Marine News briefs

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January 09, 2006 <br />
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Marine News briefs <br />
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Teacher receives Bronze Star <br />
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The governor of Idaho presented the Bronze Star for combat valor to a Marine reservist from Boise at Bronco Stadium on Dec....

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January 09, 2006 <br />
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News Breaks <br />
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2 Marines cleared, 4 charged in rape case <br />
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Philippine prosecutors filed rape charges Dec. 27 against four of six Okinawa, Japan-based Marines accused of raping a...

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January 09, 2006

Around the Corps

Compiled from military and other public sources.

Iraq

Marines kill suicide bomber

Marines killed a would-be suicide bomber at an entry control point in central Fallujah, Iraq, on Dec. 26, according to a release from the American Forces Press Service.

The man was wearing an explosive vest filled with ball bearings, the release said.

He detonated the bomb as he approached the checkpoint, but the vest only partially exploded, officials said.

According to the release, Marines opened fire and killed the bomber before he could detonate the rest of the explosives.

One civilian was wounded in the attack, the release said.

Air Wing expands Al Asad flight line

Leathernecks with Marine Wing Support Squadron 272’s expeditionary airfield team are adding four expeditionary marshalling pads to the flight lines at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, a Marine Corps news release said.

The project, which started Dec. 15, creates specific areas away from flight operations for aircraft parking and ordnance arming and disarming.

“Right now, the aircraft are [arming and disarming ordnance] right on the taxiway,” said Sgt. Matthew Vandentop, the assistant project manager. “They need a safer place to do it; that’s what we’re creating,” he said.

‘Raging Bulls’ return to Iraq

Marines and sailors with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 recently returned to western Iraq, a Dec. 26 Marine Corps news release said.

The squadron, known as the “Raging Bulls,” is deployed to Al Asad Air Base as the aviation combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.

According to the release, the squadron will work under 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing for operations, while the rest of the 22nd MEU will operate with 2nd Marine Division, which has been in Iraq for just under a year.

Nearly half of the squadron’s Marines operated at the air base for nearly seven months last year, the release said.

The squadron’s aircraft include CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters, CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift assault helicopters, AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters, and UH-1N utility helicopters, as well as AV-8B Harrier II attack jets.

Japan

Iwakuni pilots train for air combat

Pilots with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225 participated in high air-to-air gunnery training at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, from Dec. 19 to 21, a Marine Corps news release said.

According to the release, VMFA-225, a Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., unit deployed to Iwakuni as part of the six-month unit deployment program, benefited from the rare target practice.

“We don’t get to shoot the gun in an air environment very often,” said Capt. Kirk Bush, a VMFA-225 pilot. “Being able to do this type of training allows us to train like we fight.”

According to Maj. Gregory Smith, VMFA-225 assistant aviation mechanics officer, the training included one aircraft that flies with a target banner attached to a long cable while four other aircraft fly in a circular pattern and shoot at the target.

Philippines

Leathernecks, sailors deliver toys

Fifteen Marines and sailors delivered 18,000 pounds of Christmas gifts and clothing to nonprofit organizations in Bacolod and Manila, Philippines, on Dec. 28, a Marine Corps news release said.

“The chaplains on Okinawa found out there was a need for this and put it all together,” said Col. Mark Kauzlarich, the commanding officer of III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group at Camp Hansen.

Their efforts resulted in more than 3,000 service members and family members donating to organizations such as Toys for Tots and the III MHG Giving Tree, the release said.

Hawaii

Kaneohe devil dogs return from desert

An advance group of 64 leathernecks from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, returned to Hawaii on Dec. 22, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported Dec. 23.

The advance party is preparing for the rest of the battalion’s return from Afghanistan this month, which should include about 800 Marines, the report said.

2/3 replaced Kaneohe’s 3rd Battalion in Afghanistan in June, the report said.

Marine officials said both battalions worked to improve the nation’s security.

