Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’
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Marine Overcomes Injury, Deploys to Afghanistan
In an office surrounded by fences with concertina and dirt roads, one Marine is fulfilling a dream in Afghanistan. Several months before he was scheduled to deploy, Lance Cpl. Anthony Zavala injured his hand, putting [Read more...]
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2012 Year in Photos
The year 2012 marked an important one in Marine Corps history. The Marine Corps returned to its amphibious roots with an emphasis on the Pacific. The Corps put troops on the ground in Australia and [Read more...]
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2012 Year in Photos (December)
Close Air Support Santa’s Angels We’ll Be Marines in the Morning War Cry Down by the Bay All Is Calm, All Is Bright JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL [Read more...]
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2012 Year in Photos (November)
I’m with Stumpy Happy 237th Birthday Risky Cuts Is it Dusty in Here? Ready, Aim, Fire Field of Marines Birthday Run JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG [Read more...]
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2012 Year in Photos (October)
Joyous Reunion A Marine and His Horse Get in Step Don’t Go, Daddy Crocodile Waters Happy and Healthy Suck It Up JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | [Read more...]
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2012 Year in Photos (September)
The Ultimate Sacrifice Across the African Plain Water Gun Bottom of the Heap Two Devil Dogs Dusty Patrol A Little Horseplay JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG [Read more...]
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Photo of the Year Winner: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
You voted, and 2012’s Corps Top Shot comes from Cpl. Reece Lodder. Lodder, a combat correspondent, captured this photo in January 2012 while helping to clear houses of insurgent activity during Operation Tageer Shamal (Pashto [Read more...]
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Afghanistan Defines Marine Pilot’s Career
Before 9/11, Lt. Col. Jay Holtermann was unsure whether he would continue his military career. Now, Holtermann is serving on his sixth deployment, this one as the commanding officer for Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, [Read more...]
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Surviving Deployment Separation
Deployments are always hard, especially your first deployment. The unknown can really eat away at you when your life seems to be in a state of limbo. Most of us know what it’s like to [Read more...]
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Marines Return to Work with Much Improved Afghan Forces
Marines with 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, recently returned to southern Afghanistan, two years after their deployment to the Marjah area. The opportunity to return to the same area allowed some [Read more...]
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Mother, Daughter Share Common Experience in Deployment
At the start of Operation Desert Storm, a young Marine was sent to the fight, leaving behind his wife, son and newborn baby girl. His wife, Susanna Garcia, had to rely on letters and the [Read more...]
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Operation Golden Gate to Connect Afghanistan People
Ground was broken for the start of Operation Golden Gate in the Sangin District of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 4. Marines, sailors and soldiers are working together in an effort to build a bridge more [Read more...]
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M249 Becomes an Endangered Species in the Corps
As full integration of the Infantry Automatic Rifle into the Marine Corps’ arsenal becomes complete, the M249 Light Machine Gun, formerly the Squad Automatic Weapon, slowly fades into the history of the Corps. The SAW [Read more...]
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Generations of Marines Connect Through the Eagle, Globe and Anchor
It is the defining moment during boot camp, and I remember it well. Tired, dirty and sweaty after the Crucible, the final test before recruits earn the title “United States Marine,” I marched back realizing [Read more...]
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“Grand Old Man” Continues to Impact Marines
Editor’s note: This article is part of a series wherein every week we recognize an individual Marine or sailor with Regimental Combat Team 7. The Marines and sailors of RCT-7 are dedicated, disciplined and driven [Read more...]
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Marines Help Sangin Stand Tall
It has been seven long months for the Marines and sailors of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, but they will soon return home from Sangin, Afghanistan, to be reunited with family and friends. [Read more...]
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Marines Secure New Areas in Afghanistan
Entering the Trek Nawa District of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Marines with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, provided a military presence absent to the region for nearly a year. Arriving [Read more...]
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Twins reconnect, unite in combat zone
While Sgt. David Haines and Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Haines do not necessarily compete against one another, the 24-year-old twin brothers often wrangle back and forth as if they are teenagers fighting for a [Read more...]
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Afghan Air Force Provides Air Support for Afghan National Army
Afghan Air Force MI-17 helicopters arrive in a whirlwind of dust and debris as their rotors disrupt the ground below them at Camp Tombstone, Afghanistan. The entirely Afghan-manned crew will support an Afghan National Army [Read more...]
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Marine Corps Addresses News Report Regarding Medal of Honor
A recent article by McClatchy has brought into question the heroic actions that led to the decision to award the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Dakota Meyer on Sept. 15, 2011. This is the latest [Read more...]
