Behind the Cover: Female Marines in combat arms battalions
February 13th, 2012 | Behind the Cover Marines women | Posted by Gina Cavallaro
With an exception to a long-standing Pentagon policy, female Marines in the ranks of captain, gunnery sergeant and staff sergeant will be permitted to serve in combat arms units below the division level.
But don’t expect to see women in infantry battalions yet. The Corps is only cracking the door open for women at this point and will place them in units through the normal assignment process in staff positions for select military occupational specialties newly opened up for female officers and enlisted women.
Marines assigned to combat arms battalions will begin seeing women occupying these staff positions sometime in May and after an unspecified period of evaluation, more positions could open up.
Also in this week’s issue, find out more about the possibility of extra Korea deployments, the cuts in bonus money for pilots and read the story of one grunt’s six hours of hell and the award he earned for going through it.
Marine-led war in Afghanistan examined by New York Times Magazine
February 9th, 2012 | Afghanistan Infantry Kajaki Sangin | Posted by Dan Lamothe
I was away covering Bold Alligator this weekend, but it’s worth circling back to an impressive New York Times Magazine article published Sunday.
Pieced together after seven weeks of downrange reporting by Luke Mogelson, it examines in detail Marine operations in Kajaki, Sangin and Musa Qala districts. Those, of course, are the main battlegrounds at this point in the war in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where about 19,000 Marines are deployed.
Details worth highlighting:
The fight in Musa Qala
Second Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., has continued to press into new areas in and around volatile Musa Qala. Mogelson describes the push to clear the village Juz Ghoray, and the struggles to fight the Taliban there.
“The Marines are going out into the hinterlands,” Maj. Frank Diorio, the battalion’s executive officer, told the New York Times Magazine. “They’re not tied to any posts. It’ll be ongoing until we leave. It’s just going to be continuous operations.”
The struggle to improve Kajaki Dam
The story describes something we’ve touched on repeatedly on Battle Rattle in the last few months — the push to secure the Kajaki Dam in northern Helmand and expand its usage.
Marine officers deployed in the region described Operation Eastern Storm to Mogelson, although it isn’t mentioned by name in the story. They also mentioned where the insurgents who escaped the assault fled. From the story:
“We put a fence in the dirt, literally,” one platoon commander told me. “Put concertina wire down and said, ‘You’re not going to get north of this area.’” Between the two fronts of marines, the officer said, “during the three to four days that we were there, I think we killed about 30 of them. They quit picking up their casualties.”
The sole escape for the insurgents was to ford the Helmand River and disappear into Zamindawar, an ungoverned desert extending from the dam to the foothills of a towering mountain range several miles north. “And they did exactly that,” the platoon commander said. “That’s the Wild West up there. We won’t ever go up there.”
Finding and marking IEDs
The story describes a variety of tactics that Marines are using in the fight against improvised explosive devices. Some of them, like using shaving cream, we’ve written about before. Others are less commonly known. From the story:
In a combat zone, each of a variety of threats instills its own corresponding fear. Unique to the fear of I.E.D.’s is a sense of powerlessness. For marines, this fear, above every other, rates the most acute. Forgoing tactical formations, they often walk in single file behind engineers with metal-detectors. They overturn suspicious rocks with hooks affixed to bamboo stalks. They mark every turn with lines of shaving cream or baby powder in the dirt. They travel over rooftops, laying ladders across alleys to cross from house to house. After dark they leave a trail of chemically treated Q-tips that glow under night-vision goggles. And they study every step they take for signs of tampered ground. But despite these precautions, there remains a limit to the degree of safety that vigilance affords, and ultimately it is chance that kills or spares you. This fear — the fear of chance and your helplessness to affect it — is a constant companion to the grunts conducting daily foot patrols across the bomb-littered country of northern Helmand.
Moving toward Kandahar
Marine forces also have been able to push away from Sangin’s district center toward the Kandahar province border, where many weapons caches are reportedly based.
The story describes Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, sweeping villages that hadn’t previously been touched. Among the findings: Marines are finding not only jugs of explosives and other supplies, but radio transmitters that can be used for remote detonation. That’s a threat that has reportedly emerged only this year in Helmand — and certainly cause for concern.
Marines with HMH-464 return to North Carolina from Afghanistan deployment
February 9th, 2012 | Aviation Battle Rattle Marjah Sangin | Posted by James Sanborn
Members of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 are slated to return to Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., on Monday after a seven month deployment to Afghsnitan.
While downrange, “The Condors” provided assault support for 16 Marine and 5 coalition units moving a total of 35,000 passengers and 6.5 million pounds of cargo, according to Lt. Col. Alison J. Thompson, the unit’s commanding officer.
Check out this video produced by combat cameramen to hear Thompson speak about the unit’s experience downrange.