[thedrifter]

January 09, 2006

Washington

Another Marine to storm Hill

WHAT’S UP: Retired Marine Lt. Col. Andrew Horne has announced plans to run for Congress. He will run against Republican Rep. Anne Northrup for a seat in the House of Representatives for Kentucky’s 3rd District, which includes Louisville. Horne, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, is a 44-year-old attorney and veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is a friend of another Iraq war veteran, Marine Maj. Paul Hackett, who lost a special election in Ohio for a seat in the House earlier this year and recently announced he will make a run for the Senate.

WHAT’S NEXT: Horne has a poignant story of military service. His wife, Stephanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer just weeks before Horne deployed to Iraq, and he could not be with her while she was undergoing treatment. Whether that — and his belief that President Bush’s Iraq policy is off course — will be enough to unseat five-term lawmaker Northrup remains to be seen.

Weapons & warfare

New cause for war protester

WHAT’S UP: Cindy Sheehan, the war protester who has gained notoriety for her vigil outside President Bush’s Texas ranch, is trying to persuade the Irish government to prevent U.S. military aircraft flying to or from Iraq from refueling at Shannon Airport in western Ireland, according to the Irish Times newspaper. Sheehan, whose son, a soldier, was killed in Iraq in 2004, said the first step could be for the Irish government to demand the right to inspect all visiting U.S. aircraft to see if any unreported detainees were being transported.

WHAT’S NEXT: Sheehan, who has become a lightning rod for partisans on both sides of the debate over the Iraq war, said she hoped the staff at the airport, a longtime refueling point for military transport flights, would decide not to make money “off the death of individuals,” but Irish authorities said they have no immediate plans to change their policies about visiting U.S. military aircraft.

Veterans

Site aids search for grave sites

WHAT’S UP: Veterans’ families, former comrades and others now have more information to help find veterans’ grave sites. The Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its online grave site locator to include 1.9 million records primarily for veterans who are buried in private cemeteries. That brings the number of records to 5 million, on top of the previous database of records on veterans buried in VA national cemeteries since the Civil War and in state veterans cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery since 1999. VA’s grave site locator has been online since April 2004 at gravelocator.cem.va.gov. The site provides information about a veteran’s war service, date of birth, date of death and, when available, pinpoints the burial site.

WHAT’S NEXT: Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson said the growing database “helps families research their genealogy and ensures that future generations of Americans will be able to honor these veterans for their service.” Information comes from applications made for veterans’ headstones or markers. Beyond the 5 million records now available, VA adds about 1,000 new records to the database each day.

Military honors

Cold Warriors’ disappointment

WHAT’S UP: The Cold War Veterans Association is disappointed that Congress has rejected, once again, the idea of providing a medal to recognize the efforts of Americans who served from 1945 to 1991.

The House of Representatives included a provision in its version of the 2006 defense authorization bill approving the medal, but it was dropped from the final bill after negotiations with the Senate and opposition from the Defense Department.

WHAT’S NEXT: “We will be here as long as it takes,” said Frank Tims, spokesman for the veterans’ group, which has managed to get Cold War veteran recognition days in several states. Efforts by Cold Warriors led Congress to order a certificate of recognition in 2001 after the House and Senate endorsed the medal but the Pentagon objected. The certificate has never been considered enough by the veterans, who want a victory medal.

Health alert of the week

Time to shape up Down Under

“Fat, drunk and stupid” was no way to go through life in the college frat classic “Animal House” and is no way to serve in the Australian military, officials say.

The Australian Defense Force is having trouble filling its ranks because one in 12 recruits fails to meet mental or physical quality standards, mostly because young Australians are becoming too drugged and too fat to serve their country in the military, according to a report on recruiting.

The report said the high incidence of illegal drug use, especially marijuana, and of childhood obesity “severely limits the pool of recruitable candidates.”

An overweight population is a problem that is “expected to worsen over time as Australian society reflects the phenomenon found in developed nations,” the report said.