Camp Lejeune

Marine staff NCO behind hilarious Craigslist barracks post

By Gina Harkins on August 6, 2014 Battle Rattle

Those who assumed only a “terminal lance” would have the gall to list his barracks room on Craigslist might be surprised to learn who was really behind the stunt. A staff sergeant hoping to carry out a career in the Corps was behind the entertaining Craigslist advertisement. He said he has a “penchant for shaking things up when it comes to having to conform to the Marine Corps way.” The Battle Rattle post about his ad was viewed nearly 380,000 times. He described a 225 square-foot barracks room as a lovely space in a gated community with wake-up calls and “motivation specialists.” The…

Marine Corps seeks volunteers for co-ed ground combat element

By Gina Harkins on May 23, 2014 Marines

Corps officials will be soliciting Marines to volunteer for the latest step in testing the integration of women in combat arms positions across 14 duty stations between May 28 and June 9. Here’s are five things Marines should know: 1. The Corps is looking for about 500 volunteers — women and men — to serve as the ground combat element of an integrated task force that will be stood up at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in June. 2. Marines interested in volunteering can do so three ways: on the Corps’ Manpower and Reserve Affairs website; by calling (703) 432-2513; or…

After 30 years as Marines, married sergeants major retire on the same day

By Hope Hodge Seck on July 30, 2013 Battle Rattle, Leadership, Marines

Talk about a motivated marriage. On July 26, Sgts. Maj. Bradley and Holly Prafke retired in a joint ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C. The Prafkes’ commitment to the Corps goes almost as deep as their commitment to each other: They retired with 30 years of service apiece under their belts, and they were together for 27 of those years. They met, according to news reports, in Camp Pendleton, Calif., when he was a lance corporal and she was a corporal. Bradley Prafke relinquished his last post, that of sergeant major for Marine Aircraft Group 29, during…

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,…

RCT-8 headquarters to begin deploying this weekend

By Dan Lamothe on January 13, 2011 Afghanistan, Infantry, Sangin

The Marine Corps will begin its leadership transition in Afghanistan’s northern Helmand province soon, with Regimental Combat Team 8, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., replacing Lejeune’s RCT-2, Marine officials said. The RCT-8 deployment will begin this weekend with advanced parties of Marines deploying. They’ll eventually replace RCT-2. For those who lead RCT-8, the assignment won’t be an easy one. It oversees some of the most violent territory that Marines patrol right now, including the contested Taliban stronghold of Sangin. Infantry battalions under RCT-8’s control will include 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; elements of 3rd Battalion, 25th…

Behind the Cover: MARSOC's new sales pitch

By Andrew deGrandpre on October 12, 2010 Behind the Cover, Camp Lejeune, Fitness, MARSOC, Recruiting, Training

In this week’s print edition, on newsstands now, staff writer Gina Cavallaro takes readers inside the Corps’ new special operations warm-up course at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Called the Assessment and Selection Preparation and Orientation Course, or ASPOC for short, it represents Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command’s latest effort to curtail a 46 percent attrition rate among Marines looking to become elite critical skills operators. The commandant has challenged MARSOC leadership to cut that rate to 20 percent — a tall order indeed, and one the command is taking very seriously. This three-week course, conducted at Lejeune’s Stone Bay training…

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