Recently in Marines Category

http://www.military.com/news/article/marine-corps-news/marine-awarded-highest-navy-honor.html?ESRC=marine-a.nl

Marine Awarded Highest Navy Honor
Marine Awarded Highest Navy Honor
April 06, 2009
Marine Corps News

MARINE COPRS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Ca. -- Lance Cpl. Brady Gustafson's parents describe him as "reserved, loyal, stubborn and determined."

This was proven in action July 21, 2008.

His loyalty to his fellow Marines, his stubborn nature when he refused medical treatment and his determination under enemy fire as a machine gunner with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment earned him the Navy Cross, and a place among the ranks of such Marine Corps legends as Lewis 'Chesty' Puller, Daniel 'Dan' Daly and John Basilone.

He received this medal, the highest awarded by the Navy, for his deployment to Afghanistan is support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Navy Cross was pinned on his chest by Lt. Col. John M. Reed, the commanding officer of 2/7, and meritorious corporal chevrons to his collar by Maj. Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser and Sgt. Maj. Randall Carter, the commanding general and sergeant major of 1st Marine Division, at a ceremony held March 27 at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Grey Field. The ceremony included speeches from his former and current commanding officers.

Gustafson accepted his medal at a perfect position of attention, despite missing his right leg below the knee. His entire battalion was in attendance as well as Marines from across the nation, former service members, family and friends.

According to eyewitness accounts, Gustafson's actions that fateful day in July 2008 met and exceeded the requirements for a Navy Cross.

On July 21 Gustafson was manning the turret of the lead vehicle, a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP, during a four-vehicle mounted patrol riding through the streets of Shewan, Afghanistan.

That's when things got ugly.

The patrol came under heavy fire from machine guns as well as rocket-propelled grenades from hidden insurgent positions.

One of the RPGs hit Gustafson's MRAP, piercing its armor, rendering the driver unconscious and partially amputating Gustafson's right leg.

Despite his injuries, Gustafson remained vigilant on his M240B machine gun, locating and accurately firing on several insurgent positions, some as close as 20 meters from the vehicle.

He remained in the turret, reloading twice and firing over 600 rounds, while Lance Cpl. Cody Comstock, an Anderson, Ind. native, applied a tourniquet to his leg.

After regaining consciousness, the driver, Cpl. Geoffrey Kamp, an Indianapolis native, put the vehicle in reverse and pushed the disabled vehicle behind them out of the kill zone.

Not until both vehicles were safe from the heavy insurgent fire and all the Marines had evacuated the burning vehicle did he allow himself to be removed from the turret for medical treatment.

"I knew I was hit," he said. "I guess the adrenaline kept me going."

Gustafson humbly stressed that he was only doing his job, nothing more.

"Anyone I served with would have done the same," said the Eagan, IL native. "Heck, if it wasn't for everyone else out there, I wouldn't have made it."

After being treated by corpsmen at the scene, he was transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Upon regaining consciousness after surgery, Gustafson called his parents to tell them what happened, said the 21 year-old.

"We were worried about him," said his mother, Kim Gustafson. "But we knew everything would work out, God does have a plan after all."

During 2/7's deployment to Afghanistan, "the extraordinary became ordinary," said Lt. Col Richard Hall, 2/7's commanding officer during the deployment. "I underestimated my Marines and I'm in awe of what they accomplished."

Known as the hardest hit battalion in the Marine Corps during 2008, 2/7 lost over 20 Marines and sailors and sent over 80 home with serious injuries during their eight month deployment to Afghanistan.

Gustafson is now looking to the future and says he is looking forward to a bright future outside of the Marine Corps.

"I took a lot of photos in Afghanistan," said Gustafson. "I'm going to go to college in the fall and try and make a career out of it."

Cpl. Brady Gustafson never faltered during the ambush and his heroism helped save the lives of all the Marines involved.

The valor and courage displayed on the streets of Shewan that July day embodied the core values of the Marine Corps and sets an example for all to emulate and be proud of.

"I'm proud of all the Marines," said Kim. "There are so many heroes, I'm so lucky to count my son among one of them."

Semper Fi! It would be great to have a living Medal Of Honor recipient to honor. It would be even better for that person to be a Marine. Just to spite the Army.

