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NAWA, Afghanistan - Josh Habib lay in a dirt field, gasping for air. Two days of hiking with Marines through southern Afghanistan’s 115-degree heat had exhausted him. This was not what he signed up for. Habib is not a Marine. He is a 53-year-old engineer from California hired by a contracting company as a military translator. When he applied for the lucrative linguist job, Habib said, his recruiter gave no hint he would join a ground assault in Taliban land. He carried 40 pounds of food, water, and gear on his back, and kept pace - barely - with Marines...

Please join us in the campaign to show Gratitude to our US Military. Go the following link to the Gratitude Campaign and email the link to everyone you know: THE GRATITUDE FOR OUR MILITARY CAMPAIGNLet's show our military how grateful we are for their service all over this country. It's a neat video you can download to distribute in emails, thumbdrives, and any other way you can too. Thank you.

<p>WASHINGTON — Jennifer Grieves wanted independence, exposure and something she could be proud of when she joined the Marine Corps. She got all that, and more — including a place in history as the �rst woman to pilot Marine One, the president's helicopter.</p>

FROM:Dr. Michael S. Brown of Vancouver, WA TOPIC:"NEGROES WITH GUNS" 12/29/01 12:22:27 The year was 1957. Monroe, North Carolina, was a rigidly segregated town where all levels of white society and government were dedicated to preserving the racial status quo. Blacks who dared to speak out were subject to brutal, sadistic violence. It was common practice for convoys of Ku Klux Klan members to drive through black neighborhoods shooting in all directions. A black physician who owned a nice brick house on a main road was a frequent target of racist anger. In the summer of 1957, a Klan...

So that you will know "the Rest of the Story": He wanted to be a Marine fighter pilot. The US was building up their military force, but they were not at war yet and the Navy required all its potential Navy and Marine pilots to have two years of college. So Ed started classes at Boston College. When Pearl Harbor was attacked the Army and the Navy both dropped the college requirement and Ed applied to the Marines. His primary flight training was in Dallas and then he went to Pensacola, Florida. He was carrier qualified, which means he knew...

NAWA, Afghanistan – Taliban militants were nowhere in sight as the columns of U.S. Marines walked a third straight day across southern Afghanistan. But the desert heat proved an enemy in its own right, with several troops falling victim Saturday to temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The Marines carry 50-100 pounds (23-45 kilograms) on their backs. But because they are marching through farmland on foot, they can't carry nearly as much water as their thirst demands. Few even realized the date was July 4, ... a world away from the strenuous task Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine...

Can anyone recommend some websites where I can download free patriotic music for the 4th? I'm guessing Susa, military marches, themes of the armed forces, that kind of thing?

Video comparing President George W. Bush's Marine Corps welcome to President Obama's.

Professionals that cannot change themselves from within, cannot respond to the needs of their constituencies while also inspiring the admiration and loyalty of their own members are in trouble.--"Tarnished Brass: Is the US Military Profession in Decline?" by Richard H. Kohn, World Affairs, Spring 2009 When General Conway took over as the Marine Corps Commandant, he went on the speech circuit talking about the “long war”. One speech was made at the Marines’ Memorial Association and World Affairs Council, in San Francisco, California on July 10, 2007. In that speech, General Conway stated, “we have a couple of incidents in...

Rob Finch/The Oregonian/2002U.S. Marine Corps Col. Kenneth L. Reusser (center) is joined by Marine Staff Sgt. Marvin Harper (left) and Air Force Staff Sgt. Kim Nickerson on the Freedom Train, a string of cars honoring Oregon veterans, firefighters and disaster-relief workers who flew to New York City after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. CLACKAMAS -- They came by ones and twos Friday, quietly slipping into the pews at New Hope Community Church. They smiled at the words honoring a man whose faith made him an inspiration and whose exploits in three wars made him a hero. And when the...

