3/8 Marines begin operations in Afghanistan
January 29th, 2011 | Afghanistan Infantry MEU operations | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Marines with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit make final preparations on their vehicles before leaving Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, in a convoy on Jan. 21. (Photo by Cpl. Jesse Johnson)
Well, that didn’t take long.
Two weeks after Marine commanders announced that 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, and other elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit would deploy from Navy ships in the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan, the unit is conducting operations outside the wire, officials said.
In a new news release, Marine officials say Battalion Landing Team 3/8, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., to exploit progress made by Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2. The regiment is based in northern Helmand province, and includes 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., Lejeune’s 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, and several other units.
More details:
The BLT moved out from Camp Leatherneck during the past several days by ground convoy and via aircraft from another 26th MEU element supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced).
The BLT Marines and sailors will establish and maintain security in portions of Helmand province not previously permanently occupied by ISAF. The security the Marines provide is intended to neutralize insurgent networks and support development projects, allowing the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to foster socioeconomic development in the area.
The latest news release doesn’t say it, but Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, commander of Marine forces in Afghanistan, has said previously that 3/8 will deploy to the Upper Gereshk Valley, an area in between violent Sangin district and Lashkar Gah, Helmand’s capital.
CMC, Sgt. Maj. address ‘don’t ask’ repeal
January 29th, 2011 | Don't Ask Don't Tell Leadership The CMC The Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps | Posted by Andrew deGrandpre
Late Friday, Headquarters Marine Corps released the following three-minute video featuring Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and his top enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, discussing the imminent repeal of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, which since the 1990s has prohibited military service by men and women who are openly homosexual.
The pair explain that the service has established an operational planning team that’s working with the Defense Department “to determine the best way forward.” They do not specify any forthcoming changes or indicate what the timetable is for implementation.
However, both lean heavily on leaders throughout the ranks — “from junior Marines to the most senior,” Kent says — to spread word that as the law is changed, Marines must “continue to treat one another with dignity and respect.”
“As always,” Kent says, “engaged leadership will be the key to implementation.”
Caption contest: Can you hear me now?
January 28th, 2011 | MEU operations Training | Posted by James Sanborn
Every once in a while you see something that makes you stop and ask, “Why?” One of those things is a noncomissioned officer blasting a few fellow Marines with a bullhorn while they stand just a few feet away. Can you explain what’s going on here?
The original caption says the Marines were attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit during predeployment training at Fort Picket, Va.
Let’s see who can write the best caption. Give it your best shot in the comments section, but please try to keep it fit for print. Obscene comments will be pulled down.
Bored Marine Video: Guitar Hero warriors take on Dragonforce
January 27th, 2011 | Bored Marine Video | Posted by Dan Lamothe
If you’ve played Guitar Hero, you know that certain songs take on a life of their own. They seem so hard, it’s a wonder anyone can beat them, especially on “expert” level.
These Marines, as dutiful video game heroes, know this. So they’ve kicked it up a notch, attempting Dragonforce’s epic “Through the Fire and Flames” using nothing but their rifles, utility uniforms and a whole bucket of crazy. Yes, it’s this week’s Bored Marine Video:
For those of you who have no idea what happened, here’s the original song they’re imitating. Or is it desecrating?
Blaze on, metal warriors.
Another look at the Marine Corps’ search for a new 1911 pistol
January 27th, 2011 | MARSOC Reconnaissance Weapons | Posted by Dan Lamothe
At left, Springfield Armory's entry in the Marine Corps' competition for a new .45-caliber 1911 pistol. At right, a copy of Colt Defense's prototype entered in the competition. (Photos by Dan Lamothe)
By now, many of you may have heard about the Marine Corps’ search for a new 1911 pistol.
I first reported about it for Marine Corps Times in the fall when a Request for Information was released by acquisition officials, and followed up by walking the floor at SHOT Show last week to discuss the competition with many of the gunmakers assumed to be in the fight.
As outlined in this story, Colt Defense and Springfield Armory have submitted samples to the Corps for the competition, while at least two other bigtime pistol makers — Kimber and Smith & Wesson — have not. Officials with the two companies that bowed out cited competing priorities and the small window of time that the Corps provided to develop and submit samples after a Request for Proposals was issued in the fall.
Another gunmaker, Karl Lippard Designs, has since contacted Marine Corps Times to express its interest in the competition, even though they didn’t meet the deadline to submit samples. Company officials boldly say they have developed a new 1911 A2 design capable of accurately dropping targets at 400 yards — rifle distance. And the guns don’t even look like this.
It has been interesting to see the attention the story has received online in the last few days. Everyone from the 1911forum.com to The Truth About Guns has weighed in, with opinions ranging from excitement to frustration that the Corps is looking at more 1911 pistols, which get dinged on occasion for being difficult with maintenance.
I put it to you, friends: What should the Corps do? Keep in mind the service wants an off-the-shelf solution, and that most of the weapons will likely be fielded to special operators with Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command and door-kickers with Force Reconnaissance units.
Behind the Cover: BAH and the single NCO
January 26th, 2011 | Behind the Cover | Posted by Andrew deGrandpre
Have you heard rumors the Corps is planning to cancel housing allowance for sergeants and below, and order all those Marines to move back into the barracks? Last week, a Marine Corps Times reader leaked us a copy of the unsigned MARADMIN detailing how the plan would work. We went to HQMC, which released this statement:
The MARADMIN was a working draft. It was drafted as part of a pre-decisional informational package for the Marine Corps to understand and evaluate the possibility of modifying current policy regarding BAH (“own right”) for sergeants and below. After careful consideration, the Marine Corps decided NOT to alter the policy at this time and there is no intent to do so for the foreseeable future.”
