Marine News breaks

[thedrifter]

June 19, 2006 <br />
Marine News breaks <br />
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Major’s death in Iraq a suspected suicide <br />
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The Marine Corps is investigating the June 3 death of an officer in Iraq as a possible suicide, officials said. <br />
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[thedrifter]

June 19, 2006

News briefs

Telling your Iraq story

Military officials are creating a database of interviews with Iraq war veterans to someday serve as a resource.

Researchers at the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., hope the oral history database will help historians and military leaders learn from today’s wartime experiences, said Army Lt. Col. Steve Clay, who is overseeing the project.

Many of the interviews focus less on the rigors of combat than the logistics of everyday life on the battlefield. Some display a lack of sentimentality about the viciousness of war.

Soldiers at Leavenworth were initially the only veterans being interviewed, but the project is now open to other combat veterans, including Marines. The interviews take place at Leavenworth and can be scheduled by e-mailing csipoc@leavenworth.army.mil.

NATO protests in Ukraine


When leathernecks arrived in Ukraine on June 1 to prepare for Exercise Sea Breeze 2006, they were greeted by protesters led by a radical pro-Russian party and communists shouting, “Occupiers go home!”

The welcome has been widely seen as the opening volley in a battle over Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.

About 200 reservists arrived for the exercise, the bulk of whom are from Marine Wing Support Group 47, according to a Reserve spokesman. MWSG-47 is headquartered at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan.

Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko has made NATO membership a top priority since his 2004 campaign.

His supporters argue that without joining NATO, Ukraine will slide back under the Kremlin’s influence to avoid being left in a no man’s land between Russia and the West.

According to a release from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, a protester threw a rock at a bus transporting military personnel, causing minor damage to the vehicle; no injuries were reported.

The Marines were invited to refurbish the Stary Krym base, which is slated to be used for the exercise this summer.

Fast sea travel continues

The Military Sealift Command recently signed a charter with Austal Ships Ltd. to continue using the Okinawa, Japan-based high-speed troop and equipment transport ship WestPac Express for another 55 months, Stars and Stripes reported June 6.

According to the report, the WestPac Express arrived on Okinawa in July 2001 for a six-month trial that has been extended annually since then because of its success.

“Actually, with optional renewals, this charter could cover as much as 65 months, and that’s just fine with us,” said Col. Phillip Newman, III Marine Expeditionary Force’s assistant chief of staff for logistics.

“It makes 32 knots — that’s screaming,” Newman said. “It gives us quick access to exercises all throughout our area of responsibility.

“We can haul 520 tons at a shot — that’s in excess of 800 people and 400 tons of cargo.”

Combat engineers’ extra pay

Combat engineer officers and enlisted Marines now rate hazardous-duty incentive pay while handling explosives in a combat zone, according to a June 5 Corps-wide message.

The incentive pay equals an extra $150 a month for combat engineers “who, while serving in a combat zone, [are] performing demolition of weapons caches, improvised explosive devices or unknown explosive objects,” according to MarAdmin 256/06.

Eligibility must be validated by a Marine’s battalion commander before payment can be made. Subordinate commanders are not authorized to certify the payments on behalf of battalion commanders, according to the message.

To be eligible, Marines must be entitled to a combat-zone tax exclusion while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, with one exception: Demolitions instructors assigned to the Corps’ School of Infantry at either Camp Lejeune, N.C., or Camp Pendleton, Calif., also qualify for the incentive pay as long as they’ve completed both the urban mobility breacher instructor course and the urban mobility breacher advance course, the message said.

Go Army, get paid

Officers who have been accepted for transfer to the Army will be paid a lump-sum $2,500 bonus if they agree to a three-year active-duty service obligation.

The bonus is retroactive for officers who signed up for a service transfer on or after Jan. 6.

To qualify for a bonus, an officer’s transfer must be approved by the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs. The Army Human Resources Command will notify officers when their interservice transfer request is approved.