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- Teams of builders worked through dust storms Monday to expand a base for a brigade of U.S. Marines now fanning out across southern Afghanistan to change the course of a war claiming American lives faster than ever before. Some 10,000 Marines have poured into Afghanistan in the last six weeks, the military said Monday, transforming this once small base in the heart of the country's most violent province, Helmand, into a desert fortress. The statement to embedded journalists, including a team from The Associated Press, was the first confirmation that the military has fully deployed the...

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, June 5, 2009 – The last time the 25th Naval Construction Regiment had a mission even remotely approaching the scope of its task in Afghanistan, was during its last deployment, preparing for the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. Navy Seabees position a truss for the new "Noah's Ark" headquarters and operations center under construction at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron Rooks  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. So 65 years later, Navy Capt. Jeff Borowy recognizes the symbolism as he borrows words from Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to tell...

U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway is deciding what to do with the dereliction of duty case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the Camp Pendleton officer accused of failing to order a full-scale investigation into the slayings of two dozen Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha in 2005. Conway got the case in late May, after the Marine Corps gave up its appeal of a military judge's ruling that unlawful command influence illegally tainted the case against Chessani. The Marine Corps appealed that ruling on two occasions and was considering a third appeal before deciding to let Conway...

Today's "Outrage of the Day" comes from Dallas: Frank Larison is a disabled veteran with more than 14 years of service, including more than a year of combat duty in Vietnam. The 58-year-old former Marine now finds himself under attack by his Dallas homeowners association for displaying seven decals on his vehicle supporting the Marine Corps.

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile , Research) on Tuesday named retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, the former head of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, to its board. The appointment is the latest in a line of retired senior armed forces and Pentagon leaders joining defense contractors, underscoring the tight relationship between U.S. arms makers and buyers. Boeing, which is the No. 2 U.S. defense contractor behind Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile , Research), said Jones' appointment was effective immediately. Jones, 63, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran with a 40-year military...

No summer vacation or Friday night lights. It’s platoons instead of homerooms -- and a commandant keeping 13-year-old pupils on point. No one will ever confuse the proposed Marine Institute for "High School Musical," and that’s got a more than a few people fuming. Plans between the Marine Corps and a Georgia school district to establish a Marine high school has prompted vocal protests and raised the prospect of similar military-linked high schools appearing nationwide to offer disadvantaged but talented students alternatives to traditional schools Where some see a military sponsorship as the final alternative to decaying discipline in disadvantaged...

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan - A huge U.S. military camp is taking shape in the baking heat of southern Afghanistan for thousands of extra U.S. troops charged with defeating a resurgent Taliban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Camp Leatherneck, with concrete blast walls and semi-cylinder sand-colored tents, on Thursday as he surveyed preparations for what will be the biggest wave yet in a year that is seeing U.S. troop numbers doubled. The camp is being constructed in Helmand province next to a British base, Camp Bastion, as Marines and other forces dramatically expand their presence in the most violent area of...

In 2004, coalition forces in Iraq launched Operation Phantom Fury, the battle for control of Fallujah. American troops battled through a city of enemy insurgents, fighting house to house and street to street to seize control of the most dangerous city in the world.

WASHINGTON — Representative John P. Murtha, chairman of the House military spending subcommittee and a decorated former Marine, has long acted as a protective Uncle Jack to the Marine Corps. Brendan Hoffman/Bloomberg News A nephew of John P. Murtha, chairman of the House military spending panel, has been named a Marine legislative liaison. Now the corps has named one of his nephews, Col. Brian Murtha, to the office charged with advocating for its interests on Capitol Hill, where Representative Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania, helps write the military budget. In relocating to be near the Pentagon, Colonel Murtha has even moved...

Lt. Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. replacing Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland at Camp Pendleton later this yearCAMP PENDLETON ---- A former Camp Pendleton 1st Marine Division officer has been nominated by President Barack Obama to head the base's I Marine Expeditionary Force and also serve as commander of Marine Corps forces throughout the Middle East. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday that Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. to replace Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland later this year. The change is among several coming to Camp Pendleton's top leadership this year. Dunford is currently serving as the vice director for...

see http://www.marines.mil/community/marineweek/Pages/ScheduleofEvents.aspx

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2009 – The Marine Corps commandant today confirmed a suspected case of what the U.S. Homeland Security Council now is calling H1N1 flu, but has been known as “swine flu,” at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. A male Marine reported to a medical clinic on base over the weekend complaining of flu-like symptoms. Initial test results indicate the H1N1 virus, and the service is waiting for further results from testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Marine Corps Gen. James T. Conway said. The Marine, along with...