The Marines continue to be the best of the best while the army has the numbers to be almost as good by shear manpower. I pray the guy lives long enough to be honored.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/03/marine_conway_MoH_031109w/

CMC: Living MoH recipient may be coming

By Brendan McGarry - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 12, 2009 14:01:20 EDT

The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that an investigator is reviewing a valor case that, if approved, would yield the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor in the war on terrorism.

"We have a case that I sent an investigating officer out to take a look at on the West Coast that, if proven, I think will prompt me to recommend the Medal of Honor for a living Marine," Gen. James T. Conway said.

If the Corps were to make a formal nomination, the case would go to the secretary of the Navy for approval, followed by the secretary of Defense and then the president.
VIDEO

Conway did not identify the Marine or the country in which the Marine served.

I love the Royal Marines! They have been favorites of mine since I was a kid and they keep proving they are worthy of my devotion. When I was in England I met a few of them and visited some of their bases, and they impressed me even more.

This is how to fight this war - take it to the enemy and chase them until they are broken.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htinf/articles/20090114.aspx

British Marine Commandos (all British marines are commandos) recently conducted an 18 day operation against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. This operation, involving 1,500 marines and a few hundred Danish and Afghan troops, serves as a model for the kind of operations possible as several additional brigades of American troops enter the area over the next year.

The British marines killed over a hundred Taliban, and lost five of their own. More importantly, they also killed a key Taliban leader in the area, seized $3 million worth of opium (such drugs are a major source of income for the Taliban) and an IED workshop. The British marines chased down the Taliban, who tried to flee. Staying on the Taliban day after day, the marines ultimately shattered the local organization. The operation disrupted the ability of several hundred Taliban to operate and crippled their support and command network. The operation also had a bad effect on Taliban morale, and the willingness of locals to support, or simply tolerate, the Taliban.

The British made it very clear that they could decisively defeat the Taliban, and go after the enemy wherever they were, and no matter how hard their fought back. The British, in effect, dominated the battlefield, and the enemy. Multiply this several times, and run these operations constantly, and the Taliban military capability will be broken. This is nothing new. It's been done before to the Afghan tribal warriors, and accounts of such disasters are among the less popular tribal legends throughout the region.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,463171,00.html

Five indicted Blackwater Worldwide security guards plan to surrender to the FBI Monday in Salt Lake City, about 2,000 miles from the Washington courthouse where they were charged, a person close to the case said.

Such a move would be the opening salvo in what is shaping up to be a contentious legal fight before the guards can even get to trial. By surrendering in Utah, the home state of one of the guards, the men can argue for a trial there -- a far more conservative, pro-gun venue than Washington.

The person described the decision to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the indictment against the men remains sealed.

The five guards, all military veterans, were indicted for their roles in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. The shooting strained U.S. diplomacy and fueled anti-American sentiment abroad.

Steven McCool, a lawyer for Blackwater guard and former Marine Donald Ball, confirmed Sunday that his client would surrender in Utah. Ball is from West Valley City, Utah.

"Donald Ball committed no crime," McCool said. "We are confident that any jury will see this for what it is: a politically motivated prosecution to appease the Iraqi government."

http://www.debka.com/

Covert marine operation uncovers Syria's return to plutonium production

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

December 5, 2008, 4:14 PM (GMT+02:00)
The Orontes River, Syria

The Orontes River, Syria

In the face of Damascus' refusal to allow UN inspectors access to three suspect "research laboratories, Western agents recently carried out a daring covert operation to collect water samples from the Orontes river in Syria where it drains into the Mediterranean, DEBKAfile's intelligence sources reveal. Their discoveries were presented to a closed session of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency's board on Nov. 27-28.

Situated on the river bank near Homs is one of the three research institutes where Syrian, Iranian and North Korean technicians and scientists are suspected of reprocessing plutonium for Syria's clandestine military nuclear program. The Orentes samples confirmed the suspicion that Syria has gone back to the plutonium project which was cut short when Israeli destroyed its reactor at Al Kibar in September 2007.

The Orontes rises at Tal al Musa north of Damascus and south of Homs. It flows into the sea near Antakya, which is north of Latakiya and west of Aleppo, not far from the Turkish border.

The IAEA board meeting was told in general teams how the tainted river samples were obtained. DEBKAfile's military sources add that western nuclear technicians collected them from a boat which sailed surreptitiously up to the river mouth in Syria. To make sure of their finding, they collected river water on three different dates in the last two months.

