This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Marine Corps

  • US troops saving the world

    US troops saving the world

    Military Times reports that thousands of US troops are deployed to hurricane-ravaged areas in the wake of Irma;

    The Army has positioned more than 16,700 soldiers as well as civilians from the Army Corps of Engineers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and continental United States to assist with recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

    More than 150 boats, 3,400 trucks and 680 generators are in use or have been made available to governors of states and territories where the hurricane made landfall, Army spokesman Col. Patrick Seiber said in an email Sunday.

    “Governors are best postured to determine the needs of their residents and establish response priorities, and are currently using Army National Guard soldiers to help meet those needs,” Seiber said.

    Thousands of Marines and their amphibious vehicles are spread out in Florida.

    The active duty Army is deployed to assist National Guard assets;

    The 101st Airborne Division, of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is positioning its helicopters to be used in search and rescue operations and resupply of food, water, medical supplies and other necessities the state may need.

    The 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is overseeing the Army’s wheeled-vehicle effort, officials said. A convoy of about 100 high-water vehicles and nearly 400 soldiers are on their way from Fort Bragg to help locate and rescue people trapped by the flooding.

    Eggs sends us a link to the news that his former Air Force unit is also assisting in South Florida;

    Fresh off of a Hurricane Harvey deployment, Air Force reservists with the Brevard County-based 920th Rescue Wing are now flying HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters across South Florida, searching for stranded victims of Hurricane Irma.

    The combat-search-and-rescue wing moved three Pave Hawks from Patrick Air Force Base to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando on Thursday, before Irma’s gusts began blasting the Sunshine State.

    On Monday, after winds died down, citizen airmen flew Col. David Garfield, commander of the 482nd Fighter Wing, back to Homestead Air Reserve Base. Afterward, they flew a search-and-rescue mission in South Florida, said Maj. Cathleen Snow, 920th Rescue Wing spokeswoman.

    Meanwhile, some of the troops are gearing up for deployments to the war against terror. You can quash their funding, but you can’t stop them from doing what they do.

  • Wilson sentenced

    Yesterday we talked about 56-year-old Marine Corps Colonel Daniel Wilson who was found guilty of child abuse and conduct unbecoming an officer on Saturday. He was sentenced yesterday, according to WITN;

    A Camp Lejeune Marine Colonel found guilty of several charges including sexual abuse of a child has been dismissed from service and sentenced to five and a half years of confinement.

    Seems pretty light to me.

    Thanks to BNG for the link.

  • Colonel Daniel Wilson guilty

    Colonel Daniel Wilson guilty

    Last year, we talked about Marine Colonel Daniel Wilson who was charged with three counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a child; four counts of assault and battery on a child under age 16; one count of failure to obey an order or regulation; and nine counts of conduct unbecoming an officer. According to WCTI, he found guilty yesterday of sexual abuse of a child as well as conduct unbecoming an officer and absence without leave. He was cleared of the other charges.

    In the courtroom on Wednesday, the father of the 6-year-old victim took the witness stand. He said the allegations of sexual assault shocked him and that he looked up to Wilson as a father figure and mentor. According to the father’s testimony, his family was frequently at gatherings with Wilson and his wife. It was during some of these times, the prosecution said, that Wilson sexually assaulted one of the daughters.

    Sentencing is scheduled for today.

  • Marine arrested in Japan for bullet

    Stars & Stripes reports that Marine Corporal Aaron Swicegood was arrested upon his arrival in Japan’s Naha Airport on Okinawa when a bullet was discovered in his rucksack at the security checkpoint before he boarded his flight for Tokyo, and then on to Los Angeles;

    Swicegood told police he didn’t know why the bullet was in his bag and that it must have been there from a previous trip to the United States when he borrowed a pistol from his father to practice at a shooting range, the spokesman said. Police believe he may have mistakenly brought the bullet into Japan, and it somehow made it through airport security undetected.

    I guess this is more of a cautionary tale than a real news story.