US Marine is suspected of falling ill with swine flu and has been quarantined on a California military base with his roommate, and 37 others who came in contact with him are under observation, the Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday. "We have one suspected but not confirmed case at 29 Palms," General James Conway told a news conference, referring to the marine base in southern California. The marine had flu-like symptoms and initial tests indicated he may have swine flu, Conway said. "He has been quarantined" along with his roommate, the general said. The marine and his roommate "are not...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- Despite having failed to win convictions of two co-defendants, the Marine Corps announced Friday it will prosecute Sgt. Jermaine Nelson for killing an unarmed Iraqi prisoner of war. Lt. Col. David Griesmer said a plea from Nelson's attorney to drop the murder charge has been rejected. The attorney, Joseph Low, said Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland believes the case should be decided by a jury. "Sometimes, a single person does not want to be the decision-maker," Low said of Helland, who has the authority to order the charges against Nelson withdrawn. "The general decided he would rather see...

The Marine Corps is pressing its case against the highest-ranking Marine charged with wrongdoing in the 2005 slaying of two dozen Iraqi civilians. The service wants a military appellate court to reconsider its decision upholding the dismissal of charges against Camp Pendleton's Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was accused of dereliction of duty for not ordering a full-scale investigation of the killings. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington unanimously upheld the dismissal in March. But the Marine Corps now wants all 12 judges of the court to review that decision. The court...

Charlotte, NC—Fugitive U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean will be extradited from Mexico to the United States on April 17, 2009. Laurean was captured in central Mexico in April 2008 after fleeing the United States in January 2008. Onslow County Sheriff’s Office investigators suspect Laurean in the homicide of 20-year-old USMC Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her death. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office asked the FBI for help locating Laurean when he disappeared on January 12, 2008. He was charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution (UFAP) in the Eastern...

In this file photo, MV-22 Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron-162 land in Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008. The deployment of the MV-22 Osprey in Operation Iraqi Freedom is coming to a close as the final Marine Medium Tilt-rotor Squadron prepares to head home this spring. Photo by Cpl. George Papastrat, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. AL ASAD AIR BASE — The presence of the MV-22 Osprey in Operation Iraqi Freedom is coming to a close as the final Marine Medium Tilt-rotor Squadron prepares to head home this spring. The Marines of Marine Medium Tilt-rotor squadron (VMM)-266, also known as the...

The opening stanza of the Marine Corps hymn is: "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea." The "Halls of Montezuma" refers to the assault on Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican War, which was led by the small Marine contingent in Gen. Winfield Scott's army. Ninety percent of the officers and NCOs who led the assault were killed. The red stripe on the dress uniform trousers of Marine officers is in commemoration of the blood their predecessors shed that day. (For those who love historical coincidences,...

In his farewell address in January 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex, the cozy relationship between the Pentagon, Congress and defense contractors. In April 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposes to do something significant about it. He wants Congress to cut big-ticket items from all the major services: the Air Force's F-22 fighter, the Army's family of Future Combat Systems and the Navy's DDG 1000 destroyer.

The attorney for the third and final Marine charged with killing an unarmed insurgent in Iraq says prosecutors should heed the acquittals of two co-defendants and drop the case against his client. Attorney Joseph Low said Friday that it makes no sense for the Marine Corps to pursue the case against Sgt. Jermaine Nelson. "I am submitting that request to the Marine Corps," Low said. "The Marine Corps should have gotten the message loud and clear now that these cases should never have been brought." ~ snip ~Besides preparing a formal request for the Marine Corps to drop the case...

