Thursday, February 23, 2012
Even training is dangerous.
via CNN.
(CNN) -- Two helicopters collided midair during a training exercise, killing seven Marines, the U.S. Marine Corps said Thursday.Terrible news.
Wednesday night's crash occurred during routine training operations at the Marine Corps air station near Yuma, Arizona, the Marine Corps said in a statement.
The aircraft, an AH-1W "Cobra" and a UH-1Y "Huey," were part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Authorities said they would not release the names of the Marines involved until their families were notified.
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma has about 4,000 active-duty Marines and sailors, and supports 80% of the Marine Corps air-to-ground aviation training. It covers five square miles in southeastern Yuma and is home to a number of units.
The air station "hosts approximately 70 aviation units, bringing an average of 600 aircraft and 14,000 personnel for ongoing training that takes place throughout the year," utilizing U.S. and NATO forces, the station's website said.
USMC innovates again. Harvest Hawk continues to evolve.
In February, the U.S. Marine Corps received the first KC-130J Harvest HAWK modified with a pressurized standoff, precision-guided munitions launcher called the Derringer door |
Today in Marine Corps History...A Marine Corps for the next 500 Years.
"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years."(James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 February 1945.)
Via Wikipedia.
The Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, had decided the previous night that he wanted to go ashore and witness the final stage of the fight for the mountain. Now, under a stern commitment to take orders from Howlin' Mad Smith, the secretary was churning ashore in the company of the blunt, earthy general. Their boat touched the beach just after the flag went up, and the mood among the high command turned jubilant. Gazing upward, at the red, white, and blue speck, Forrestal remarked to Smith: "Holland, the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years."
Forrestal was so taken with fervor of the moment that he decided he wanted the Suribachi flag as a souvenir. The news of this wish did not sit well with 2nd Battalion Commander Chandler Johnson, whose temperament was every bit as fiery as Howlin Mad's. 'To hell with that!' the colonel spat when the message reached him. The flag belonged to the battalion, as far as Johnson was concerned.
Go to Wikipedia to read this short passage on the Battle for Iwo Jima. It's well worth the time.
The helicopter that's done it all finally retires.
If you had to pick one maritime helicopter that had been there and done that...
A helicopter that has been a crucial part of Marine Aviation in the 20th century...
A helicopter that was multi-role and multi-mission before it was cool...then you would have to pick the CH-53D. When first deployed it had speed and agility and lifting power that was unheard of in the Western World.
The Marine Corps has finally retired this war bird.
Via NAVAIR.
The Marine Corps retired the CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter during a “sundown ceremony” Feb. 10 at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Sea Stallion’s last mission is currently underway with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The helicopter will be flown from Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay to its final destination at the Pacific Aviation Museum, where it will be displayed.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines in Operation Highland Thunder
Photos by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez
11th MEU training in the 5th Fleet AOR.
Photos by Cpl. Ryan Carpenter and Cpl. Tommy Huynh
A Marine would have received a Big Chicken Dinner.
via Military.com
Real easy.
Its funny. Marines got other than honorable discharges for refusing the Anthrax shot. BCD's were handed out for hazing. And I'll check but in the Army and Marines this has occurred with people ending up in the brig with unhonorable discharges.
A former Navy SEAL has received an other-than-honorable discharge and awaits sentencing in a Las Vegas jail for his arms-smuggling conviction.This guy got off easy.
Nicholas Bickle, who was convicted in October on 13 charges, was supposed to have been sentenced this month but his lawyer, John Arrascada, asked for a delay because he just joined the case, The San Diego Tribune reported Monday. His sentencing is scheduled for April 27.
Bickle faces as much as 20 years in prison for smuggling AK-47 rifles and handguns from Iraq and giving them to co-conspirators to sell on the black market.
Lt. Cmdr. Frank Magallon of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 told the Tribune an other-than-honorable discharge was the most severe discharge Bickle could have received -- dishonorable and bad-conduct charges are only given at military courts-martial.
The discharge means Bickle can't use the GI Bill, get separation pay or wear his uniform at special occasions, the newspaper said.
Real easy.
Its funny. Marines got other than honorable discharges for refusing the Anthrax shot. BCD's were handed out for hazing. And I'll check but in the Army and Marines this has occurred with people ending up in the brig with unhonorable discharges.
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