Their discovery tied in with a separate report reaching the nuclear watchdog board that Iran and North Korea were frantically drafting in nuclear specialists to help Syria revive its plutonium reprocessing project. The product is to be stored in protected hideouts.

It was the view of some board members that Tehran and Pyongyang had determined to prove that the Israeli attack had not put Syria off its nuclear program. Both were even more insistent on showing the world that the Iranian nuclear program of which the Syrian project was a part was unstoppable.

Syria and North Korea accordingly renewed their clandestine nuclear cooperation accord on Oct. 22, so making sure of an uninterrupted flow from Pyongyang of nuclear materials, technology and experts for Syria's covert nuclear facilities.

My Army friends can all blow me today. Sorry guys! Sort of. I know you like to blow guys, just don't talk about it. Today is the day to celebrate the Navy, not something I do often.

Army goes three and out, losers. I hope that can conduct a war with better skills than they control the battle in this arena.

Navy scores just by touching the ball. Ok, someone had to carry the ball into the end zone, but the Army just stood by and watched. 7-0 in the opening minutes!

The Navy center messed up the long snap to the punter, who chased the ball into the end zone! Good training allowed him to requickly recover and punt the ball over 50 yards out of the danger zone. Too bad he will only get official credit for 13 yards. The entire Army team went the way the ball was supposed to go before the snap was flubbed. HA! If they had been watching, they might have got the ball in perfect position for a score.

Now some playing around. Army has lame ideas for their supportive ads, but I do kind of like their new uniforms. The camo and black is a good look! I still prefer the Navy Blue and Gold.

Fumble! Army recovers it, but they are lucky to still have the ball. Sounds like a typical Army strategy. Notice that the Marines don't lose it.

End of the quarter.

AH! It was almost an Army interception! Thank the Lord for the poor players on the Army team.

Navy runs, runs, runs. Then slips in a pass and gets huge yards and scores! 17-0!!

Army gets a good run back! Too bad the guy is a tank fighting against more mobile forces.

Two minute warning... letting the Army be warned that they are getting whipped! Shun White is a wild runner, but what is with his beard? That is out of uniform!

Army fakes the kick on Fourth down and messes up! HAHAHAHA! You guys have to practice your tactics more.

That's the half. Is Army going to call the Air Force for some air strikes to stop the Navy?

The game restarted, but I was not sure I needed to gloat some more. If I was in the Army, I might ask for a transfer to a new service.

What will Navy do on 4th and 2? I say go! Army sucks anyway.
They did it! Go Navy!!

Touchdown! Again. Poor Army. 24-0. I thought the army know about land tactics? Can't prove it by their football team.

Well, the beating is finally over. First shut out in this game since Carter was President! I am not sure that any of these kids were even alive when that beatdown happened. Final score? Well, with a Navy interception with under a minute left it became 34-0.

Go Navy! Army sucks. Even the Air Force gave a better fight. What a waste of cool uniforms.

These are links to the annual fun:

http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/004680.html

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/12/go-army-beat-na.html

Happy Birthday to all my brothers and sisters out there. Have a beer with me! Just drop by

http://www.marines.mil/news/messages/Pages/UNITEDSTATESMARINECORPSBIRTHDAYMESSAGE.aspx