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Marine Couple Overcomes Combat Wounds Together
When you’ve practically lost yourself to a wartime attack, been set on fire, clawed yourself free of wreckage without all your limbs intact, your face, arms, legs, even your eyelids are burned away, and you [Read more...]
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Proper equipment saves Marine’s life
PATROL BASE DETROIT, Afghanistan – Every day Marines put on their protective gear and put their lives in danger. They wear a heavy flak jacket, Kevlar helmet and fire retardant clothing. With temperatures reaching more [Read more...]
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First Time, First Firefight – Marine Stays Focused During Combat
It’s a moment of truth for many Marines – the first time they are in combat and their training is put to the test. When his squad took enemy contact during a recent patrol through [Read more...]
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Tanks Support Infantry Marines in Afghanistan
One of a Marine’s best friends in battle is 67-tons of steel, armor and fire power. In Helmand province, Afghanistan, Marines with Bravo Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 6, are using the M1A1 [Read more...]
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Stress and Suicide in the Corps
After Barbara Christianson got off work on Jan. 24, she picked up her 4-year-old grandson Nate, ran by the grocery store and McDonald’s, and headed home. Christianson’s neighbor hated when anyone parked in the street [Read more...]
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Marines of Honor (A look at the Corps and the Medal of Honor)
On July 10, 1863, Cpl. John F. Mackie became the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor, which is the highest U.S. military award for bravery, has been awarded 298 [Read more...]
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What Every Deployed Marine Needs: A Care Package
Whether your Marine is a grunt or an administration clerk, a dog handler or a pilot, receiving care packages when on a long deployment can mean much-needed strength to make it just one more day. [Read more...]
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Marines Emerge Unscathed From Operation Jaws
KAJAKI, Afghanistan – The Marines of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment added to their rich history when they trekked through Zamindawar, one of the few remaining insurgent strongholds in Afghanistan, May 26-June 9, to disrupt [Read more...]
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Marine crew chief gets off the couch, into combat
Sgt. Enrique Zamora, a crew chief with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466 and Los Fresnos, Texas, native, keeps an unusual collection with him on flights: a selection of Chevrolet Hot Wheels cars. “For good luck,” [Read more...]
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Faces of Transition (A Little Pashto Goes A Long Way)
The meeting was ordinary but the conversation unusual. Seated on opposite sides of a stuffy room inside an Afghan elder’s dirt-walled compound, a pair of Marines and their interpreter relax among friends, sprawling out on [Read more...]
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Now Zad: Life After the Taliban (Part I)
Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a two-part series about the district of Now Zad in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, and the Marine responsible for rebuilding it after years of insurgents and unrest. [Read more...]
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Reduction By the Numbers: “A smaller, but still lethal force”
Prior to Department of Defense budget cut talks, the Marine Corps planned to reduce troops from 202,000 to 186,800 to accommodate a post-war Marine Corps. Due to budget changes and the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan, [Read more...]
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Dogs of War: Friends and Saviors of Marines in Afghanistan
GARMSIR DISTRICT, Afghanistan— Without the Marine’s watchful eyes and his dog’s trained nose, the round metal container packed with 40 pounds of homemade explosives could have wreaked destruction on their patrol. The Feb. 8 security [Read more...]
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Killing Time (Bragging Rights)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELHI, Afghanistan — The ragged dartboard nestled between camouflage uniform items and a giant American flag has seen better days. Thousands of tiny holes pockmark its aged cork scoring area. An ever-increasing [Read more...]
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Life on a Patrol Base
Rise and Shine PT Chow Daily Grind Down Time Letters to Home PATROL BASE BURY, Afghanistan —Their humble home is exceptionally primitive, but it’s all the deployed infantrymen need. Patrol Base Bury, a tiny base [Read more...]
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A Marine’s Journal (Respect and Suspicion)
The explosion was loud, powerful and sudden. Instantly everyone in the Joint Operations Center (JOC) hit the floor – standard procedure for a potential rocket or mortar attack, but a new experience for me. When [Read more...]
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Marines help Afghans stand on their own
When the Marine Corps was preparing for Operation Al-Fajr in the fall of 2004, they enlisted the help of as many Iraqi soldiers as they could find, many of which turned around and went home [Read more...]
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Mom Copes With the Loss of Marine Son
Circling the Wagons I know what it means to be a Marine mom. I’ve been one since 2008 when my oldest son, Philip, enlisted. Since then, two more of my seven children have become Marines. [Read more...]
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Killing Time (A Letter A Day)
PATROL BASE BURY, Afghanistan — For six of the eight months he’s been married, Cpl. Devin Deweerdt has lived apart from his wife. Shortly after their wedding, the 20-year-old mortarman left for his last leg [Read more...]
