Food

On the ground in Afghanistan: the last days of a FOB

By Hope Hodge Seck on May 12, 2014 Afghanistan, Embedded journalism, Food

As I prepared for my first embed with in Afghanistan, I figured I might spend some time sleeping under the stars and taking “health and comfort breaks” in the woods as the Marines shut down several of their remaining forward operating bases. I’ve done a bit of tent camping, and I figured I couldn’t be disappointed if I managed my expectations. But, as it turned out, even the final days of FOB life came with quite a few creature comforts. Soon after I arrived in Afghanistan, we moved to FOB Sabit Qadam (formerly FOB Jackson) in the Sangin district of…

Wounded warrior keeps “Gung Ho” going

By Hope Hodge Seck on June 14, 2013 Food, History and heritage, Veterans, Wounded warriors

A Marine veteran who helped to make the Wounded Warrior Regiment a reality is championing a new cause: a tangy steak sauce made for Marines. Former Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in Iraq and became a spokesman for wounded Marines with similar injuries, recently announced that he was now distributing “Gung Ho” sauce through his website, SemperMax.com, in honor of the Marine who invented it. Seamus Garrahy, a former Marine corporal from Gettysburg, Pa., became a beloved figure in his region for the “Steaks and Beers” meal events he would hold at his farm,…

Bonnie Amos shares tips for Marine Corps Birthday Ball

By Bethany Crudele on November 6, 2012 Food, History and heritage, Marines, women

On Nov. 10 Marines will celebrate the 237th birthday of the Marine Corps. Cake cutting ceremonies and birthday balls will be held throughout the next few weeks as a way to honor the sacrifice and service of Marines past and present. On Oct. 24 I spoke with Bonnie Amos, wife of Commandant Gen. Jim Amos, following an event for military spouses to discuss careers, deployments and romance aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. Since Marines all over the world will celebrate the Corps’ birthday later this week, I asked Amos about tips for those attending this year’s festivities: [HTML1] I…

Female Marine Competes in 2012 CrossFit Competition

By Bethany Crudele on July 26, 2012 Competitions, Fitness, Food, Japan, Marines, Sports, women

For some, CrossFit is just a hobby. For others, like Marine Staff Sgt. Christen Wagner, it’s a way of life. Wagner, a training chief attached to III MHG in Okinawa, Japan, recently traveled to California to compete in the 2012 Reebok CrossFit games. The world famous competition is open to individuals from around the globe who qualify and challenges athletes to take home the title of “Fittest on Earth” by completing high-intensity combinations of weight and endurance training. The 25-year old Marine began CrossFit in 2010 and was hoping to make her debut at the 2011 CrossFit Asia Open. Unable…

A little dessert goes a long way

By Gidget Fuentes on April 27, 2012 Blue-Green operations, Food, Life at sea

You have to wonder how quickly these Marines devoured that ice cream. Amphibious assault ship Makin Island held an ice cream social for Marines and sailors aboard the San Diego-based ship, which has been deployed in the Arabian Sea region with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and a three-ship amphibious ready group. As these junior Marines are learning, sweets like ice cream, cakes and cookies are often readily available aboard many if not all ships at sea, yet they still are familiar, comforting. Besides, you can’t really ruin ice cream, or most any dessert for that matter. Ice cream is…

But will they be running (off) on Dunkin’?

By Gidget Fuentes on April 6, 2012 Camp Pendleton, Food, Pop culture

When officials mark the opening of the new and enlarged Marine Corps Exchange at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in early May, they might want to brace for an unusual crowd: Dunkin’ Donuts lovers. We’re talking coffee and donuts, and muffins and bagels, too. Dunkin’ Donuts, a Massachusetts-based company, has more than 7,000 restaurants across the country, in 36 states plus the District of Columbia, and there’s even seven overseas. But there’s not a single one in California, a huge state where Starbucks and McDonalds are a dime a dozen. But come May, the state’s first Dunkin’ Donuts eatery will open inside the…

One last meal before you go

By Gidget Fuentes on April 2, 2012 Food, Life at sea, MEU operations

Last week, some 4,000 Marines and sailors on the East Coast furiously worked to get themselves and their units and ships ready for a scheduled deployment overseas. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and its 2,300 Marines and sailors headed out March 30 from Camp Lejeune, N.C., aboard amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, dock landing ship Gunston Hall and dock transport ship New York. It will be an eight-month deployment to the Mediterranean and the Middle East for the U.S. European and Central Command regions. You can bet during that last weekend home, just about every Marine and sailor made the…

At sea, a place of their own

By Gidget Fuentes on November 11, 2011 Blue-Green operations, Food, Life at Sea, Marine Raiders, MEU operations

Marines heading out to sea in any of the Navy’s fleet of amphibious ships get quickly and acutely familiar with a few spaces inside those large gray warfighting hulls: their berthing space, the ship’s gym and the enlisted mess decks. There’s usually nothing spectacular about those spaces, which are often crowded and offer little in the way of physical privacy or familiar comforts of home. But aboard Makin Island, the Navy’s newest big-deck amphibious assault ship and homeported in San Diego, what would have been some storage area off the main mess decks has been remade into a cozier space…

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