Browsing: Korea

The storied “Nightmares” are set to deactivate this summer after 69 years of service during which the unit’s Marines saw combat in the Pacific, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Formally designated Marine Attack Squadron 513, the unit which flies AV-8B Harriers out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., will be deactivated July 12, 2013 after their most recent deployment to Asia which concluded with their participation in Exercise Foal Eagle. The annual exercise is among the largest in the world and aims to strengthen interoperability between South Korean and U.S. forces in the region. The unit deployed to Asia…

[HTML1] Status of Forces (as of April 19) Active duty: 194,370 Selected Reserve: 39,705 Reservists on active duty: 2,477 It’s been awhile since we did a blog update on the status of forces around the Marine Corps, but we’re going to start in again on making this a weekly feature. The positions above are as of April 19. Of note, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Units and 15th MEU are moving through their areas of operations, with the 26th MEU’s Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group near the Gulf of Aden, at the eastern tip of Africa, and the 15th MEU’s Peleliu ARG…

The country lost a legend on Friday with the death of Sgt. Maj. Henry Black, the service’s oldest surviving sergeant major of the Marine Corps. As noted in an obituary I wrote Monday, Black served in combat in both Korea and Vietnam, even earning a Silver Star for heroism as a junior Marine. It’s his leadership that Marines miss the most, however. Retired Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, the Corps’ 16th sergeant major of the Marine Corps, recalled Black as a father figure and mentor when I spoke with him Monday. Sgt. Maj. Mike Barrett, the Corps’ current top enlisted Marine,…

The regimental headquarters that has overseen infantry operations in northern Helmand province, Afghanistan, for the last year is headed home. Regimental Combat Team 8, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., has been replaced in Afghanistan by Lejeune’s RCT-6, said Marine officials in Afghanistan. Like RCT-8, RCT-6 will be based out of Camp Delaram II in northeastern Nimroz province, overseeing operations in Sangin, Kajaki, Musa Qala and other nearby districts. For RCT-8, commanded by Col. Eric Smith, it has been a long deployment in which several units have seen continued combat. Most recently, they included 1st Battalion, 6th Marines; 3rd Battalion, 7th…

Each year, Marine Corps leadership releases a heartfelt message to Marines in video form before the service’s Nov. 10 birthday. Last year’s message focused heavily on the heroism of Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan Yale, who stood their ground in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2008, staring down a suicide bomber in a truck. They were both killed when the truck exploded, but prevented it from barreling onto a military outpost where dozens could have died. They posthumously received the Navy Cross last year. This year’s message, posted on YouTube today, pays tribute to Marines who fought in the Korean War.…

Every so often, it seems, the Marines-wear-beret rumor rears its head. Usually it’s when leathernecks get the chance to question or schmooze with senior brass. Back before the Army in 2001 standardized the beret for all soldiers, every so often some bold and usually gung-ho junior Marine would ask or suggest the wear of berets. No commandant or uniform board approved such an idea, however. Battle Rattle recalls a day back in the mid-‘90s, when a young Marine joined others greeting then-commandant Gen. Chuck Krulak on a ship’s mess decks asked the four-star general why Recon Marines couldn’t wear the…

css.php