Behind the Cover

Behind the Cover: The Drawdown Plan

By James Sanborn on April 9, 2012 Afghanistan, Battle Rattle, Behind the Cover, budget, Camp Lejeune, Drawdown, Manpower, Marines

By now it’s no news that the military is facing serious cuts. The Marine Corps alone will drop 20,000 over the next five years. But just how leaders will make those cuts has been a mystery — until now. To get the lowdown on how the Marine Corps will drawdown by 2016, and what the plan means for you, check out this week’s edition of Marine Corps Times. For our cover story, we traveled to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to sit in on a briefing by the drawdown’s architects who are now on an eight-week tour of the fleet. In it,…

Behind the Cover: Anti-Obama Marines

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By Gina Harkins on March 19, 2012 Behind the Cover

Sgt. Gary Stein might be saying things about President Obama that a lot of Marines think, but some are saying he took it too far. Stein has come under fire for stating on Facebook that he wouldn’t follow certain orders given by his commander in chief. And Marines say Stein’s not alone in his disapproval. More anti-Obama talk is being heard in the workplace and new Military Times poll data shows declining approval among military service members for the president’s job as commander in chief. The Marine Corps depends its chain of command structure, especially in a time of war. …

Behind the Cover: The new face (and body) of Marine PT

By Tony Lombardo on March 12, 2012 Battle Rattle, Behind the Cover, Pop culture

Meet Pauline Nordin. She’s 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 117 pounds and has a body-fat percentage between 7 and 10 percent. She also sports biceps that measure “12 and a half inches, cold.” She’s not a Marine, nor does she have military experience. So why is she featured on the cover of this week’s Marine Corps Times? Her fitness and nutrition lessons have caught the eye of officials at Headquarters Marine Corps, who want to enlist her help in training Marines. Nordin first hit their radar when a mock recruiting poster went viral bearing her image. The poster read…

Behind the Cover: 9 ways Marines face manpower cuts

By Dan Lamothe on February 20, 2012 Behind the Cover, Drawdown, Manpower

It’s no secret that the Marine Corps will trim 20,000 Marines from its end strength by fall 2016, but Commandant Gen. Jim Amos has offered few details so far about how that will occur. Amos and other top Marine officials have been clear about how it won’t be done, of course. The Corps will not “break faith” with its Marines, they’ve said repeatedly, a catchphrase that represents their promise to not authorize reductions in force, which would result in existing contracts being broken. What about how it will be done, though? This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story addresses that,…

Behind the Cover: Female Marines in combat arms battalions

By Gina Cavallaro on February 13, 2012 Behind the Cover, Marines, women

With an exception to a long-standing Pentagon policy, female Marines in the ranks of captain, gunnery sergeant and staff sergeant will be permitted to serve in combat arms units below the division level. But don’t expect to see women in infantry battalions yet. The Corps is only cracking the door open for women at this point and will place them in units through the normal assignment process in staff positions for select military occupational specialties newly opened up for female officers and enlisted women. Marines assigned to combat arms battalions will begin seeing women occupying these staff positions sometime in…

Behind the cover: Cutting 20,000 Marines

By Andrew deGrandpre on February 7, 2012 Behind the Cover, budget, Force Structure Review, Manpower

Throughout the Corps, anxiety is high as Marines and their families wait to learn how the commandant intends to execute massive force cuts ordered in January by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. And their uneasiness certainly is justified. The reality is that over the next five years, the service will purge some 20,000 from the active-duty force — about as many as it added during the latter part of the last decade to sustain operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. This week’s cover story, which was co-reported by Marines Corps Times’ senior staff writers Gina Cavallaro and Dan Lamothe, examines how the…

Behind the Cover: Every Marine’s 2013 pay chart

By Dan Lamothe on January 30, 2012 Behind the Cover

This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story hits Marines right where it counts: the wallet. The piece, written by Pentagon correspondent Andrew Tilghman, highlights the ups and downs for U.S. service members across all branches of service. Pay will continue to increase in 2013, and Marine Corps Times breaks down the boost by rank for officers and enlisted personnel. This week’s newspaper also offers a variety of analytical piece following last week’s big budget announcements at the Pentagon. We outline how the Corps shrinking to 182,100 Marines may occur and how the service may end up deploying to new locations…

Behind the Cover: Did Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter cover a grenade to shield his buddy?

By Andrew deGrandpre on January 16, 2012 Afghanistan, Awards, Behind the Cover, Marjah

UPDATE: An updated version of this story has now been posted online here. You may recognize this face. That’s Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, who was severely wounded in Afghanistan in 2010 when insurgents chucked a hand grenade onto the roof where he and another Marine, Lance Cpl. Nick Eufrazio, were posting security. In the months since the attack, as Carpenter has undergone numerous surgeries to address his injuries, he has become an ambassador, of sorts, for the Marine Corps and its wounded warriors, inspiring family, friends and fellow Marines with his undying optimism in the face of a difficult recovery.…

Behind the Cover: 15 Things Every Marine must know for 2012

By Dan Lamothe on January 3, 2012 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover

It’s a new year, which means it’s a good time to reflect on what the future holds for the Marine Corps. This week’s Marine Corps Times hits all the highlights, pointing out 15 things every Marine must know in 2012. We’ve covered the gamut, with reporting on everything from new deployments (How does Australia and Africa sound?) to how the service will begin shrinking this year. The package also highlights new gear Marines will see in 2012, how the war in Afghanistan will shift in Helmand province and how a variety of military programs will change to benefit U.S. service…

Behind the Cover: A Marine Corps workout to rival CrossFit

By Gina Cavallaro on December 12, 2011 Behind the Cover, Fitness, Marines

The certified trainers at Semper Fit — the Corps’ in-house health and fitness promotion group you see at the base gyms — have designed a kick-ass workout program that they think will satisfy even the most demanding physical fitness disciple in the Corps. The program is called High Intensity Tactical Training, or HITT, and it will be ready to go in about three weeks. It’s got a library of more than 600 exercises that have been combined into 60-minute workouts meant to be done three times a week. Marines who took part in the beta test done this past fall…

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