The special incentive was authorized by Congress in the fiscal 2006 defense budget as an incentive for junior officers of the Navy and Air Force to transfer to the Army. Both services are eliminating thousands of officer and enlisted positions, while the Army is increasing its active-duty component force by 30,000.

The bonus is payable when the officer reports to his first duty assignment in conjunction with a permanent change-of-station move.

Corrections

• A story in the Lifelines section of the June 12 issue, “Fuel savers,” incorrectly stated the type of brakes on the 2007 Honda Fit. The car has front disc and rear drum brakes.

• An article in the June 12 issue, “Popular commander to lead I MEF,” misstated the date that Lt. Gen. Jim Mattis led the 1st Marine Division in Fallujah, Iraq. He led troops in the April 2004 battle.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

June 19, 2006

Around the Corps

Compiled from military and other public sources.

Ohio

Reserve battalion ordered to Iraq

Nearly 1,000 reservists from 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, have been called up for their second combat tour in the war on terrorism.

Members of the infantry battalion belong to five different companies within the unit and are based at reserve centers in Michigan and Ohio. The Marines are scheduled for pre-deployment training at Camp Pendleton, Calif., before heading to Iraq. They will serve under the Pendleton-based I Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq’s Anbar province, said Maj. Greg Cramer, commanding officer for Weapons Company, 1/24.

The units from 1/24 that are part of the call-up include: Headquarters and Service Company, Selfridge, Mich.; Alpha Company, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Bravo Company, Saginaw, Mich.; Charlie Company, Lansing, Mich.; and Weapons Company, Perrysburg, Ohio.


The 1/24 Marines returned from their first combat deployment in the war on terrorism in fall 2003.

“These Marines have worked very hard to prepare for this mobilization,” Cramer said. “They are some of the most motivated, gung-ho Marines I have ever served with.”

Arizona

Squadron takes part in ‘Desert Talon’

Leathernecks with Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., are taking part in Exercise Desert Talon at MCAS Yuma, Ariz., through June 25, a Marine Corps news release said.

According to the release, the three-week exercise serves as pre-deployment training for the unit.

According to Lt. Col. Jeff Hooks, the squadron’s commanding officer, the exercise will allow the squadron to evaluate its ground support capabilities, as well as provide ground support for other squadrons involved in the exercise.

“This is a chance to see if we are on target with the training that we have been doing; this is the first integrated training exercise that [MWSS-273] has participated in since our return from Iraq in September of 2004.”

Morocco

‘African Lion’ offers joint training

About 500 Marines and sailors participated in Exercise African Lion May 20-31 in Tan Tan, Morocco, a June 2 Marine Corps news release said.

According to the release, African Lion is a joint U.S.-Moroccan military exercise designed to improve interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation’s tactics, equipment, techniques and procedures.

Maj. Darrin Brightmon, the operations officer for the exercise’s task force, said the exercise strengthens ties with Morocco.

Leathernecks from units across the U.S. conducted bilateral unit-level and live-fire training with their Moroccan counterparts, Brightmon said.

“The logistics aspect of the exercise will be great training for the non-combat arms Marines,” he said.

Indonesia

III MEF medical team treats 2,000 patients

Medical personnel from III Marine Expeditionary Force supporting disaster-relief efforts in Indonesia treated their 2,000th patient June 8, a Marine Corps news release said.

Since deploying to the region May 29 after the country was hit by a major earthquake May 27, Marines and sailors from III MEF have provided critical care to an average of 229 patients a day, according to 1st Lt. Eric Tausch, a Marine spokesman in Indonesia.

According to the release, the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade medical assistance team, consisting of 172 Marines and sailors, set up a mobile medical facility in a soccer stadium in Sewon upon their arrival.

The facility hosted six mobile medical teams that traveled to area villages to treat 580 patients. The teams also assisted at local hospitals, the release said.

According to Tausch, the team has also focused on combating the threat of tetanus with a mass vaccination program.

Ellie