Marines

Oliver Stone says Okinawa military bases are ‘no longer necessary’

By Gina Harkins on August 17, 2013 Japan

The Academy Award winning director of military blockbusters like “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July” denounced the U.S. presence in Japan during a recent visit there. Oliver Stone called U.S. military bases in Japan “no longer necessary” during a discussion in Okinawa on Wednesday, Japan Daily Press reported. The event included a former Okinawa governor and other panelists on his trip that coincided with the 68th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allied Forces, which ended World War II. Japan Daily Press reported that Stone visited Okinawa to learn more about the military base issue on the island. He…

One-handed MMA fighter visits Marine amputees

By Gina Harkins on August 14, 2013 Battle Rattle

A mixed martial arts fighter who was born with an underdeveloped left arm checked in with a group of Marines and other troops who lost limbs in combat. Nick Newell, a World Series of Fighting lightweight star, visited with members of “Operation Warrior Reconnect,” the Los Angeles Times reported. He met with the troops last Wednesday in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and was humbled by their appreciation of him. “What they’ve done is way more fantastic, more brave, than anything I’ve ever done,” Newell told the LA Times. “Sacrificing your life for our country, that’s something.” The 27-year-old MMA fighter was born…

Behind the Cover: Busted for ‘Sammich’ Jokes

By Hope Hodge Seck on May 21, 2013 Behind the Cover, Pop culture, Rumors, The blogosphere

A female Marine finds photos from her personal Facebook account re-posted on a Marine humor page and subjected to derogatory and sexual comments. This happens not once, but again and again, and it doesn’t stay online: she gets honked and yelled at in the street when she’s walking near her base, and her friends tell her she’s developed a reputation as a “barracks mattress,” because Marines think that if she gets posted to these sites, she must be a slut. On Facebook pages like “Just The Tip, Of The Spear,” and others, most users say there’s no problem with what…

Mythbusters: The First Commandant

By Hope Hodge Seck on May 16, 2013 Commandant, History and heritage

Our story about the group installing a gravestone for Maj. Samuel Nicholas, first commandant of the Marine Corps, got tons of great attention online, much of it from people who know their Marine Corps history forward and backward and love it. I hope some of those history-lovers will be able to make it to Philadelphia June 1 for the headstone’s installation ceremony, which organizers say will draw a crowd of “between 50 and 10,000.” That said, the history buffs did raise a few issues that could not go unaddressed in order to keep the historical record intact. The first note is…

Nasiriyah, ten years later

By Hope Hodge Seck on March 15, 2013 Battle Rattle, History and heritage, Iraq

Marine veterans from the first major battle of Operation Iraqi Freedom will meet up later this month to mark its tenth anniversary. Up to 1,000 of the original 7,100 Marines and sailors who fought in the battle of Nasiriyah are expected to meet up in Quantico, Va. March 23 to reminisce and remember fallen brothers-in-arms. Nasiriyah, fought from March 23-29, 2003, was a costly engagement between Ba’athist Iraqi forces and Marines as U.S. forces forged northward to depose the dictator Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Casualties included 17 Marines and 11 U.S. soldiers, but American forces, led by the 2nd Marine…

Student told to remove USMC T-shirt showing crossed rifles or face suspension

By Gina Harkins on February 26, 2013 Battle Rattle

Another student has been told by school officials to take off his Marine Corps T-shirt or face suspension after a teacher found the crossed rifles shown on the front to be inappropriate. Daniel McIntyre of Genoa, Ill., said he could tell something was bothering his 14-year-old son, Michael, when he got off the school bus on Monday. “He said, ‘Dad, I’m really upset about what happened at school today,’ ” McIntyre said. ” ‘My teacher threatened to suspend me because she thought my T-shirt was inappropriate and I needed to cover it up or turn it inside-out.’ ” That shocked his dad…

Jersey residents thank Marines for help

By Gina Harkins on November 4, 2012 Battle Rattle, Boat operations, Life at sea, MEU operations

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Residents of a community ravaged by this week’s super storm had some unexpected guests landing in one of their parks today in Sea Dragon-style. About 20 Marines and sailors left the amphibious assault ship WASP this morning and traveled to a city hit hard by Hurricane Sandy to help restore a ferry terminal that hasn’t been functional since the storm hit. The Marines were with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., which deployed Thursday in support of disaster relief efforts. After completing the work they needed to do in the harbor, the Marines and…

Motorcycle-borne MARSOC Marines prey on Taliban

By James Sanborn on July 18, 2012 Afghanistan, Gear, MARSOC, Vehicles

This photo makes the Hell’s Angels look about as threatening as a litter of kittens. Those are Marine special operators in Afghanistan, looking like something akin to a well-organized motorcycle gang. The photo is courtesy of former Staff Sgt. Michael Golembesky, who spent two years with Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, serving as a joint terminal attack controller. As Marine Corps Times first reported back in March, MARSOC teams use these small-engine bikes to get around in the Afghan mountains. Before some units deploy, the command sends them through a super-sensitive training program that provides five days of schooling…

Video: Canadian grunts tackle PTSD, get help from Marines

By Gina Cavallaro on April 12, 2012 Afghanistan, Battle Rattle, Infantry, Marines, Wounded warriors

[HTML1]In this week’s Marine Corps Times, you may have read with disgust the story of a man who lied his way into a circle of trust in Canada by posing as a Marine with PTSD. Behind the story about the unscrupulous faker was the story of the REAL infantryman who became his victim. He is Cpl Chris Dupee, a GRUNT with eight years in the 3rd Royal Canadian Regiment who actually has PTSD. He is a combat vet and is on a mission to help others deal with it, too. His organization is called Military Minds and his Facebook page…

Marine fakers and the Marine who took them down

By Gina Cavallaro on April 6, 2012 Marines

By the end of this week, this picture had circulated widely, and all I could think of was Chuck Schantag, a retired Marine infantryman whose mission was to expose people like this. This “Marine-SEAL-EOD master gunnery sergeant,” a man of fantasy who has not yet been identified by name, has been called plenty of names by those who’ve sen the picture. Troops, supporters of troops and probably even some hippies are incensed. He’s wearing almost every ribbon in the inventory including World War II, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan, plus a Navy Cross, a SEAL trident, the EOD “crab,” an aiguillette,…

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