  • Marine Corps Corporal Miles Hogan saving the world

    Marine Corps Corporal Miles Hogan saving the world

    AW1Ed sends us a link to the story of Marine Corps Corporal Miles Hogan who was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his actions on a night when he was returning to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island where he works in Headquarters and Service Battalion, Parris Island Marine Band in February, 2016;

    “It was pitch-black outside when I noticed that a minivan had made a slow right turn in front of the man driving in front of us,” said Hogan.

    The van was about 10 yards ahead from the speeding small sedan behind it. The sedan did not have enough time to slow down before impacting the turning van.

    “He rammed into the back of the minivan,” said Hogan. “The minivan goes off on the side of the road and flips over into a ditch. The man’s sedan swerved into oncoming traffic.”

    Hogan made the quick decision to park his car on the shoulder and rush to the man’s aid.

    “I opened the door and the man takes his seat belt off, and I grabbed under his arms to help him stand up, as soon as I pull him to me I took one step back and another car had hit us head on.”

    The second car was a pickup truck which smashed into the car while Hogan and the driver we still behind the sedan’s door.

    The impact of the collision launched both men approximately 20 feet into the air. Discarding his personal safety, Hogan got up and returned to the sedan driver who was still in immediate danger by lying on the active road.

    “I stood up and looked at my arms and legs to make sure I didn’t have any broken bones,” said Hogan. “I ran over to the man and picked him up from under his arms and took him to the side of the road. His eyes were pretty dilated and he was having trouble looking left to right.”

    Hogan gave the man a concussion test, and attended the man until paramedics arrived on the scene.

    Following the incident Hogan was hospitalized for a bruised kidney and minor lacerations on his body from the broken glass.

  • Marine Corps fires two commanders in regards to nude photo scandal

    Stars & Stripes reports that two commanders have been fired as a result of the investigation into the the Facebook nude photo scandal. The official reason is “due to a loss of trust and confidence in their ability to lead their units” because of their troops’ behavior towards women in general.

    “They didn’t have the correct command climate in what they did,” said [General Glenn] Walters, the Marines’ assistant commandant. “…If the commander wasn’t behaving right or holding his people accountable, then he was relieved of command. Simple as that.”

    It was the first time that the Marine Corps had acknowledged punishing commanders for problems related to the so-called Marines United scandal, in which some male Marines were accused in March of sharing revealing and often explicit photographs of female Marines through a private Facebook group.

    The names of the commanders weren’t released. Two Marines have been discharged, another one jailed, and 30 others were disciplined in some way.

    Twenty-three received an adverse administrative action, typically a letter of reprimand in their official record, and seven have received some form of non-judicial punishment, which can include a reduction in rank or temporary dock in pay, Pedden said.

    One Marine got a court martial and spent ten days in the brig along with his reduction of three ranks and forfeiture of pay.

  • Search called off for missing Marines

    Search called off for missing Marines

    The Stars & Stripes reports that the Navy has called off the search for the three Marines missing in the crash of a Marine Corps Osprey that had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard yesterday;

    The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps suspended the rescue operation and launched a recovery effort instead, the Marine base Camp Butler in Japan said in a statement, essentially confirming the military does not expect to find the missing Marines alive.

    The Marines’ next of kin had been notified, and Australia’s defense force was assisting the Americans with the recovery effort, the statement said.

    The incident is a reminder that, in the military, every day can be deadly, even if it’s only training.

  • Rodney Buentello; Marine honored by Coast Guard

    Rodney Buentello; Marine honored by Coast Guard

    Back in June, we wrote about Marine Master Sergeant Rodney Buentello who sacrificed his life to rescue two teens from a raging river while he was picnicking with his family.

    KSAT reports that the Coast Guard awarded the twice-awarded Purple Heart veteran’s family a posthumous Gold Life Saving Medal;

    His wife, Lisa, said her husband’s sacrifice spoke volumes about the kind of man he was.

    “Everyone wants to be remembered, but he never did. He did these things because it was in his heart, it was in his mind, and he didn’t think about that part,” she said.

    Lisa Buentello said she and her family miss Rodney every day, but knowing that he saved lives helps them cope with their grief.