Behind the Cover

Behind the cover: Scout snipers on trial — here’s their side

By Gina Harkins on January 21, 2013 Afghanistan, Battle Rattle, Behind the Cover

Little has been known about the scout snipers seen urinating on dead Taliban corpses in a video that spread worldwide — until now. This week’s issue of Marine Corps Times offers the perspective of one of the snipers involved in the now infamous video that had widespread implications at home and in the war zone. Staff Sgt. Edward Deptola, a platoon sergeant with 3rd Battalions, 2nd Marines, testified during his court-martial Jan. 16 that the Marines thought the men on whom they urinated were responsible for laying an improvised explosive device that killed their friend weeks earlier. He said…

Behind the Cover: Dress-up Fridays are here for Marines

By Dan Lamothe on January 7, 2013 Behind the Cover, Uniforms

So you’ve heard of casual Fridays? The Marine Corps is going in the opposite direction. As outlined in this week’s Marine Corps Times cover story, Commandant Gen. Jim Amos has decided that nearly all non-deployed Marines and sailors with marine units should wear their service uniform every Friday. Service B uniforms, or “bravos,” will be worn in the winter, while service C uniforms, or “charlies,” will be worn in the summer. Exceptions will be granted, most likely to units whose Marines get dirty on a regular basis. Think mechanics, grunts and others who aren’t working in your admin shop. Overall,…

Behind the Cover: Up-close and lethal

By Gina Harkins on December 18, 2012 Behind the Cover

Marines who serve as advisers in Afghanistan are getting new training to help combat insider attacks, and it involves using their pistols to shoot body-shaped targets at point-blank range. This week’s issue of Marine Corps Times looked at the defensive marksmanship training that advisers tasked with mentoring Afghan troops are receiving as part of their pre-deployment workup. It’s a direct result of the concerns of the operating forces downrange, and it’s specifically for the Marines who spend months training Afghan troops — often relying on them for security as they serve in remote areas far away from other coalition forces.…

Behind the Cover: Marine Corps crackdown on drinking includes mandatory breathalyzers

By Dan Lamothe on December 10, 2012 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover, Infantry, Manpower

More than 237 years ago, the Marine Corps was born at a bar in Philadelphia’s Tun Tavern. No matter: top brass is getting serious about squashing binge drinking. This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story focuses on the service’s new initiative: requiring surprise breathalyzer tests from Marines on duty. They’ll get them most frequently when they show up to work in the morning, and face additional testing, alcohol abuse counseling and other consequences if they’re identified as binge drinkers. This is the latest piece to the Corps’ war on alcohol abuse. As Marine Corps Times reported in August, the service…

Behind the Cover: New PFT requirements

By Bethany Crudele on December 3, 2012 Behind the Cover, Boot camp, Combat Fitness Test, Fitness, Marines, Recruit, Sports, Training, women

This week’s Marine Corps Times takes a look at the new physical fitness requirements for female Marines and the impact the change is likely to have on the entire force, not just women. In a forcewide message last week, Marine Commandant Gen. Jim Amos announced that women will be required to complete three pullups to pass the test and eight to achieve a perfect PFT score starting in 2014. The change is likely to impact promotion fairness and unit training for men and women starting in 2013. The flexed-arm hang will remain as part of the Corps’ initial strength test…

Behind the cover: The Corps’ war on plump Marines

By James Sanborn on November 26, 2012 Battle Rattle, Behind the Cover, Drawdown, Manpower, Marines, Medical, Military appearance

This week’s Marine Corps Times takes a look at the Marine Corps’ intense efforts to bring all Marines in line with the service’s body fat standards. After the growth to 202,000 Marines ended, leadership cracked down on fat Marines, and thousands were assigned to the Body Composition Program in 2010. But with the drawdown now underway and competition at its peak, those numbers have fallen steadily each year since. Other services, which have also re-emphasized fitness standards, have seen even more dramatic results than the Marine Corps, with significant increases in the number of soldiers, sailors and airmen getting the…

Behind the Cover: Speak the language

By Gina Harkins on October 15, 2012 Behind the Cover, Marines, Training

Newly promoted sergeants, get ready for new education requirements to make it to staff sergeant — or any rank beyond. The Corps is rolling out a new professional education requirement for enlisted Marines that will need to be completed before making it to any new rank, all the way up to master gunnery sergeant. The program is called Regional, Culture and Language Familiarization, or RCLF for short. It takes the globe, carves it up into 17 different sections, and assigns to Marines the cultures and languages associated with each. New lieutenants have been doing this since 2008 and new warrant officers since 2010. The…

Behind the Cover: GI Bill rip-off

By Bethany Crudele on September 10, 2012 Behind the Cover, Boot camp, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Marines, Recruit, Recruiting

If you’ve been to boot camp recently there’s a good chance you’ve handed Uncle Sam a hefty chunk of change — $1,200 to be exact, and that’s for a set of education benefits you could have gotten for free. To date, more than 100,000 people have enrolled in the Montgomery GI Bill across the armed services, requiring a $100 monthly buy-in for a recruits’ first year of service. This week’s Marine Corps Times examines an issue that first came to our attention in July when a Marine contacted the newspaper with questions about how each boot camp informs recruits about…

Behind the Cover: MARSOC expands

By Dan Lamothe on August 27, 2012 Behind the Cover, General officers, Leadership, MARSOC

It has been more than six years since Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command was established, giving the the Corps its own component in the special operations world. Its development has not been without its headaches, but it continues in earnest. This week’s Marine Corps Times breaks down what’s next for MARSOC and its Marines. A variety of changes have occurred in recruitment and training, and the command continues to add new teams of special operators as it expands. The desired steady state: A mature force that includes all of the enablers needed, plus experienced operators who know how to…

Behind the Cover: In new book, Dakota Meyer unloads

By Dan Lamothe on August 13, 2012 Afghanistan, Awards, Behind the Cover, Ganjgal, Medal of Honor

Last week, I reported for Marine Corps Times that Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer acknowledges in his new book that he attempted to kill himself in 2010, one year after surviving the battle that led to him receiving the nation’s top valor award. The story generated a wide range of reaction from readers. Some blasted me for writing a story specifically about Meyer’s struggles, even though he chose to speak about it freely in an interview and disclosed the suicide attempt in his forthcoming book, “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.” Others praised…

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