Bold Alligator a lesson for Marines in cramped quarters
February 8th, 2012 | Blue-Green operations Embedded journalism Life at Sea MEU operations | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Marines squeeze by each other in a narrow passageway aboard the amphibious assault ship Wasp on Monday. It has served as the command ship during Bold Alligator 2012, an amphibious exercise involving more than 14,000 personnel. (Mike Morones/Staff)
When it comes to a large-scale amphibious operation like Bold Alligator, it isn’t just the movement to shore that can provide learning lessons.
The thousands of personnel who deployed off the coast of North Carolina for the exercise also got a first-hand lesson in life at sea. That may not be new to most of the sailors and some of the Marines on board, but for thousands more, it certainly was.
Point in case: the photograph above shows how tight the passageways aboard the amphibious assault ship Wasp are. It takes a mindful eye to avoid collisions, spills and other hassles while maneuvering the vessel, and many service members underway weren’t aware of that until they arrived.
There’s also the matter of berthing. Like many ships, the 41,000-ton Wasp has bunks that are packed tightly together in stacks between three and five high. There is less than three feet between the stacks, and not enough room to roll over in a bunk without rapping your knees on the bunk above. And that’s to say nothing of the bathrooms, one of which flooded while we were there.
None of this was news to the folks planning Bold Alligator, but it was to many of the rank-and-file personnel on board. I listened with amusement over the weekend as two staff sergeants had an animated debate over whether it was more comfortable to be sleeping on a cot in Afghanistan, or on a bunk on the Wasp. One Marine advocated the merits of having more space in large tent, while the other noted that at least they weren’t sleeping somewhere with a dirt floor.
Sailors and Marines line up for chow on the mess deck aboard the amphibious assault ship Wasp on Sunday. (Mike Morones/Staff)
There’s also the logistical headaches. On Monday, we hopped a CH-53 helicopter with several other members of the media and a few Marines expecting to reach the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima for additional news coverage. Following original plans, the helo made its way back to the shore in North Carolina at the air stations in New River and Cherry Point to pick up more supplies.
When it returned to sea, however, the pilot ran into unexpected complications. He had anticipated landing on the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge, but the flight deck was full, we were told. We moved on to the Iwo Jima, only to discover that its flight deck had been “fouled,” meaning something on its surface prevented landings. We returned to the Wasp at dusk, after more than two hours of flying in a circle.
Those are the breaks, to a large extent. They’re similar to transportation headaches I’ve seen in Afghanistan, in that schedules can shift rapidly and affect personnel on the ground.
For folks who expected everything to go smoothly, however, it simply wasn’t going to happen.
Behind the cover: Cutting 20,000 Marines
February 7th, 2012 | Behind the Cover budget Force Structure Review Manpower | Posted by Andrew deGrandpre
Throughout the Corps, anxiety is high as Marines and their families wait to learn how the commandant intends to execute massive force cuts ordered in January by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. And their uneasiness certainly is justified. The reality is that over the next five years, the service will purge some 20,000 from the active-duty force — about as many as it added during the latter part of the last decade to sustain operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
This week’s cover story, which was co-reported by Marines Corps Times’ senior staff writers Gina Cavallaro and Dan Lamothe, examines how the drawdown is expected to take shape and what means the service will employ in reducing overall end strength by 3,500-5,000 personnel a year, as the top Marine, Gen. Jim Amos, has forecast. It analyzes future force structure also, and how budget cuts will drive the elimination of units and diminish certain capabilities. As Marine Corps Times first reported last week, officials now are looking beyond last year’s force structure review, which accounts for about 15,000 personnel cuts, with thoughts of axing some light armored reconnaissance assets and an additional infantry battalion while dialing back planned expansion of the Corps’ special operations command.
A companion piece, reported by staff writer James K. Sanborn, looks at the future of the Marine Corps Reserve. Although it’s not targeted for personnel cuts, smaller budgets could influence training deployments in the coming years, according to the Reserve’s three-star commander.
All in all, it’s vital career news for Marines everywhere. The issue is on newsstands now. To read it immediately, subscribe to our digital edition.
Marines, sailors take in Super Bowl at sea
February 6th, 2012 | Blue-Green operations Life at sea | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Marines and sailors watch the Super Bowl in the hanger deck of the amphibious assault ship Wasp on Feb. 05. (Mike Morones/Staff)
ABOARD THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP WASP -– If you’re going to watch your favorite NFL team lose in the Super Bowl, it may as well be somewhere interesting.
That’s the scenario I found myself in last night as I continue to cover Bold Alligator 2012, a massive amphibious exercise involving at least 14,000 personnel and 25 ships off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. Like many of the sailors and Marines aboard this gator ship, I had accepted there was a strong possibility the game wouldn’t be on while underway –- only to find out the exact opposite.
