After receiving their final command from the sergeant instructors at the end of graduation, the four women stood in formation to swear-in during an oath of office ceremony to become judge advocates and newly commissioned officers in the Marines.
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Cpl. Dimeire Williams has always been athletic. He lettered in lacrosse, football, indoor track and volleyball at John Dickinson High School in Wilmington, Del.Williams stopped playing sports altogether after graduating high school in 2017 and decided not to continue his education. With no real goal for himself, he traded his playing days for coaching duties by becoming a lacrosse coach at Delaware State Community College.
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The Marine Corps’ Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is officially ready to deploy and support missions of the naval expeditionary force-in-readiness worldwide. Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Combat Development and Integration declared the JLTV program—part of the Light Tactical Vehicle portfolio at Program Executive Officer Land Systems—reached initial operational capability, or IOC, on Aug. 2, nearly a year ahead of schedule.
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Program Executive Officer Land Systems fielded its first Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to Marines at School of Infantry West during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Feb. 28, at Camp Pendleton, California. Andrew Rodgers, program manager for the Light Tactical Vehicles program at PEO Land Systems, presented the Corps’ first JLTV to Col. Kyle Stoddard, commanding officer at SOI-West.
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A harvesting effort by Program Executive Officer Land Systems and Marine Corps Systems Command could save the Corps millions and make one of its newest vehicles more survivable. The Gunner’s Protection Kit, managed by Infantry Weapons within MCSC’s Portfolio Manager Ground Combat Equipment Systems, is currently installed on High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. As a cost-savings measure, the kits will be removed from HMMWVs and installed on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles as they are fielded to the fleet next year. Using harvested parts instead of buying new potentially saves the Corps more than $100 million.
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Marines gathered at the Marine Corps Association Foundation building at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, Dec 14, to award the winners of the Training Command’s Commanding General’s Writing Competition.This was the first year of the competition, with preliminary rounds taking place in May and November. Participants from across the Marine Corps wrote about Marine Corps related topics of their choice, and were judged by a panel of officer and senior enlisted leadership. The top three essays from each round went on to be judged by one final panel that included Brig. Gen. Jason Bohm. “This competition is in support of Training Command’s professional reading and writing program,” said Bohm, the commanding general for Training Command. “It’s
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The peace and quiet of a dark and humid Wednesday morning at Tulane University in New Orleans was suddenly interrupted by shouts of “aye aye, sergeant!” and “aye aye, corporal!” from Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps midshipmen as they ran to pick up main packs, ammo cans and water jugs.
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Marine Corps Systems Command is proactively seeking feedback on the products developed and delivered by the command to maintain technological dominance, now and in the future. Last month, MCSC’s Ammunition Program Management Office participated in a field artillery demonstration at Marine Corps Training and Education Command aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, to gain first-hand experience of field artillery Marines in action and their role in the Marine Air Ground Task Force. During the demonstration MCSC experts experienced the full spectrum of operations of a field artillery unit, from the inner workings of a fire direction center to the live firing of the M777 howitzer.
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Fifty one years after graduating from The Basic School in December 1965, 120 members of TBS class 1-66 gathered at Marine Corps Base Quantico for their very first reunion.
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Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Officer Candidate School and The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, Jan. 27, 2016 to see how Marine Corps candidates and officers train. Mabus began his visit at OCS, where he was introduced to Marine Corps leaders from OCS and their higher headquarters. He observed a platoon of officer candidates perform Marine Corps drill, toured candidate squad bays, and discussed training with OCS drill instructors.The drill instructors talked about their responsibility to screen and evaluate officer candidates at OCS and the need to constantly be present during training to observe candidates. They pointed out that that presence is continuous and extends into each platoon’s squad bay. The squad
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Staff from the Semper Fit Health Promotion and Naval Health Clinic Quantico visited several locations from Nov. 16 to Nov. 20 in coordination with the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout, which promotes annual events since 1970 to encourage a non-smoking lifestyle.
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Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, instructor trainer course, completed its third cycle for 2015.
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The Marine Corps Marital Arts Program (MCMAP) is the primary school for close quarters defense in the Marine Corps, where service members of all branches to include international servicemembers have trained and grown as leaders. A unique and disciplined group of Marines recently attended the three-week MCMAP Instructors Course at the Martial Arts Center of Excellence (MACE) starting July 13, where they earned the qualification to instruct up to their belt level. “Developing synergy as a Marine is the main concept taught here,” said Sgt. Carey Edwards, an instructor trainer. “Remaining physically fit, mentally strong and of good moral character are the tools that our graduates leave with which will help them to be leaders of Marines in
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Corpsmen serving at The Basic School are now eligible to receive the Enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist Device. In a brief at TBS to senior enlisted leadership on March 9, Command Master Chief Tammy R. Heap, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command, announced that the Enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist Qualification program is now open to Corpsmen at the school.
