thedrifter
10-18-05, 03:22 PM
Marine Corps News Breaks <br />
From the Marine Corps Times <br />
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Marine released from Mexican jail <br />
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Officials in San Benitos, Texas, declared "Lance Cpl. Paul Rodriguez Day" throughout the Marine's...
thedrifter
10-18-05, 03:22 PM
Norfolk poised to lift ban on tattoo parlors
Marine Corps Times
Near Naval Station Norfolk, Va., sailors, along with leathernecks assigned to Marine Corps Forces Atlantic and the Marine Corps Security Force Battalion there, can do their laundry, get a quick bite to eat, even pawn their stuff. What they can't do is get tattoos - at least, not legally.
But that may change thanks to a recommendation the Norfolk Planning Department is expected to make in November, urging the City Council to lift the ban and allow tattoo parlors perhaps as early as next year.
Once the reputed tattoo capital of the nation - the place to go if you wanted an eagle or "USN" on your arm - Norfolk is the last major city in the area to cling to a 55-year-old ban on tattoo parlors.
"Norfolk also wanted to be more than just a stereotypical sailor town," said Jack Green, public affairs officer for the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C. "Seedy bars, tattoo parlors and strip joints did not help that image."
The neighboring cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth have dropped their bans. If Norfolk follows, tattoo parlors will likely not be on every corner, but tucked in industrial areas.
Military members are likely to seek them out.
Dental Technician 3rd Class Ryan Bernardino visited Ancient Art Tattoo Studios in Virginia Beach to get his girlfriend's name tattooed on his upper arm.
"If you love someone, you've got to put it down," he said, as his friend shook his head in disapproval.
"I'm getting married next month, but I'm not putting my fiancee's name on me," said Hospitalman Lester Virtudazo. "I'd put my mom's name on me before my fiancee's."
thedrifter
10-18-05, 03:23 PM
Around the Corps
Compiled from military and other public sources.
Iraq
RCT-2 links car bomb to video evidence
Members of Regimental Combat Team 2 found a video camera in the possession of three men stopped at a vehicle checkpoint northeast of Haditha, Iraq, on Oct. 12, according to a 2nd Marine Division news release.
Minutes later, a similar white, four-door sedan approached the checkpoint. U.S. forces guarding the checkpoint used hand and arm gestures to signal the vehicle to stop, but the car continued to accelerate toward the checkpoint, even after warning shots were fired, according to the release. The vehicle detonated shortly after the first shots were fired, killing the driver.
When the video camera was inspected, it yielded several minutes of footage showing one of the men from the first sedan speaking to the driver of the car that detonated.
The Marines said videotaping suicide car bombings is an insurgent propaganda tactic used to spread fear and intimidate Iraqi citizens.
Earlier, Iraqi Security Forces discovered an insurgent propaganda center in Haditha.
The site raided by Iraqi forces included "numerous prepared al-Qaida in Iraq compact discs and audio tapes, three computers, several printers, banner makers, multi-disk copiers and thousands of disks and tapes," according to an Oct. 10 Stars and Stripes newspaper report.
[b]Afghanistan
2/3 solicits help for schoolchildren
Leathernecks and sailors with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, handed out more than 600 school outfits to children in Nangalam, Afghanistan, on Oct. 3 as part of a campaign to distribute clothes, toys and school supplies, according to a Marine Corps news release.
"I got the idea because I used to run the Toys for Tots [program] in Moscow; I did a tour over there as a Marine Security Guard," said Sgt. Eric J. Rinda, an infantryman with the battalion.
The Marines and sailors wrote to parents and friends asking for donations. Packages arrived from all over the United States.
"We thank the Marines and everyone back in United States who have given. They've done a great thing; it is a great help to our village children," said Muhammad Abas, school principal.
Georgia
Soldiers learn to communicate
Gunnery Sgt. Nathan Guidry is training 16 Republic of Georgia soldiers in Krtsanisi, Georgia, to be communications trainers, with help from retired Gunnery Sgt. David Moose, according to an Oct. 11 Marine Corps news release.
The instruction began Aug. 29 and is slated to run until Dec. 9.
Guidry, the communications chief for U.S. European Command's Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program, has administered classes on radio communication procedures, which differ from an average phone conversation. Moose has given instruction on the operation and function of the radio and basic radio-to-radio call function checks.
The Georgian troops have also received infantry training from other Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program Task Force members in areas such as infantry tactics, land navigation, marksmanship and first aid.
After their training, the Georgian soldiers of the 22nd Light Infantry Battalion will provide security for United Nations forces in Iraq, according to the release.
New York
Quantico band plays for Big Apple parade
Spectators flooding Manhattan's 5th Avenue for the annual Columbus Day Parade on Oct. 10 were treated to a performance by the Marine Band from Quantico, Va., according to a Marine Corps news release.
Once the band reached the reviewing area, it played "God Bless America" for the thousands of viewers who attended the parade and millions who tuned in to NBC's live broadcast of the event.
Although this was the second time the band had participated in the parade, it was the first time the band was given a segment to perform, the release said.