Not only did the Wasp have the Super Bowl, the ship’s leadership went out of its way to make sure as many people as possible could see it. From the ward room, to the barber shop, to the mess deck, several thousand personnel took a break to watch the game, in which the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21-17.
The liveliest place to view the game was the hangar bay. A movie theater screen and hundreds of chairs were set up, and Marines and sailors turned it into a concert-like environment in which the game and the commercials alike received howling cheers and boos.
The crowd was polarized when it came to sports, with any close-up shot of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady or Giants quarterback Eli Manning receiving a loud, mixed response. It was less so when it came to the commercials, as the raucous response to a new ad for the Fiat 500 Abarth showed. It depicted a tall, exotic woman flirting with a short, awkward man – until he realized he was simply daydreaming. The Marines and sailors howled.
In the ward room, dozens of officers aboard gathered over chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, coffee and soda to watch the game on two big-screen TVs. Several foreign officers asked questions about the rules of American football, and U.S. personnel cheerfully explained.
As a Massachusetts native, I took all this in with a red Patriots T-shirt poking out from underneath my half-zipped fleece. A few people noticed, but no one poked fun. They understood the draw of the game.
In the hangar bay, Lance Cpl. T.J. Miller, 20, told me he found out he’d be involved in Bold Alligator two days before the ships launched earlier this month. A Patriots fan, he assumed he’d miss the game for the second year in a row.
“They told me two days before, ‘Pack your stuff. You’re going,’ and I thought it was possible I’d miss it,” the CH-53 mechanic said. “The signal has gone out twice for about 30 seconds, but if it happens again I’ll go see what happens in the mess deck.”
Ah, the signal. Late in the game, it did go out again. Shortly after Giants receiver Mario Manningham reeled in a spectacular sideline grab that put New York in position to win the game, the screens on board went dark.
“Are you kidding me!” several Marines and sailors yelled in the mess deck, frustrated with the timing.
The signal came back a few moments later, and stayed true through the end of the game. When Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw fell into the end zone with the game-winning score with about a minute to play, much of the hanger bay exploded into cheers.
Brady’s last desperation heave into the endzone fell to the ground a few minutes later, and Giants fans on board erupted. A sailor began blowing a whistle as though it were a musical instrument, and a group of Marines and sailors began jumping up and down in celebration.
Lance Cpl. Alex Ovide, 23, was one of the most boisterous. An amphibious assault vehicle crewman from Queens, N.Y., he’ll be involved in the amphibious unfolding over the next few days, but was glad to watch the game. He missed it last year while he was in the field, he said, and didn’t know the Wasp would have the game until it was already underway.
Sgt. Frank Rush, a Giants fan from Putnam Valley, N.Y., reacts as the Giants score the winning touchdown against the New England Patriots. Rush was watching in the hangar deck of the USS Wasp. (Mike Morones/Staff)
“I was just hoping to get a phone call out and find out the score,” Ovide said. “There was a rumor mill at first that we’d be able to see it, and then it came together.”
The result of the game, Ovide said, was “simply beautiful.” He congratulated the Patriots on a great season, knowing that I was a fan.
“This was great,” he said. “All of us came together, and all of the branches of service on board, too. It’s something you can really appreciate.”
I couldn’t agree more. Other than the final score, of course.
Operation Bold Alligator 2012 underway
February 5th, 2012 | Battle Rattle Blue-Green operations Embedded journalism Life at sea Life at Sea MEU operations Training | Posted by Dan Lamothe
A Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) approaches the well deck of the amphibious assault ship Wasp on Saturday as part of rehearsals for an amphibious landing during Bold Alligator 2012. (Mike Morones / Staff)
ABOARD THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP WASP — Greetings from the Atlantic Ocean, where we’re covering the largest amphibious exercise on the East Coast since the beginning of the Iraq war.
Bold Alligator 2012 involves at least 14,000 personnel from the U.S., France, Great Britain and other countries, and at least 25 ships. The majority of them are American, but Canada and France have both chipped in with their own hardware, as well.
Conceptually, the forces at sea are currently in the early stages of planning an attack on enemy forces from the fictional country of Garnet, a common enemy in what military officers call the “Treasure Coast” scenario. A mechanized Garnetian division has invaded the neighboring country of Amber, and is pushing north toward Amberland, which has asked for coalition assistance to stop advance. Garnet already has mined several harbors and established anti-ship missiles on the coastline, military officials said.
In reality, Bold Alligator will require naval officers to think on their feet to develop strategy and defeat their fictional enemy. They’ll be tested on how they do, and be forced to adapt to real-world changes ranging from scheduling mishaps to bad weather. An amphibious raid will be launched from several ships and coordinated from the Wasp over the next couple of days.
