Behind the Cover

Behind the Cover: Combat-zone hazing

By Dan Lamothe on August 30, 2011 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover, Infantry

Lance Cpl. Harry Lew was with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, in Afghanistan when his life unraveled. As first reported last week, Lew committed suicide in April after he was allegedly hazed for falling asleep on post. Struggling to handle the stress, he put the muzzle of his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to a report outlining a military investigation into his death. In its print edition this week, Marine Corps Times outlines what happened in significantly more detail. Leveraging nearly 100 pages of documents and interviews with Lew’s father and Marine officials, I…

Behind the Cover: Shootout at battalion headquarters

By Dan Lamothe on August 23, 2011 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover, Infantry

A deploying Marine is trained to expect the unexpected. That’s fine — but it’s still frustrating when it comes because of incompetence. This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story takes a look at a deadly firefight aboard Musa Qala District Center, a forward operating base that served as the battalion headquarters last year of 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. Marines with 1/2 found themselves in an unusual situation on Aug. 7, 2010 — fighting an insurgent loose on the base. He’d busted loose from a detention center on base run by the Afghan National Police. This…

Behind the Cover: The plan to cut the Marine Corps

By Dan Lamothe on August 15, 2011 Behind the Cover, Capitol Hill, Leadership, Manpower, The CMC, The Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps

For nearly a year, the Marine Corps’ top officials have stayed on message with two main points regarding manpower: A drawdown wouldn’t begin until after the war in Afghanistan, and it would reduce the service to 186,800 Marines. Those points were reinforced early this year with the release of the Corps’ force-structure review recommendations. It called for a 13 percent reduction in ground combat forces, but stuck with that 186,800 end-strength figure. It’s time for a reality check. In light of the nation’s financial trouble, that plan may not be feasible. In this week’s Marine Corps Times cover story, we…

Behind the Cover: The debt deal’s effect on the military

By Dan Lamothe on August 9, 2011 Behind the Cover, budget, Capitol Hill

If you’ve been following the news coming out of Washington, D.C., you know that the financial and political realities of our nation are coming together in a great, big mess. The recent agreement reached to cut the U.S.’s deficit could have widespread impact on the military, especially when a 12-member “super committee” in Congress begins hunting for $1.2 trillion in federal budget cuts by mid-November. The debt deal will reduce defense spending by $350 billion over the next decade, and potentially as much as $1 trillion. This week’s Marine Corps Times explores all those themes, but also drills down into…

Behind the Cover: The plan to overhaul military retirement

By on August 1, 2011 Behind the Cover, budget, Manpower

Listen up, Marines! This week’s cover story is a must-read for all — from the lowliest privates to tomorrow’s general officers. Marine Corps Times Pentagon correspondent Andrew Tilghman lays out in stark detail an aggressive new plan to revamp the military retirement system, one that would dump today’s 20-year model in favor of something akin to a corporate 401(k). The proposal, pitched by an influential Pentagon advisory board, calls for everyone to receive at least some retirement cash when they leave the service. Even Marines who complete just one enlistment and get out as lance corporals would clear about $20,000.…

Behind the Cover: Sgt. Maj. Mike Barrett fires away

By Dan Lamothe on July 26, 2011 Behind the Cover, Leadership, The Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps

Say this about the Marine Corps’ new top enlisted adviser: He certainly doesn’t mind calling things as he sees them. That has become abundantly obvious since Sgt. Maj. Mike Barrett became the 17th sergeant major of the Marine Corps on June 9, taking over for retiring Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent. Barrett, a scout sniper, already has raised eyebrows in some corners, particularly with his blunt comments on the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy were published last month. This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story includes more of that frank talk. In his first interview with our newspaper,…

Behind the Cover: Big changes for Marine NCOs

By Dan Lamothe on July 19, 2011 Behind the Cover, Infantry, Leadership, Manpower, Sangin

This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story gets to the heart of the newspaper’s audience: It focuses on changes coming for non-commissioned officers, and the junior enlisted Marines they lead. The lengthy story outlines plans that are underway this summer to reconsider the NCO’s role in the Corps. Of course, they’ll still serve as the backbone of the service, but top leadership has moved to sharpen it. That could mean big changes for infantry NCOs, in particular, but changes to training and education could stretch well beyond that. Th new edition also includes an account from Sangin, Afghanistan, where senior…

Behind the Cover: Snitching and the Corps’ drug problem

By Andrew deGrandpre on July 5, 2011 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover, Gear, General officers

This week in Marine Corps Times, junior Marines and noncommissioned officers debate one general’s controversial initiative to eradicate illegal drug use in his command. Dubbed “Not in My Corps,” Brig. Gen. William D. Beydler’s new campaign encourages rank-and-file troops within Japan’s 1st Marine Aircraft Wing to inform a superior if they see anyone in their unit getting high. Some troops call that snitching and a call to violate the trust Marines must have for one another at the small-unit level. But the commandant praises the effort, and the three-star head of all Marine forces in Japan says commands across the…

Behind the Cover: 2012 re-enlistment outlook

By Dan Lamothe on June 27, 2011 Behind the Cover, Manpower

This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story zeroes in on a perennial issue of concern for Marines: re-enlistment bonuses. The new rates, effective July 1, go a long way toward showing what the Corps is prioritizing in its fight to retain good Marines. Even with a tightening fiscal outlook, the service will shell out tens of thousands of dollars to keep Marines in high-demand fields such as intelligence and special operations. Other fields will feel the pinch, but there are still dozens of specialties open to lateral moves that offer large sums of cash to Marines willing to do something…

Behind the Cover: The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle goes Corps-wide

By Dan Lamothe on June 20, 2011 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover, Infantry, The CMC, Weapons

This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story outlines a change that has been debated for at least a decade: Dumping the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in favor of an infantry automatic rifle. Commandant Gen. Jim Amos recently approved the change, allowing full fielding of the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle. It’s a possibility that has been widely discussed in the last few years, but we lay out what it will mean for infantry units, rifle qualifications and those snazzy polymer magazines that Marines love, but won’t be able to take downrange anymore. The 5.56mm IAR will become the new standard for…

Browsing: Behind the Cover