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

Category: Marine Corps

  • Navy makes posting private nude photos a crime

    In response to the recent scandal regarding the posting of nude photos on various social media platforms, the Navy and the Marine Corps announced that practice is now a crime, according to the Navy Times;

    An interim revision to Navy regulations prohibits Navy and Marine Corps personnel from posting intimate photos “if the person making the distribution or broadcast does so without legal justification or excuse,” the regulation reads.

    The statute details three conditions that will be considered a violation of Navy regulations, including if images are broadcast or transmitted: “with the intent to realize personal gain; with the intent to humiliate, harm, harass, intimidate, threaten, or coerce the depicted person; or with reckless disregard as to whether the depicted person would be humiliated, harmed, intimidated, threatened, or coerced,” the regs read.

    […]

    “The addition of Article 1168 ‘Nonconsensual distribution or broadcasting of an image’ to Navy Regulations serves to underscore leadership’s commitment to eliminating degrading behaviors that erode trust and weaken the Navy and Marine Corps Team,” said Rear Adm. Dawn Cutler in statement Wednesday evening. “It provides commanders another tool to maintain good order and discipline by holding Sailors and Marines accountable for inappropriate conduct in the nonconsensual sharing of intimate imagery.

    “This article adds the potential charge of Article 92 ‘Failure to obey [an] order or regulation’ to the possible charges that can be used against an alleged perpetrator. Each case of alleged misconduct will be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances.”

    So, if somewhere in your tiny brain, you thought it would be OK to post nude pictures of other people in a public forum, maybe this will convince you otherwise. Or maybe it will just inspire the sociopaths to find a way around the law.

  • A Different Kind of “Feel Good Story”

    A former* US Marine has been appointed as a NYC New York policeman.

    No big deal, you say?  Well, maybe.   But the case of  Matias Ferreira is somewhat unusual.

    Ferreira lost both legs below the knee due to injuries received from an IED in Afghanistan.

    Ferreira’s not being hired for a “desk only” job, either.  He completed the Suffolk County Police Academy and was hired as a full-duty cop.  His first assignment is as a precinct patrol officer.

    Fox News has more on this story.  Their article is worth a read.

    Well done, Marine.  Damn well done.

     

    *Author’s Note:  yes, I know – Marines feel someone is never “former Marine” unless they’ve dishonored their USMC service in some way.  Sorry, but I refuse to write “a Marine no longer serving on active duty” (or some similar clunky and awkward phrase) to describe someone who’s separated or retired from the USMC.

  • Marine Sergeant Major Timothy J. Rudd passes

    Marine Sergeant Major Timothy J. Rudd passes

    The Marine Corps Times reports that Sergeant Major Timothy J. Rudd passed on Sunday while he was training in South Korea.

    Sgt. Maj. Timothy J. Rudd’s death is being described as a “non-combat related incident,” according to a III MEF news release, which does not include any further information of how Rudd died. The matter is under investigation.

    […]

    Rudd completed boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in 1990 and later became a drill instructor with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion at the Marine Corps’ East Coast recruit depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, his biography said.

    During his time on the drill field, Rudd served as a senior drill instructor, rappel master, event leader for the Crucible and he ran the command operations center for the Crucible, the biography said.

    He deployed to Afghanistan in May 2006 as part of a Mobile Training Team. In December 2007, Rudd was frocked to first sergeant and then deployed to Ramadi, Iraq. After being frocked to sergeant major, he deployed to Afghanistan again in January 2012.

  • Marines United; A photo scandal

    A number of people have sent us links to the Marine Corps Times article about The War Horse founder, Thomas Brennan, an Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient who exposed the Facebook group, Marines United, a group of about 30,000 largely US and Royal Marines, which allegedly published photos of naked female Marines. Some of the photos were taken when the subject was unaware, while others were meant to be private communications.

    After its publication, several members of the Facebook group lashed out at Brennan, making threats against him and his family.

    […]

    There’s a “bounty on pictures of my daughter,” Brennan told Marine Corps Times. “It has been suggested that my wife should be raped as a result of this, and people are openly suggesting I should be killed. … Can you imagine being one of the victims?”

    The story was “exhaustively researched,” he added, noting that the Defense Department is conducting an investigation “to ensure the victims receive justice” and no one else falls prey.

    “As a Marine veteran,” Brennan said, “I stand by the code: honor, courage and commitment. This story was published with the intention of standing up for what is right and staying true to the leadership principle of looking out for Marines and their families.”

    Of the five services, the Marine Corps seems to have the hardest time adapting to social media. All of the branches have had their troubles, but the Marines have had the most problems, from the posting of videos depicting snipers urinating on Taliban corpses to this latest scandal.

    The Marine Corps is conducting an investigation;

    A Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon confirmed that an investigation is underway, telling Marine Corps Times on Saturday night that military officials are uncertain how many personnel may be involved. The spokesman, Maj. Clark Carpenter, referred additional questions to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, but that agency’s spokesman was not immediately available.

    Don’t blame your bad behavior on the people who exposed it.