I missed two award ceremonies this past week and these two ceremonies make interesting contrasts regarding Marines. I must admit that I was not invited to the first ceremony nor is there any earthly reason why I should have been. I read about it in a Bing West article, "Distinguished Disservice: In honoring Murtha, the Navy insults its own". Mr. West, a Marine veteran, is the noted author of several books. His latest is an excellent work about the Iraq War entitled, The Strongest Tribe. The Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Donald C. Winter, awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award...

A military jury on Thursday acquitted a Marine sergeant on charges of murdering an unarmed detainee during battle in Fallujah, Iraq.

CAMP PENDLETON ----- Eight Marine Corps officers are weighing the fate of a sergeant accused of killing an Iraqi insurgent prisoner of war in what a prosecutor acknowledged is a "tough case." The panel is deciding whether 26-year-old Sgt. Ryan Weemer committed murder, as the prosecution alleges, or acted in self-defense, as the Illinois native's attorney contends. At minimum, prosecutor Capt. Nicholas Gannon told jurors Wednesday that Weemer is guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the 2004 incident that occurred in the opening hours of an intense, door-to-door fight for the Anbar province city of Fallujah.

CAMP PENDLETON ----- A panel of eight Marine officers is deliberating the fate of a sergeant accused of killing an Iraqi insurgent prisoner of war in what a prosecutor acknowledged is a "tough case." During his closing argument in the trial of 26-year-old Sgt. Ryan Weemer, prosecutor Capt. Nick Gannon suggested that at minimum, the 26 year-old Marine is guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the 2004 incident in the city of Fallujah. Gannon said two statements Weemer made to investigators in 2006 contain no mention of self-defense. Weemer's attorney has said self-defense is what drove his client's actions. "This case...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- A Marine Corps hero showered praise Monday on a comrade who is on trial for killing an unarmed prisoner of war. Navy Cross recipient Sgt. Maj. Brad Kasal said the accused Marine, Sgt. Ryan Weemer, was a skilled warrior who always displayed "excellent" military characteristics. Kasal was given the Navy Cross, the second-highest award a Marine can receive, for saving fellow Marines despite suffering severe wounds during the "Hell House" battle in Fallujah, Iraq, on Nov. 13, 2004. Both Kasal, now head of a five-state recruiting region based in Des Moines, Iowa, and Weemer were injured that...

With "JAG," "Navy CIS," "MASH," and other military television shows being quite popular, one might consider with how military service has enhanced the fame of veteran actors in Hollywood or vice versa. During our distinguished history, some Hollywood actors have taken a break from their careers while they defended our country oftentimes to battle in war. These hereos include Charles Bronson, Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Clarke Gable, Lee Marvin, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Stewart. More recent editions of entertainment veterans include "Limp Bizkit" lead singer Fred Durst who did service with the United States Navy. Up until...

SAN DIEGO -- A South Bay foster mother is accused of stealing more than 11,000 toys from the Toys For Tots program, 10News reported. According to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, Virginia Kelly stole the toys and sold them for personal gain over several years. Kelly, 73, was arrested on April 1 and charged with grand theft and embezzlement. She faces up to four years in prison if convicted. According to the district attorney's office, Kelly was a foster mother and served as president of the Latino Foster Parents Association. For several years, Kelly accepted donated toys during...

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2009 – The Marine Corps’ first expeditionary fighting vehicles –- 17-passenger armored vehicles -- are slated to be delivered to the Marine Corps for testing in May 2010, the vehicle’s program manager said. The Marine Corps’ EFV program successfully released a critical design review in the first quarter of this fiscal year, allowing it to go into a second system development and demonstration phase. “We’re currently building seven new prototypes to that new design. Those vehicles are currently going through fabrication and machining the hulls at Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio. They’ll begin assembly this...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The Marines, sailors and families of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade’s Command Element gathered here March 19 and 20 for pre-deployment briefs. The brigade, also known as Task Force Leatherneck, is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan later this spring to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The command held the briefs to inform the service members and their families of what lies ahead for them in their ensuing journey. Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, 2nd MEB commanding general, said the Marines and sailors will be deploying to a region of Afghanistan that is both dangerous and austere....

