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| New skool setup. Love it except for the fact that the ammo pouches take up entirely too much space with not enough return for the cost. I like the material, but the real estate issue is a deal breaker. |
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| Old skool setup. For a war belt its good to go but the materials just don't cut it today. |
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| U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton greets German army Col. Hans Buhl of Munster, Germany while visiting Kabul International Airport en route to Japan today. She greeted about 50 sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines along with their NATO counterparts. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roger S. Duncan) |
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| U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton greets Spanish Army Maj. Maria Sanfafosta while visiting Kabul International Airport en route to Japan today. She greeted about 50 sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines along with their NATO counterparts. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roger S. Duncan) |
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| U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton waves from the plane with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker after visiting Kabul International Airport en route to Japan today. She greeted about 50 U.S. sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines along with a few of their NATO counterparts. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roger S. Duncan) |
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| U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton greets a U.S. airman during her visit to Kabul International Airport en route to Japan today to greet sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines along with their NATO counterparts. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roger S. Duncan) |
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| Sgt. Tim Martin, an infantryman with Headquarters and Headquarters
Company of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry
Division, shows evidence of the long journey after returning from
Operation Buffalo Thunder II at Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak,
Afghanistan, July 2, 2012. During the eight-day mission, Afghan and
American forces cleared more than 120 kilometers of rugged terrain and
escorted approximately 60 truckloads of humanitarian aid for
distribution to the people of Shorabak. 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment (Hawaii) Photo by Staff Sgt. Brendan |
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| Colonel Ripley's awards. |
Read the whole thing here, but I wanted to post this part because it gives a brief glimpse of Colonel Ripley's qualifications.
COLONEL RIPLEY: I, too, would like to begin with prepared remarks.
Ladies and gentlemen of the Commission, I’ll start with my background. Very briefly, my association with combat. I served my first combat tour as a young Marine captain company commander of a rifle company for a year in Vietnam, along the DMZ; from Khe Sanh, virtually all of the fire bases, over to the Tonkin Gulf, Con-Tien, Rockpile, Khe Sanh and the jungles in between.
My next tour was with the Vietnamese Marines four years later, where I served in virtually the same area. At the time, Khe Sanh was abandoned, and I had the distinction of being the last American there, having been shot down there twice on two consecutive days.
I also served a tour with the British Royal Marines, where I commanded a rifle company in 4/5 Commando, deployed with them to the Arctic for two years—correction, two winters—and during that same tour, I deployed to Malaya, where I served with the 1st of the 2nd Gurka Rifles and 40 Commando on a post-and-station tour that, to my surprise, in the jungles of northern Malaya, also included combat. I wasn’t supposed to know that.
I had been trained exceedingly well by the Marine Corps. I am one of two Marines who have completed all four schools preparatory to reconnaissance training; airborne, scuba, jump, trained with the Navy SEALs at the time they were not SEALs, they were UDT, and, finally, the British Royal Marine Commando Course. There are only two present active-duty Marines so designated.
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| MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (June 28, 2012) Soldiers from Alpha Company, New Zealand Army, run through procedures for clearing buildings as part of the Military Operations Urban Training (MOUT). Alpha Company is hosted by the 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment during exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012. (New Zealand Defence Force Photo by LAC Amanda McErlich, Photographer, Defence Communications Group) |
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| MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (July 1, 2012) Soldiers from Alpha Company, New Zealand Army, practice drills for urban clearing at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) Military Armored Tactical Combat House while personnel from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment watch. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC exercise from Jun. 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. New Zealand Defence Force Photo by: LAC Amanda McErlich, Photographer, Defence Communications Group |
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| MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (July 2, 2012) A Republic of Korea Marine with 1st ROK Marine Division conducts a speed reload for his K2 assault rifle during a weapons training evolution as part of Rim of the Pacific 2012, July 2, 2012. Approximately 2,200 personnel from 9 nations are participating in RIMPAC 12 as part of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force 3, Combined Force Land Component Command. The CFLCC is conducting amphibious and land-based operations in order to enhance multinational and joint interoperability. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in the biennial RIMPAC exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jerome Reed/RELEASED) |
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| MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII Mexican Marine Corporal Sergio Deloya Chino
fires at 25-yard targets during weapons training as part of Rim of the Pacific 2012, July 2, 2012. Approximately 2,200 personnel from 9 nations are participating in RIMPAC 12 as part of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force 3, Combined Force Land Component Command. The CFLCC is conducting amphibious and land-based operations in order to enhance multinational and joint interoperability. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in the biennial RIMPAC exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jerome Reed/RELEASED) |
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| MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (July 2, 2012) Members of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from Shilo, Manitoba, and 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines from Hawaii, United-States, get on board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 2 2012. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. Canadian Forces photo by : MCpl Marc-Andre Gaudreault, Canadian Forces Combat Camera. RELEASED |
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| MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (July 2, 2012) Members of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from Shilo, Manitoba, and 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines from Hawaii, United-States, get on board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 2 2012. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. Canadian Forces photo by : MCpl Marc-Andre Gaudreault, Canadian Forces Combat Camera. RELEASED |
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| MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (July 2, 2012) - Members of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from Shilo, Manitoba, and 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines from Hawaii, United-States, practice the Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System with a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 2 2012. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. Canadian Forces photo by : MCpl Marc-Andre Gaudreault, Canadian Forces Combat Camera. RELEASED |
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| A member of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force consults his map during Operation Pot Khanger, a sweep by 30 Commando last summer. Picture: LA(Phot) Hamish Burke, 3 Cdo Bde |
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| Juliet Company, 42 Commando, move through a wheat field between compounds on a patrol of Helmand in May 2011. Picture: LA(Phot) Dave Hillhouse, 42 Cdo |
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| 45 Commando head out on Jackal armoured vehicles on a dusk patrol. Picture: LA(Phot) Andy Laidlaw, 45 Cdo |
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| Hearts and minds… A Royal Marine of Yankee Company, 45 Commando, chats with local youngsters during a patrol outside Patrol Base Shamal Storrai. Picture: LA(Phot) Andy Laidlaw, 45 Cdo |
