Video: The 236th Marine Corps Birthday Message
October 20th, 2011 | Afghanistan History and heritage Marjah The CMC The Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps Washington World War II Wounded warriors | Posted by Dan Lamothe
The Marine Corps Birthday is still a few weeks away, but the service extended one tradition tonight by posting its annual birthday video message.
Featuring narration by Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and Sgt. Maj. Mike Barrett, the Corps’ top enlisted Marine, it honors Marines everywhere, with special appreciation set aside for those who served in World War II and since the attacks on 9/11.
Watch it here:
The commandant and sergeant major filmed pieces of the message in New York City and in the Washington, D.C., area at both the World War II Memorial and the Pentagon. They also filmed part of it in Marjah, Afghanistan, on Sept. 11.
It’s a bit early yet, but happy birthday, Marines. In the meantime, check out some of these behind-the-scenes photographs the Corps released as the video was being filmed:
Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and Sgt. Maj. Mike Barrett, the Corps' top enlisted Marine, film part of the 2011 birthday message at the National War War II Memorial on July 28. (Photo by Lance Cp. Cody Fodale/Marine Corps)
Sgt. Maj. Barrett reviews birthday message remarks before filming part of the message Aug. 12 at the Pentagon. (Photo by Sgt. Christopher Green/Marine Corps)
The commandant and sergeant major prepare to be filmed on a building near Ground Zero in New York City. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Tia Dufour/Marine Corps)
Gates orders “thorough force structure review” of the Corps
August 12th, 2010 | Battle Rattle budget World War II | Posted by Gina Cavallaro
This time he really means business. Gates sounded the death knell for U.S. Joint Forces command at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week he had his sites trained on the Marine Corps.
In a speech at the Marines’ Memorial Club and Hotel in San Francisco on Thursday, he ordered a thorough force structure review of the Marine Corps. It’s no news that the Corps is prepared to draw down its personnel after operations in Afghanistan wind down. But this goes deeper. He said he wants to determine what an expeditionary force in readiness should look like in the 21st Century.
In his speech, Gates took the audience down the storied path of Marine Corps lore, through the rich history of important and seminal engagements, sacrifice and victory through World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, concluding that the nation does not need a second land army.
Gates said he is worried that in a time of austerity the Defense Department may be seen by some legislators as a cash cow to fix funding issues in some other agencies. The spigot of defense spending that was turned up after the attacks of 9/11, he said, is closing.
BLUF: every dollar counts. Stand by for more.
Arlington burial of late general and Iwo Jima veteran to be star-studded affair
July 21st, 2010 | General officers The CMC World War II | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Maj. Gen. Fred Haynes (Marine Corps)
Thursday morning, the Marine Corps will bury one of its own.
Retired Maj. Gen. Fred Haynes wasn’t just any Marine, though. As a captain, he served as an operations officer for Combat Team 28, participating in the bloody Battle of Iwo Jima that resulted in nearly 7,000 U.S. combat deaths. In 1967, he served as the top operations officer of Marine forces in Vietnam.
Haynes died in March, and will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery following a service at Arlington’s Fort Myer Old Post Chapel. The delay in his burial is likely the result of the time and resources it takes (think horse-drawn caisson) to bury someone with full military honors.
A copy of an informational brief about Haynes’ ceremony shows that good things come to those who wait. The ceremony will be a star-studded affair, with no fewer than three former commandants — retired Gens. Al Gray, Carl Mundy and James Jones — serving as honorary pall bearers. They will be joined by three members of the Haynes family, retired Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas (a Navy Cross recipient) and retired Col. Bill Rockey, a former battalion commander in Vietnam whose father, the late Maj. Gen. Keller Rockey, commanded Haynes’ division at Iwo Jima.
Other dignitaries expected to attend include Gen. James Mattis, the presumed next commander of U.S. Central Command, and Ichiro Fujisaki, Japan’s ambassador to the U.S. The eulogy will be delivered by retired Lt. Gen. Larry Snowden, who was a company commander during the assault on Iwo Jima.
For what it’s worth, Haynes co-authored a book, “The Lions of Iwo Jima,” that was released just last May. In a review, James Bradley, author of “Flags of Our Fathers,” said Haynes was the highest-ranking surviving officer from Combat Team 28.
Rest in peace, sir.