel Chaires, was killed in action during a 2006 deployment to Haditha, Iraq. He was an infantry rifleman with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. And the Marine left quite the impression on his young cousin, Anthony Cuchens Jr. Cuchens joined the Corps as…
While sitting in a squad bay listening to a core values discussion aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Anthony Cuchens Jr. thought the ambush his senior drill instructor was describing sounded familiar. Sgt. Nicholas Lanier was telling his recruits about the day he lost his friend and former roommate to sniper fire in Haditha, Iraq in 2006. As details emerged, Cuchens said he felt chills run through his body — he knew this story. That’s when the new recruit, still in phase one of boot camp, stood up and asked his DI if the name Lance. Cpl.…
Qualifying to use the pistol is about to get a lot more complicated for Marines. The service has adopted the new Combat Pistol Program, which replaces the longtime Entry-Level Pistol Program in marksmanship. Tens of thousands of Marines will be required to qualify with it each year. In this week’s Marine Corps Times cover story, we outline what the program includes and how it compares to the legacy pistol qual, table by table. Officials with Weapons Training Battalion, out of Quantico, Va., explain how the rollout of the new program will occur, and when. This week’s story also expands on…
