Battle Rattle blog recognized for combat coverage
September 30th, 2011 | Afghanistan Embedded journalism Infantry | Posted by Dan Lamothe
The cat’s out of the bag, which means it’s time for an overdue thank you here on Battle Rattle.
The Military Reporters and Editors organization announced Wednesday that this blog has received honorable mention in its Online Interactive category for work done in 2010. Specifically, it highlighted the war-zone blogging that photographer Thomas Brown and I did during our spring 2010 embed in Helmand province, Afghanistan (most of those entries can be found here).
I won’t get long-winded, but since I’m aware there are Battle Rattle readers who don’t make their way to Marine Corps Times’ online front page regularly, I wanted to share the good news here, too. We finished behind a very substantial New York Times project, so there’s no shame in that.
Thanks to the staff of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, and everyone else who played a hand in helping us tell the Marines’ story during a hectic, dangerous time in Marjah district. It’s an experience we won’t forget.
Parris Island’s new mascot
September 28th, 2011 | Animals | Posted by Tony Lombardo
There’s a new mascot at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. He’s got what it takes to be a Marine, a depot spokesman said. What he doesn’t have is a name.
The 8-week-old English Bulldog arrived this month at the depot. His predecessor, Sgt. Archibald Hummer, died in his sleep on Sept. 7 at the age of 5.
The new puppy is described as both active and cute, said depot spokesman Sgt. Russell Midori.
“He definitely has what it takes, but it’s going to take some training to get him up to the standard,” Midori said.
The name of the new mascot is ultimately up to depot commander Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds, Midori said, but the base is also taking suggestions via this Facebook post.
Some notable suggestions include “Dakota,” for Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer, and “Ira,” for Cpl. Ira Hayes, who took part in the second flag-raising on Iwo Jima immortalized by Joe Rosenthal’s photograph.
What would you name pup?
Live, from today’s Modern Day Marine exposition…
September 27th, 2011 | Gear General officers The CMC | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and his wife, Bonnie, speak with a vendor during the opening day of the three-day Modern Day Marine exposition at Quantico, Va. (Photo by Thomas Brown/Staff)
The Modern Day Marine exposition kicked off at Quantico, Va., this morning, providing a glimpse into some of the newest developments available in military technology and equipment.
The annual event will be held through Thursday, featuring exhibits from at least 500 companies on the parade deck near Lejeune Hall.
Marine Corps Times and its sister publication, Defense News, will be blogging from the show. Check it out here.
‘Hell and Back Again’ — Watch the trailer
September 27th, 2011 | Afghanistan Infantry Pop culture | Posted by Tony Lombardo
“Hell and Back Again,” a documentary by photographer Danfung Dennis, begins hitting theaters Oct. 5. It features members of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., who deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.
Arguably the most powerful scenes in the trailer involve 27-year-old Sgt. Nathan Harris’ transition back home.
The trailer is posted below. For the screening schedule click here. I’ll be buying a ticket.
Behind the Cover: Our State of the Corps issue
September 26th, 2011 | Behind the Cover General officers | Posted by Dan Lamothe
This week’s Marine Corps Times offers some serious double-barreled action.
The main cover story outlines a new plan President Obama unveiled Sept. 19 that could cut Tricare and retirement benefits as part of a broad initiative to cut the federal deficit by $4.4 trillion. It’s something you’ll likely hear a lot more about in the future, considering the president also called for the creation of a commission that could recommend widespread changes to military retirement.
That’s one major piece of news. This week’s issue also offers a special report featuring a 16-page pullout section aimed squarely on explaining the future of the Corps.
Nine general officers sat down with Marine Corps Times for the issue, including Commandant Gen. Jim Amos; Lts. Gen. Robert Milstead, Richard Mills and Steven Hummer; and Maj. Gen. John Toolan, the commander of Marine forces in Afghanistan. Collectively, they outline the service’s pending drawdown, the future in Afghanistan and what operations could look like after the war.
Check it out on newsstands now, or subscribe here to read it now.
Stephen Colbert: ‘There’s nothing more patriotic than a Marine fart’
September 23rd, 2011 | Afghanistan Pop culture | Posted by Gina Cavallaro
I reported it here last month, but TV funnyman Stephen Colbert just caught wind of it.
A certain group of Marines in Afghanistan were asked by their leaders to avoid farting audibly around their Afghan partners because they are offended by flatulence. We don’t really know why the Afghans are offended, they just are.
On his show last night, Colbert wagged a finger at the Marine Corps, even though it was never an official Marine Corps order. Check it out here:
“We owe them the freedom to unleash a loud, proud, cheek-rattling chair-scorcher,” he said. He added: “What do the Marines want the men on the ground to do? Be silent but deadly?”
Even though he picked up an MRE and pointed out that “we cannot fill these soldiers with MREs, then ask them to cease fire,” it’s a pretty funny moment of Colbert outrage.
For the record, yes, that was this blog that appeared on last night’s show.