BERKELEY — The U.S Marine Corps Recruiting Center, which has been the target of protests for the past 18 months, was badly damaged by vandals Wednesday night, the eve of the 6th anniversary of the Iraq war. Today, broken windows are boarded up with sheets of plywood at the recruitment center in downtown Berkeley. CodePink and other anti-war groups picketed in front of the Marine recruiting center at 64 Shattuck Square in downtown Berkeley since the fall of 2007. The groups say the Marines do not belong in liberal Berkeley and they should find a new spot for their center....

Harriers - 40 years old and still jumping 07:01 GMT, March 18, 2009 Few aircraft can be described as truly iconic, fewer still remain in service over long periods, but this year the British-designed Harrier celebrates its 40th birthday, having spent the past five years as a mainstay on operations in Afghanistan. And the Harrier really is unique - no other jet in service has its Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) capability where pilots can land on shortened runways, carrier decks or on landing pads in the middle of a forest. Developed during the Cold War, the Harrier has continually...

March 13, 2009: For five years, the U.S. Marine Corps has been using its own battlefield Internet, based on off-the-shelf equipment. Late last year, the U.S. Army tried out the marine approach, and found that it worked. This all began when the marines went to war in Iraq in 2003. There they quickly discovered that their radio equipment was not up to the needs of fast moving mechanized warfare. That's understandable, as Iraq was the first time the marines ever had to advance so quickly, and so far inland, during combat. Taking this as the wave of the future, and...

After spending a decade behind bars, a former Camp Pendleton Marine is now a free man because a military appeals court ruled that “a muddled, hearsay-based case” caused his spousal-rape conviction. But anyone who thinks Brian Foster is bitter would be wrong. As Foster left the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., on Feb. 20, he picked up his sergeant stripes and spoke candidly with his superiors. “I told (them) I was happy to be back in the Marine Corps and that I'll go anywhere and do anything the Marine Corps wants me to,” Foster, 35, said during a phone interview...

Finding supports rights of press over prosecutor's desire for all of '60 Minutes' Wuterich interview CAMP PENDLETON ---- CBS prevailed Thursday in a battle with Marine prosecutors who wanted all the network's unaired tapes from an interview with the key figure in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005. A military judge granted the network's request to deny a subpoena seeking all the outtakes from a "60 Minutes" interview with Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich first broadcast in 2007. The judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, ruled that forcing the network to hand over that material would place the network in...

The word hero is attached to many people in American culture. A Quarterback throws the winning touchdown with 6 seconds left in the game, and he is called a hero. A movie actor makes a political statement while accepting an award, and he is called heroic. A politician takes a stance on an issue based on popularity polls rather than ethics and principle, and he is deemed a hero.

This Week in American Military History: Mar. 8, 1965: The lead elements of 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines begin coming ashore at Da Nang, South Vietnam. Within hours, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines will arrive aboard transport aircraft at the nearby airbase. The Marines of 3/9 and 1/3 -- both part of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade -- are the first of America’s ground-combat forces destined for offensive operations against the enemy in Southeast Asia, once again putting teeth in the Marine Corps’ claim that it is “first to fight.” Mar. 9, 1847: Thousands of American soldiers and a company-sized force of...

"We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package."

"Send in the Marines" has been uttered by every president since Thomas Jefferson sent a detachment of leathernecks to the shores of Tripoli in 1801. These words are likely to be uttered in the next four years -- of special interest to me as a Marine who has served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Barack Obama, has never served in the military and has only two veterans in his Cabinet -- the fewest since Herbert Hoover. A nation largely founded on the citizen-soldier ideal finds itself, following Vietnam and the expulsion of recruiters from campuses, with the military...

JACKSONVILLE -- Shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, then-President George W. Bush told Marines at Camp Lejeune, "What we have begun, we will finish." Many rounds of combat deployments later, Marines will gather at the base today to hear how his successor plans to fulfill that promise. In a midday speech, President Barack Obama is expected to describe a plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 18 months. That would be welcome news in Jacksonville, where some spouses have watched their warriors leave for as many as five tours in Iraq. Marine Sgt. Steve Whiteman, right, shares...