    My advice; don’t do anything on the internet that you wouldn’t do in front of your mother.

  • Well Done, Marine

    In October 2014, Anthony L. Colantonio died.   He was cremated.

    His third wife was the only person at his memorial service.  She was given his cremains afterwards.

    About a year later, his third wife also died.

    Last month, a former Marine – Charles “Mike” Gustin – found both the cremains and Mr. Colantionio’s death certificate.  They had been placed in a box; the box had been discarded in an alley, like common trash.

    Mr. Gustin contacted local police, but they said they were unable to help. Local sanitation workers refused to pick up the cremains.

    So Mr. Gustin decided he’d find Mr. Colantonio’s next-of-kin himself – and offer to return the cremains to them.

    It turns out that Mr. Colantonio had a daughter named Tracy. However, Tracy hadn’t seen her father in 25 years.  She’d been separated from and out-of-touch with her father since she was 6, apparently due to a divorce.

    Nonetheless, Mr. Gustin was able to locate Mr. Colantonio’s daughter Tracy relatively quickly.  He contacted her; she indeed wanted her father’s  cremains.

    On Valentine’s Day of this year, Mr. Gustin delivered Mr. Colantionio’s cremains to his daughter.

    This Fox News article has more details. If you choose to read it, you might want to have a tissue or two handy.

    Well done, Marine.   Damn well done.

  • John Deal; embellishing corpsman

    John Deal; embellishing corpsman

    On January 29, 1991, Saddam Hussein tried to start the ground war on the Saudi Arabian border with Kuwait when he sent three armored columns towards Kafji, Saudi Arabia. On their way to the evacuated resort town, they bumped into a battalion-sized Light Armored Infantry (LAI) element of the 1st Marine Division at Um Hjul who called the place OP-4. The small Marine force held back the 5 battalions of Iraqi armor and infantry with the help of allied air forces. 3 C-130 gunships, four A-10s, two F16s and two F-15Es arrived on station to stop the Iraqi advance. However, the engagement wasn’t without tragedy on the side of the Marines. Two Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs) were destroyed and 11 Marines lost their lives in two “friendly fire” incidents. One LAV was struck by friendly surface fire, the other by a malfunctioning Maverick missile fired by an A-10.

    As it happens with men who have a shared experience, the Marines of Op-2, Op-4 and Op-6 maintained close contact through the years. This fellow John Deal infiltrated their ranks claiming that he had been there that night and had narrowly escaped being killed. He claimed friendships with many of the deceased. He took advantage of that kinsmanship by bumming money from the Marines using heart-breaking stories of infirmed children and missed child support payments, which eventually added up to thousands of dollars and probably bought his motorcycle.

    Some of the Marines began doubting his stories and further investigated Deal’s past. He had been a Navy corpsman who served with a Fleet Marine Force and he had served in Desert Storm, but he wasn’t at any of the OPs which had been engaged during the battle at Kafji;

    Notice that there is no Combat Action Ribbon even though there is a Southwest Asia Service Medal.

    He did come clean in this video;

    But according to some Marines, he’s back at being a bum and telling stories about his service in the Battle of Kafji. The Marines of Kafji want you to know that John Deal wasn’t there with them.

  • Colonel Daniel H. Wilson denied release from pre-trial confinement

    Colonel Daniel H. Wilson denied release from pre-trial confinement

    Back in December, we talked about Colonel Daniel H. Wilson who was arrested by military authorities for 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 the Marine Corps Times, Wilson asked for release from pre-trial confinement at the Camp Lejeune brig at his arraignment and that was denied by the judge. In addition to the tickle monster charges, Wilson has also be charged with inappropriately touching a adult female and also having an “overly familiar” relationship with an Australian military officer.

    Wilson waived his Article 32 hearing on Jan. 30 and Miller referred all charges against him to a general court-martial on Feb. 17.

    “We continue to investigate, involve experts and investigators, and initiate filings with the court for relief, Stackhouse said on Wednesday.

    In the meantime, Wilson is holding up well, [defense attorney Phillip] Stackhouse said.

    “He is still in high spirits and maintains the unwavering support of this family and friends and colleagues,” Stackhouse said.

  • 72nd Anniversary of Mount Suribachi flag raising

    72nd Anniversary of Mount Suribachi flag raising

    Mick reminds us that today is the 72nd anniversary of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi, the highest peak on the island of Iwo Jima. From the History channel;

    During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment of the 5th Division take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi’s slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman.

    Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and won him a Pulitzer Prize. The accompanying motion-picture footage attests to the fact that the picture was not posed. Of the other two photos, the second was similar to the first but less affecting, and the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.

    We also get the sad news that Iwo survivor, retired Lieutenant General Lawrence Snowden passed last week;

    At age 95, the three-star general was the senior survivor of the five-week struggle for the volcanic island, where three airfields were captured in February of 1945 to provide a staging area for air raids on the Japanese mainland. More than 6,000 Americans died and 19,200 casualties were counted – including Snowden, who was wounded twice but persuaded commanders to let him return to the fighting after his first evacuation.