That’s not the whole story, however. The Corps is planning to crackdown on the number of single NCOs and junior Marines allowed to move off base. We tell you all about it in this week’s print edition, on newsstands now.
You can also subscribe here.
Video: A new salute to Marines wounded in Sangin
January 25th, 2011 | Afghanistan Infantry Sangin Wounded warriors | Posted by Dan Lamothe
A Marine mom with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, tipped me off to a new YouTube video sharing the sacrifice of several wounded warriors from the unit who made it back, but have a long road to recovery.
It’s well done, with new footage of the unit during its predeployment training at the Mountain Warfare Training Center at Bridgeport, Calif., classic footage of Marines spliced in from the service’s 2010 birthday message and scenes recorded downrange this fall.
A few related updates out of Afghanistan last night, following my blog post yesterday:
- It was Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. that was moved from Marjah to Sangin last month, said 1st Lt. Joshua Benson, a Marine spokesman in Afghanistan. The rest of 2/9 remained in the Marjah area.
- Benson reiterated that despite some recent media reports to the contrary, elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit will not be deploying to Sangin. They will be in northern Helmand province, though. Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, commander of Marine forces in Afghanistan, has said previously they would deploy to the upper Gereshk Valley, which falls between Sangin and Lashkar Gah, Helmand province’s capital.
- Delta Company, 1st Tank Battalion, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., has arrived in theater, but they’re not operating yet, Benson said. They were selected to operate the first U.S. tanks deployed during nine years of war in Afghanistan.
- The main units deployed to Sangin remain 3/5 and Lejeune’s 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion.
We’ll share more details as they become available.
Reality check: Nearly 40 Marines killed in Sangin since September
January 24th, 2011 | Afghanistan Infantry Sangin | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Hospitalman Stephen Wescott, of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, provides security during a Jan. 10 patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury)
Greetings, readers. It was a slow week on Battle Rattle last week while I covered SHOT Show in Las Vegas for sister blog Gear Scout, but things are back to normal now.
I’d like to start by pointing out the excellent piece published yesterday by the Los Angeles Times about the sacrifices made and dedication show by Marines in Sangin, Afghanistan. It’s can’t-miss reading for anyone following the war there with any interest.
Several details in the story, by longtime military correspondent Tony Perry, stuck out as noteworthy or relatively new. Some are heartbreaking. Others are heartening. Consider the following:
- The report puts the number of casualties in 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., at 24. An additional 140 others have been wounded, with numerous Marines losing limbs and a handful becoming triple-amputees.
- Four additional Marines from battalions clearing roads and detonating IEDs in the area also have been killed, Perry reports. Not noted in the story: 3/5 was preceded in Sangin by 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. That unit had a relatively quiet deployment until it was called on to take over Sangin from British forces in September. They sustained five casualties and more than 150 wounded there, before turning the area over in October, 3/7 Marines said.
- A rifle company from 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., was redeployed a month ago to Sangin. Three Marines with the company died within days. The unit has been based mostly in and around Marjah, the former Taliban stronghold in central Helmand where firefights were common last summer before Marines began to tame the area.
- As previously reported on Battle Rattle, Marines with the 26th MEU — primarily 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines — will soon deploy to the Sangin area.
That’s a lot for anyone to wrap their head around. In total, it also means that nearly 40 Marines have died in Sangin since 3/7 took over for British forces in September.
One last note: A concerned writer noted recently on the Wounded Times blog that a “Prayer Request for Darkhorse” that circulated widely through social networking sites like Facebook included inaccuracies. The request appeared to be based on my October story about the initial casualties that 3/5 sustained.
I don’t know how, why or where my initial story with accurate names was adapted, but I assume it was by somebody with the best of intentions. The important thing to note is that while 3/5 did sustain nine casualties in lightning-quick fashion in October, the Marines in Sangin are still in a life-and-death struggle, and deserve to be kept in our thoughts and prayers.
Jurassic paint
January 24th, 2011 | Battle Rattle | Posted by Tony Lombardo
The likelihood that scientists draw blood from prehistoric mosquitoes, use it to populate a park full of dinosaurs and charge you admission to hunt said dinos down, seems pretty small.
But some capitalists at Camp Pendleton, Calif.’s Paintball Park know you’d still love to take a potshot or two at a T-Rex.
With that in mind, dinosaur sculptures are being incorporated into a $2 million upgrade at the park, under construction at the site of the old rodeo grounds on Mainside.
The park is still under construction, but it has begun operations. As of Jan. 22, the park is operating 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday, according to a Marine Corps news release. It is also open Monday through Thursday, but by reservation only.
Cost is $35 for a day pass for members of the military and their families. Civilians pay $50.
For more information check out the Marine news release here.
You interested in blasting these dinos with paint?
Being a journalist is hard work
January 18th, 2011 | Battle Rattle | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Do you see that, ladies and gentlemen? That's me at the rifle range yesterday at SHOT Show, the world's largest outdoor and shooting trade show. It brings military personnel of all kinds, including those who decide what the services need to buy and why.
Yesterday was media day down on the range, which gave Army Times senior writer Lance Bacon, Gear Scout guru Rob Curtis and I a chance to check out and shoot a variety of weapons. As a Marine Corps Times senior writer, I was interested to try (separately) the Colt CM901 and a high-capacity 5.56mm magazine in development by Surefire for use with the M4 and M16A4 rifles.
As you can see above, Yamaha also rolled out the red carpet for us, putting on a demonstration of some of its four-wheelers. I rode the 700cc Grizzly, digging in nicely and powering over hills and dips on a course that was more than a mile long.
More to come...