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Daryl J. Scales always had the dream of becoming a Marine. His thoughts were confirmed when he saw an average man, slay a lava monster in the popular 90’s recruiting commercial. After graduating from University of Missouri with a degree in history and a minor in African-American studies, Scales decided to pursue becoming a Marine officer.
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The Warrant Officer Basic Course is a 16-week training program located at The Basic School aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico that molds enlisted personnel who have reached the rank of sergeant or above into warrant officers. Warrant officers are the subject matter experts in their field and generally stay in the same occupational field they held while enlisted, according to recent WOBC graduate WO1 Charles Aaron, officer-in-charge of the Outbound Section of the Installation Personnel Administration Center.
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As warfare and needs of the world evolves so must the Marines, who answer the call to action. Marine officers with Charlie Company of The Basic School conducted a seven-day War Field Exercise from Sept. 5-12. The Marines began their evolutions on ships at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. “I have never been on a Naval vessel before, and it’s a lot more cramped than I imagined,” said 2nd Lt. Michael D. Hastings, a student with the school. “We were on it for only 48 hours. “I can definitely see how you need to figure out something to do when you’re on ship for an extended period of time.”The new national defense strategy focuses on the Asia-Pacific region and the Marine Corps spending more time on the high seas. The company’s officers created
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The Basic School learn the history of the Montford Point Marines with the second annual Montford Point Biathlon at Camp Barrett on July 25.
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Educators and key influencers from an array of colleges and universities across the Western United States attended the Marine Corps Recruiting Command’s Educators and Key Leaders Workshop here this week to discover the vast traits and career opportunities the Marine Corps offers, specifically geared toward officer commissioning programs.The workshop provides an inside look at the Marine officer lifestyle and exhibits the types of training Marine officer prospects go through to escalate physical, moral and intellectual capabilities in order to benefit Marines in any clime and place. The week began at the Officer Candidates School where candidates are rigorously screened through training that focuses on excellence in leadership, academics,
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Dabbing tears trickling from her eyes, Nell Hannah, the mother of one of the 50 names etched in front of her, looked up with gratitude at the memorial which contained her son’s name. Hannah was just one of the scores of people who participated in the dedication of The Basic School Class 6-67 monument at TBS on April 25, 2014. Class 6-67 was the sixth class to graduate from TBS in 1967.“This monument is dedicated to the 498 officers of Basic Class 6-67, and their families and friends, whose lives were changes forever by the war in Vietnam,” reads an inscription on the memorial. “Forty-three men from our class were killed in Vietnam, one man was killed in Lebanon, and six lost their lives in training. Over 200 members of our class were
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The Military Operations on Urban Terrain Town aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico sat buried under the late night darkness around 11 p.m. on April 17, 2014. The town was quiet, almost too quiet. Only an occasional lit glow stick hinted of a presence. A company of Marine lieutenants had infiltrated the town, prepped it for an attack and now waited for their enemy. The officers were participating in “The War,” their last field exercise before graduating from six months of training at The Basic School.“[This field exercise has] captured really good training environments and human factors [hunger, lack of sleep, etc….],” said Capt. Matthew Schultz, instructor. “They get to experience a thinking enemy who is doing everything they can to win. These
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Like a cross between an adult game of leapfrog and a lethal dance, 126 students from The Basic School’s Bravo Co. advanced toward the tree line with weapons drawn at Range 5 aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico on March 21, 2014. The Marine lieutenants completed their first live-fire range where they maneuvered downrange. Of the four field exercises they participate in during the six-month training cycle, this was the culminating event of the second. “They [the students] blank fired last week and now they get to use the tactics and techniques they learned and integrate them with live fire while seeing the realism behind what they did,” said Capt. Robert Noxon, 2nd Platoon, staff platoon commander. “Today I want to see aggression out of them.