1. DURING THE SUMMER OF 1982, IN THE WAKE OF A PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE, MARINES WENT ASHORE AT BEIRUT, LEBANON. FIFTEEN MONTHS LATER, ON 23 OCTOBER 1983, EXTREMISTS STRUCK THE FIRST MAJOR BLOW AGAINST AMERICAN FORCES - STARTING THIS LONG WAR ON TERRORISM. ON THAT SUNDAY MORNING, A SUICIDE BOMBER DROVE AN EXPLOSIVE-LADEN TRUCK INTO THE HEADQUARTERS OF BATTALION LANDING TEAM 1/8, DESTROYING THE BUILDING AND KILLING 241 MARINES AND CORPSMEN. 2. EXTREMISTS HAVE ATTACKED OUR NATION, AT HOME AND ABROAD, NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE THAT FATEFUL DAY IN BEIRUT. THEIR AIM HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME - TO KILL AS MANY INNOCENT AMERICANS AS POSSIBLE. THE ATTACKS OF 11 SEPTEMBER 2001 CHANGED OUR NATION FOREVER, AND OUR PRESIDENT HAS RESOLVED THAT THIS NATION WILL NOT STAND IDLE WHILE MURDEROUS TERRORISTS PLOT THEIR NEXT STRIKE. MARINES WILL CONTINUE TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE ENEMY - HITTING THEM ON THEIR OWN TURF, CRUSHING THEM WHEN THEY SHOW THEMSELVES, AND FINDING THEM WHERE THEY HIDE. 3. ONLY A FEW AMERICANS CHOOSE THE DANGEROUS, BUT NECESSARY, WORK OF FIGHTING OUR NATION'S ENEMIES. WHEN OUR CHAPTER OF HISTORY IS WRITTEN, IT WILL BE A SAGA OF A SELFLESS GENERATION OF MARINES WHO WERE WILLING TO STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR OUR NATION; TO DEFEND THOSE WHO COULD NOT DEFEND THEMSELVES; TO THRIVE ON THE HARDSHIP AND SACRIFICE EXPECTED OF AN ELITE WARRIOR CLASS; TO MARCH TO THE SOUND OF THE GUNS; AND TO ABLY SHOULDER THE LEGACY OF THOSE MARINES WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE. 4. ON OUR 233RD BIRTHDAY, FIRST REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED AND THOSE "ANGELS" WHO HAVE FALLEN - OUR REPUTATION WAS BUILT ON THEIR SACRIFICES. REMEMBER OUR FAMILIES; THEY ARE THE UNSUNG HEROES WHOSE SUPPORT AND DEDICATION ALLOW US TO ANSWER OUR NATION'S CALL. FINALLY, TO ALL MARINES AND SAILORS, KNOW THAT I AM PROUD OF YOU AND WHAT YOU DO. YOUR SUCCESSES ON THE BATTLEFIELD HAVE ONLY ADDED TO OUR ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY. GENERAL VICTOR H. "BRUTE" KRULAK SAID IT BEST WHEN HE WROTE, "... THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT NEED A MARINE CORPS ... THE UNITED STATES WANTS A MARINE CORPS." YOUR ACTIONS, IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, AND ACROSS THE GLOBE, ARE AT THE CORE OF WHY AMERICA LOVES HER MARINES. 5. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARINES AND SEMPER FIDELIS! JAMES T. CONWAY, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS//

Another True Hero passes on. The Lord has a special place of Honor for guys like this and I wish I could qualify someday.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,446140,00.html

Retired Marine Col. John Ripley, who was credited with stopping a column of North Vietnamese tanks by blowing up a pair of bridges during the 1972 Easter Offensive of the Vietnam War, died at home at age 69, friends and relatives said Sunday.

Ripley's son, Stephen Ripley, said his father was found at his Annapolis home Saturday after missing a speaking engagement on Friday. The son said the cause of death had not been determined but it appeared his father died in his sleep.

In a videotaped interview with the U.S. Naval Institute for its Americans at War program, Ripley said he and about 600 South Vietnamese were ordered to "hold and die" against 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers with about 200 tanks.

"I'll never forget that order, 'hold and die'," Ripley said. The only way to stop the enormous force with their tiny force was to destroy the bridge, he said.

"The idea that I would be able to even finish the job before the enemy got me was ludicrous," Ripley said. "When you know you're not going to make it, a wonderful thing happens: You stop being cluttered by the feeling that you're going to save your butt."

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/10/marine_barrow_dies_103008w/

A former Marine Corps commandant general died Thursday, leaving a legacy that includes earning two of the military's top decorations and becoming the first Marine to serve a four-year term as a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Retired Gen. Robert Barrow, 86, was the 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1979 to 1983. His cause of death was not immediately available.

In an e-mail to top officers, Commandant Gen. James Conway mourned his passing, saying Barrow had "unparalleled experience" in conventional and irregular conflict. Conway credited Barrow with addressing substance abuse and alcoholism in the Corps, revamping the command structure of recruit depots and advocating an increase in screening programs for drill instructors and recruiters and overall personnel reform.

"General Barrow maintained, throughout his life, an abiding love and respect for his Marines," Conway said. "We, in turn, will miss him greatly."

Barrow served in three wars, earning some of the Corps' most revered military decorations along the way.