Dakota Meyer jokes with David Letterman
September 23rd, 2011 | Awards Ganjgal Pop culture | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer appeared on “Late Show with David Letterman” Thursday night, and thing got loose pretty quickly. You’ve got to love “greasing the Bobcat” jokes, in particular:
For what it’s worth, it appears Meyer is still laughing about the appearance. He posted the following message on Twitter this morning:
The full episode is available here.
Marine Corps Times cover cameo on NBC Nightly News
September 21st, 2011 | Don't Ask Don't Tell | Posted by Tony Lombardo
The cover of Marine Corps Times made an appearance on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams last night as part of their coverage of the end of “don’t ask don’t tell,” the policy that banned gays from serving openly in the military.
Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski concluded his coverage by holding up a copy of our Sept. 19 issue and saying, “…Brian, this headline in the latest Marine Corps Times says it all. ‘We’re gay, get over it.’” Watch the full NBC report here.
Our cover treatment – for a story featuring several gay Marines and their take on the repeal — has garnered a lot of discussion. Some love it, some hate it. What do you think?
Thoughts on the ’60 Minutes’ piece with Dakota Meyer
September 19th, 2011 | Afghanistan Awards Ganjgal Washington | Posted by Dan Lamothe
President Obama presents Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on Sept. 15. (Photo by Rob Curtis/Staff)
Last night, the messy background behind Sgt. Dakota Meyer’s Medal of Honor was reintroduced to the nation.
In a 15-minute piece on “60 Minutes,” CBS reporter David Martin outlined what went wrong in the six-hour battle in Ganjgal, Afghanistan, that led to Meyer taking his life in his hands on Sept. 8, 2009, in an attempt to save as many Afghan and American forces as he could from the teeth of a well planned ambush.
The clip is up here:
Some of the details reported last night will be common knowledge to those who have tracked Ganjgal, but there were some new details.
The Army Center for Lessons Learned training video of the account had not been widely distributed, for example. CBS also tracked down retired Col. Richard Hooker, one of the two officers who investigated the leadership failures that played a key role in what went wrong. Meyer himself also described what happened with refreshing candor, as painful as it is.
Readers of Marine Corps Times, Bing West’s “The Wrong War,” and some of McClatchy reporter Jonathan Landay’s initial reporting on the battle will know much more about the failures and frustration that day, however.
Since late 2009, I’ve actually written four Marine Corps Times cover stories that focused heavily on Ganjgal (note: I’ve linked them below), along with about 20 other shorter pieces.
There’s always another thread to pull on with the story. What about the reprimands? What about awards that are still pending? It’s a messy situation, and it still isn’t all resolved.
Martin’s piece last night does the story — and the families involved — a great service. It elevates Ganjgal’s profile yet again, adding in a lot of things that didn’t come up last week when President Obama awarded Meyer the nation’s top valor award.
Already today, The Associated Press has jumped on the story, leveraging comments that Gold Star family members Susan Price and Charlene Westbrook made on “60 Minutes.” They’ve shared their thoughts before, but this time it’s with a recently awarded Medal of Honor in the national consciousness.
It’s hard to say what’s next. Already, the Battle of Ganjgal has become a signature moment in the Afghanistan war, and that’s without considering the Medal of Honor case pending for Will Swenson, the Army captain who assisted Meyer in bringing home the bodies of four Americans killed in the battle.
If Swenson receives the award, it’d mark the first time since 1993′s Battle of Mogadishu that two service members receive the Medal of Honor for actions in the same fight. In yet another way, Ganjgal would become Afghanistan’s “Blackhawk Down.”
We’re watching history unfold before our eyes. It’s just shame it has to be so painful.
Previous Marine Corps Times cover stories on Ganjgal
– Families outraged over engagement restrictions
– Report: Army denied aid to team under fire
– Heroism in ambush may yield top valor awards
– MoH nominee says he does not feel like a hero
More on Dakota Meyer’s beer summit with Obama
September 15th, 2011 | Awards Ganjgal Washington | Posted by Dan Lamothe
UPDATED: A White House spokesman tells Marine Corps Times that the beer shared by Obama and Meyer was home-brewed there. It’s called White House Honey Blonde Ale. That’s pretty sweet.
President Obama enjoys a beer Wednesday outside the Oval Office with Dakota Meyer. The president will present Meyer, a sergeant in the Individual Ready Reserve, with the Medal of Honor on Thursday. (White House photo by Pete Souza)
By now, you’ve seen the photo above. It’s President Obama having a beer yesterday with Dakota Meyer, who will become today the first living Marine in 38 years to receive the Medal of Honor.
The idea was reportedly Dakota’s. When the president’s staff called Meyer over the weekend in advance of today’s ceremony, the Marine asked if he could have a beer with Obama, White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a tweet last night. The president invited Meyer yesterday.
During the Beer Summit in 2009, the guests drank Red Stripe and Blue Moon, while the president had Bud Lite. Based on the photograph, it appears they may have had Bud Lite yesterday, too. I’ve inquired with a few sources to see if we can clear that up. Inquiring minds want to know, and all.