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Through the Eyes of Infantrymen
PATROL BASE 7171, Helmand province, Afghanistan – Infantry Marines deployed to Afghanistan endure trials that Americans unfamiliar with military life cannot begin to fathom. Inclement weather, insatiable hunger, perpetual fatigue and direct combat with enemy [Read more...]
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Operation Western Gambit: Commander’s Point of View
On Nov. 26, Operation Western Gambit began. Marines from 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, loaded into helicopters and trucks from their bases in Now Zad and Musa Qal’eh Districts to enter into villages where coalition [Read more...]
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Killing Time (Fighting Through the Wringer)
This is the third installment in a series on U.S. Marines and Navy corpsmen from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay. After laboring through training in the [Read more...]
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Marine Father, Son-in-Law Return Simultaneously from Deployment
KANEOHE, Hawaii – Staff Sgt. Eric Smack and 1st Sgt. Shay Henry have a lot in common. They share a birthday, a family, a seven-month Afghanistan deployment — and a plane ride back to Marine [Read more...]
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Through the Ranks: Sergeant Major
‘Through the Ranks’ is a series of feature articles about a day in the life of a deployed Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Each article will highlight an individual’s personal experience through the [Read more...]
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Coming of age through war: Cpl. Timothy Stark
Cpl. Timothy Stark wrings his hands, unconsciously tapping the wedding band on his ring finger as he speaks about his wife and unborn daughter. The rigors of deployment are not new to Stark, a mortarman [Read more...]
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Family Focus Friday: Marine Father and Son
Story by Cpl. Justin Boling, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward). Each fall, parents watch with pride as their sons and daughters attend their first day of school, or take on new responsibilities as they head [Read more...]
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Through the Ranks: Staff Sergeant
‘Through the Ranks,’ is a series of feature articles about a day in the life of a deployed Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Each article will highlight an individual’s personal experience through the [Read more...]
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Wounded Marine Shares Story of Love and Healing
On a beautiful late April afternoon, Marcela Kazimir watched tearfully as her wounded husband was carried onto a massive C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, for the flight to the United States. [Read more...]
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Bonds of brotherhood help 3/4 Marines focus during deployment
Thoughts of those left home during a deployment can weigh on a young man’s mind when he enters a combat zone for the first time. Fortunately he is not alone. His fellowMarines step in to become [Read more...]
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Through the Ranks: Corporal
‘Through the Ranks,’ is a recurring commentary about a day in the life of a deployed Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Each commentary will highlight an individual’s personal experience through the perspective of [Read more...]
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Fallen squad leader lives on
I heard the final rifle volley and saw the winding procession of somber Marines, yet I’m sure Sgt. Joseph Garrison was there. Though I never shook his hand or looked him in the eye, his [Read more...]
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Through the Ranks: Lance Corporal
‘Through the Ranks,’ is a recurring commentary about a day in the life of a deployed Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Each commentary will highlight an individual’s personal experience through the perspective of [Read more...]
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Through the Ranks: Private First Class
‘Through the Ranks,’ is a recurring commentary about a day in the life of a deployed Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Each commentary will highlight an individual’s personal experience through the perspective of [Read more...]
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We fight over there, so we don’t have to fight here
At Approximately 11:30 p.m. last night, president Barrack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda. Americans celebrated in the streets of Washington and New York live on national television as the [Read more...]
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Reality Check
In the past few weeks, Charlie Sheen’s public antics have created yet another Hollywood media frenzy. Every major news organization has covered the star’s breakdown. He has more than 2.8 million followers on Twitter and his [Read more...]
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Does size really matter?
Ever since the news came out of the Pentagon about the reshaping, restructure, or “right-sizing” of the Marine Corps, anyone who has a say about it has voiced their opinions. Some reactions are valid, while [Read more...]
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Corps’ amphibious character at stake
The Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle may be up on the fiscal chopping block, but what implications does losing the EFV have for the Corps’ overall amphibious mission? The skeptical Marine may conclude this is [Read more...]
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Will Afghanistan be forgotten?
In a recent Wall Street Journal opinion article, an interesting question was asked. Will Afghanistan be a forgotten war? It’s difficult for me to wrap my head around this idea. To even pose the question [Read more...]
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Lessons Learned: Lt. Col. Diana Staneszewski
Lt. Col. Diana Staneszewski is a Western woman who communicates with Afghans in their native tongue, bridging the language barrier.
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Two weeks after the last shot
After many months deployed, it came down to what seemed to be a rushed transition. I was in Afghanistan one day and Washington the next.
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“Last Frame”
I LOVE my job! In my three months in Afghanistan, I’ve had the opportunity to travel Zabul Province, Herat and Farah (in the western part of the country) and now to Spin-Boldak (or Spin-B), which [Read more...]