Exploring the ship, it’s clear that many of the Marines on board have been to sea only a few times until Bold Alligator, if ever. For example, Sgt. Michael McDaniel told me that he deployed with 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., to Iraq for both the initial push to Baghdad in 2003 and urban combat in Fallujah in 2004-05. He’s still with the unit, and has never participated in an amphibious exercise on this scale.
“We’re down here for quite a few hours every day doing maintenance,” he said in Wasp’s well deck, over the clanks, scrapes and groans of Marines moving and cleaning vehicles and weapons. “As long as we stay on top of maintenance, everything should be pretty good.”
Bold Alligator has significant attention from some of the top officers in the Navy and Marine Corps. On board Saturday was Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations; Gen. Joseph Dunford, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps; Lt. Gen. John Paxton, commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force; and Lt. Gen. Dennis Hejlik, commander of Marine Corps Forces Command; and Vice Adm. David Buss, deputy commander of Fleet Forces Command. That’s in addition to Rear Adm. Kevin Scott and Brig. Gen. Christopher Owens, who are leading the exercise from the Wasp.
The exercise also has attracted attention in Congress. At least four members of the House were here Saturday, including Rep. Buck McKeon, R.-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
To the extent possible, photographer Mike Morones and I will keep posting updates from the exercise, which we’ll be covering for the next several days. As you might expect at sea, Internet service has been spotty. However, a “Super Bowl Bash” is listed on the ship’s plan of the day Sunday. As a Massachusetts native and Patriots fan, that suits me just fine.
Aliens: Colonial Marines – Trailer
February 3rd, 2012 | Battle Rattle Pop culture Science & Technology | Posted by Blair Tomlinson
I’m not a “gamer” but I cannot deny how insanely awesome the graphics are in the Aliens: Colonial Marines trailer. The video game is being developed by Gearbox Software and will be released in Fall 2012. The game recreates the extraterrestrial creatures from James Cameron’s classic movie, Aliens.
The official site states one of the features is enlisting in the Marine Corps and getting tooled up with classic Marine weapons including pulse rifles, motion trackers and flamethrowers. Aliens: Colonial Marines will be available on Xbox360, Playstation 3 and your PC.
Wounded warrior Marines star in ‘Still in the Fight’ music video
February 1st, 2012 | Afghanistan Pop culture Wounded warriors | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Marine Corps Times posted my long-form story about Lance Cpls. Kyle Carpenter and Nick Eufrazio on Sunday. By now, you’ve hopefully heard their story: they were hit by a grenade blast in Afghanistan in November 2010, and Marines serving alongside them that day in combat insist Carpenter deserves the Medal of Honor. The Marine Corps acknowledges it is investigating what happened.
One of the things I mentioned in the story was Carpenter appearing in the music video for “Still in the Fight,” a song by Lt. Col. Mike Corrado. It’s worth a look, if you haven’t seen it. Carpenter, who has undergone more than 30 surgeries after sustaining catastrophic damage to his neck, face and arm, appears with retired Master Sgt. William “Spanky” Gibson and Cpl. Aaron Mankin in an upbeat song dedicated to their fellow wounded warriors.
As I write this, the song has been viewed more than 37,000 times on YouTube. It’s also for sale on iTunes, with proceeds going to the Fisher House Foundation. The organization offers the families of wounded warriors housing and support near military hospitals while their loved ones undergo treatment.
Carpenter spoke highly of Corrado, calling him “the man” during our interview. As reported in the story posted Sunday, Carpenter also said there’s no sense dwelling on his injuries.
“I think for guys who get severely injured and can’t move forward, it’s because the ‘what-ifs’ absolutely destroy their recovery,” he said. “It’s human nature for everyone to say ‘what if,’ but I try to snap out of it as quickly as I can because I’m never going to be able to go back and change what has happened.”
Army 3-star general: Army should be more like Marines
January 31st, 2012 | Afghanistan Manpower Reserve | Posted by James Sanborn
The head of the Army Reserve said Tuesday that the Army should be more like the Marine Corps — at least in the way the Marine Corps cultivates a strong life-long brotherhood.
Although Marines and soldiers usually boast about being better than the other, Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, head of the Army Reserve, said at this year’s Reserve Officers Association symposium in Washington, D.C., that the Marine Corps does a good job inculcating the idea of “once a Marine, always a Marine.” That helps them pull active duty Marines into the Reserve at the end of their service.
The Army would do well to mimic that as a way to retain hard-won experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While many soldiers see their four-year contract as finite, many Marines see it as just the first chapter of their military career. Army leadership, he said, often paints a black and white picture by asking soldiers near the end of their service if they are re-enlisting or getting out. They should be asking if soldiers are re-enlisting or transitioning to the Reserve, he said. They could do more to make a career in the reserve an enticing prospect.