Archive for the ‘marine corps’ Category

posted by admin on May 26

Before he was out of his teens, Jeremy Mack, 20, witnessed horrors no one should ever see.

An Army medic, Mack, of New Milford, was in Iraq from August 2006 to October 2007. When he returned it wasn’t long before his mother, Terry Mack, noticed a change in him.

He was mistrustful. When he sat down he didn’t like people behind him. In stores he would constantly look over his shoulder. He also did not want to talk about his experiences.

“I can’t tell how horrible it was,” his mother recalled him saying. “Am I supposed to tell people I went around picking up body parts because I’m a medic?”

Jeremy Mack is one of an increasing number of young veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Many have returned with permanent wounds. Others, like Mack, though their bodies may have returned the same, have been forever changed on the inside by what they saw.

 Read the full story here.

posted by admin on May 13

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - The 4th Infantry Division’s Special Troops Battalion underwent numerous changes over the course of a month as some units left its formations and their replacements arrived.

Among those changes included the changes of command of Company A, Company B, and the Headquarters Support Company May 15 in addition to three company transfers of authorities.

“We’re flexible,” said Lt. Col. Dale Buckner, a native of Rochester, N.Y., who serves as the commander of the DSTB, 4th Inf. Div., Multi-National Division - Baghdad, on how his professional staff handled the changes.

“I don’t get hung up on ‘this is the way it used to be done,’ or ‘this is the way the book says it should be done’ or ‘I don’t have any template to stick with,’” said Buckner. “Every day, I look at what the command group requires of us. If the chief of staff calls and says that I need to go train Iraqis on how you put together and execute new radios, we’ll figure out a way. It’s all about flexibility.”

Buckner said the primary function of the DSTB is to support the division main from behind the scenes to provide whatever it takes to make the division main functional in supporting the command group.

The DSTB provides full-spectrum support for the division main. This includes, among a myriad of other tasks: providing all the battle squad support and personal security detachments for the command group; providing communication support directly to the command group; providing logistical support; providing all the administrative support; and for other tasks such as handling Soldiers promotion boards, etc.

“The primary mission of the DSTB is all the behind-the-scenes goings on so the Soldiers can focus on the battlefield,” said Buckner.

Having 14 units to keep track of, and having 2,200 Soldiers in 19 different forward operation bases in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, is a daunting task - and one of the main challenges the DSTB has to face.

Buckner said none of the 14 units are the same or mutually supporting.

Read the full story here.

posted by admin on Feb 1

Soldiers, who had worked so much in securing peace in the Fahama region in Iraq, had made a great impact as they focused on rebuilding and helping local citizens with several projects. Soldiers from Company D, 1st Platoon, 4th Infantry Division assisted the local school as they brought many supplies for the schoolchildren as well as their families. Soldiers give out pencils, pens, paper, schoolbags and even stuffed toys and snacks.

Not only the local citizens were delighted about the goodwill, but also, soldiers themselves were just as happy. In fact, the scenes remind them of children back home in the United States.

Such small projects are small steps that gain and build trust as well as promote goodwill between the locals and the coalitions.

posted by admin on Jan 23

US Navy Reserve is a good option for just anybody who are interested in military experience. The great thing about it is that it is a part-time commitment, allowing sailors to pursue or continue with a civilian career at the same time receive a military training. Being in the US Navy Reserve does not mean being lesser than an active sailor. Reservists are still at par with Active Duty Sailors.

One of the benefits while being in the US Navy and Navy Reserve is education. Sailors could pursue education either on base or on a campus.

Generally, US Navy promotes its core values which are honor, courage, and commitment.

posted by admin on Jan 3

Getting into the service has certain requirements. Interested patrons should be at least 17 to 34 years old. They should have a high school diploma or equivalent. If married, they should only have less than 2 children. The should have a US citizenship. Resident alien could also qualify under I-551. Applicants also need to pass the ASVAB test or the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. The US Army and Army Reserve also provide many ways to guide or help soldiers who are interested in college education. Thus, some of the applicants qualify for a full tuition coverage.

posted by admin on Dec 30

It an undeniable fact that the US Army and Army Reserve have the best soldiers on the planet. Since 1700, the US Army has been into several missions throughout the world. Army soldiers have defeated America’s opponents, settled foreign issues, and brought relief to third-world countries. The Army together with the Army Reserve is mainly composed of infantry, which also has several support roles. For instance, they are in charge with support vehicles, medical teams, pilots, tanks, artillery, indirect-fire support and other array of specialties that make use of the highest level of technology.

Generally, the US Army offers every soldier with two primary choices: Army Reserve or Active Duty. The Army Reserve is a part-time commitment that enables soldiers to work in the community, and only serve full-time when the service is needed. Thus, it allows soldiers to have a civilian and a military career at the same time. On the other hand, Active Duty is the traditional US Army career basically for full-time commitment.

posted by admin on Nov 18

The US Army as well as the Army Reserve has three major parts: enlisted, warrant officer, and commissioned officer. Generally, US Army are enlisted personnel. They mostly consist of the ranks of Private to Sergeant Major of the US Army. Enlisted soldiers has specialization in a specific department or area of knowledge, and eventually follow the orders of their officers. Warrant officers are the same with commissioned officers, except that warrant officers are knowledgeable in a specific area of expertise. Hence, officers offer leadership to enlisted personnel. Their ranking mostly depend on the unit they are commanding. In becoming a commissioned officer in the US Army: taking ROTC in college or being in the Officer Candidate School.

posted by admin on Oct 31

Army astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock  accompanied mission specialist Scott Parazynski in space. They boarded Space Shuttle Discovery for their spacewalk the following Tuesday morning (October 30, 2007). They were tasked to attach a P-6 truss to one of the ports of the International Space Station, and then deploy solar arrays on the said truss. The two astronauts made their first spacewalk on Friday, as they attached the Harmony node to the Unity node of the space station.

Thus, the Harmony node will be able to hold two additional laboratories for future space missions. They also explained that the Columbus Laboratory sent by the European Space Agency will be linked to the starboard side of the node. In addition,  a Japanese experiment module laboratory will also be attached on the portside.

posted by admin on Oct 31

Air Force runners beat the Marines during the Marine Corps Marathon. It was such a disappointment for the Marines, since they hosted the said event. Both Air Force men’s and women’s team have dominated the distant running challenge. The Air Force aced a 20-minute edge over the Marines, with a combined time of 16:19:36.

The first to finish the race was Lt. Brian Dumm from Osan Air Base of Korea. However, he placed sixth in the overall ranking with an outstanding time of 2:28:27. On the other hand, Maj. Brenda Schrank of Andrews Air Force Base won the female division with a time of 3:00:19.

posted by admin on Oct 31

The Coast Guard has finally reached the North Pole last October 25, 2007. It was a preliminary test if it could operate in the Arctic region. The Coast Guard made the trip possible through a C-130 Hercules jet that came from Barrow around 8:30 A.M., and arrived in the North Pole at exactly 12:32 P.M. The 1,100-mile flight witnessed the magnificent sunrise as it approached the cold region.

21 Guardsmen boarded the said aircraft. Although the passengers were kept warm at a certain temperature, the cold outside recorded a -40 degrees. Hence, they have managed to reach the area using GPS navigation system.

The first Coast Guard trip to the North Pole was in 1860s, when the first Lighthouse Service Tender was sent to the region. However, the most recent trip was the Coast Guard’s first time to arrived at a 90 degrees north location. The main purpose of the trip is Artic Domain Awareness.