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Quickly and silently, 2nd Lt. Miles Stebbins, a student at The Basic School, emerged from a tree line and lowered himself onto the cool, muddy ground while providing security for the rest of his squad during a field exercise at TBS on Feb. 24, 2014.Marines from Alpha Company were participating in the second field exercise of their six-month training evolution, highlighting patrols and providing an opportunity for the Marines to practically apply what they have been learning in the classroom.“The basic principle for this field exercise, today specifically, is for them to learn and understand and execute the fundamentals of patrolling,” said Capt. Stephen Greenberg, staff platoon commander. “As we’ve learned in the past 13 years, everyone at
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When officials from the Japanese Ministry of Defense got a chance to pose a few questions to the executive officer of The Basic School, one of them wondered whether the leaders of Marines end up being those who have never known failure. Lt. Col. Daniel Tarbutton said instructors see “an interesting transformation” in many of the second lieutenants who come through the school. “Most of them have been successful in most everything they’ve done, until they come here. We ensure that they fail, so they can learn,” he said, explaining that this is an essential part of their “resiliency training.” This was one of many insights offered to the 26 Japanese lieutenant colonels, colonels and civilian equivalents who visited TBS on Feb. 11, 2014, as
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Their slow gait and dirt-encrusted uniforms spoke volumes about the exhaustion Marines of Echo Company were experiencing as they walked through the Military Operations on Urban Terrain Town on Jan. 10, 2014. Little did they expect to turn a corner and find a hot breakfast waiting.Drops of freezing rain fell making the chilly winter morning in the makeshift training compound a dismal end to the final field exercise for The Basic School students. The only inviting sight was the radiating glowing light and breakfast scents wafting from the entrance of a single building. “They [the students] have been out when it was minus 15 degrees and have been constantly moving and fighting,” said Maj. Rob Warfield, Echo Co. commanding officer. “To come
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Some time ago, The Basic School requested that a counselor be placed at Camp Barrett on the west side of Marine Corps Base Quantico. However, amid a Corpswide “surge” in counseling services, what TBS got was an entire Community Counseling and Wellness Center, which now occupies almost the whole second floor of Cox Hall. The new center, which held its first open house Dec. 9, includes a suite of community counseling offices, a suite of offices for the Consolidated Substance Abuse Counseling Center, another suite of Family Advocacy Program offices and a combined suite for Victim Advocacy, the New Parent Support Program, military family life counselors and Families Overcoming Under Stress. The new Victims Legal Counsel office is also
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Their eyes looked past the falling leaves, focused on every move made by 2nd Lts. Clarence Miller and Jereme Tayamen, machine gunners, in the woods of Marine Corps Base Quantico on Nov. 6, 2013, but their lips never made a sound.The Delta Co. officers were participating in “The War,” a final field exercise that all students participate in before graduation from The Basic School. Observing the students was a group of combat-experienced noncommissioned officers who had acted as advisors to the lieutenants during their schooling.“I can’t imagine the period of instruction without our enlisted advisors,” said Capt. Alexander Ismail, 2nd platoon machine gunner. “It’s really shocking to me that it’s a recent development to have them here.”Delta
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Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, visited The Basic School on Oct.7, 2013, to meet with Marines and tour the campus. Upon arrival, Mabus met with Maj. Gen. Thomas Murray, commanding officer of Training and Education Command, and Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers, commanding officer of The Basic School. “With everything that’s going on in the world, I know the secretary has a lot on his plate,” said Desgrosseilliers. “We just want to show the secretary how we’re training officers in the Marines Corps, and thank him for his service and time that he spends with us.”Mabus’ first stop was the Sand Table Room where Fox Co. Marines were reviewing plans and tactics. Mabus next spent time conversing with junior officers during afternoon chow. “He clearly
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It was quiet, too quiet, for a sunny, Wednesday afternoon. Second Lt. John Reale, 2nd Squad squad leader, peered into a courtyard through two shutters enclosing a second-story window at the Military Operations on Urban Terrain Town at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Sept. 25, 2013. It was simply a matter of time. Reale and about a dozen other Marines spent several hours reviewing their plan. Participating in one of Charlie Co.’s final training field exercises, The Basic School Marines were prepared to defend their position against a platoon-sized attack. “We learn a lot at TBS about planning,” said Reale. “I think that’s the biggest take away from this training are moments like this: when we are out in the field and we actually have to make
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When Chaplain Christopher Earley arrived at The Basic School just before Christmas 2012, it was at his own request. “I came through here 13 years ago,” he said. “I know exactly what they’re going through.” With almost 20 years of active duty service behind him, first as an enlisted Marine, then as a Marine Corps officer and for the last four years as a Navy chaplain, Earley can relate to a lot of the personnel he’s assigned to. In 2006, Earley said, God called him to minister to Marines, and since the Corps doesn’t have its own chaplains, the only way to fulfill that calling was to transfer to the Navy. To become a chaplain, though, he had to earn a seminary degree and serve for two years as a full-time civilian pastor. The 41-year-old
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In accordance with a memo from the commandant, a few changes will soon be made to the sale of alcohol on Marine Corps Base Quantico. Most notably, hard liquor will be pulled from the shelves of the Marine Mart at The Basic School, as the memo, sent to the director of the Semper Fit and Exchange Services Division on Aug. 26, 2013, directs that distilled spirits are to be removed from all Marine Marts adjacent to barracks. Bryan Driver, spokesman for Semper Fit and Exchange Services, said the TBS shop appears to be the only Quantico facility that will be affected by that guidance, as it’s the only one that sells liquor and is located near a barracks. Others, however, will have more restrictive hours for alcohol sales. The memo dictates that
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The namesake of the new Capodanno Chapel at The Basic School is a name that Navy chaplains hear from their first day of training onward, Rear Adm. Margaret Kibben told 50 or so chaplains, Marines and civilians congregated in the little church. Kibben, the chaplain of the Marine Corps, was the guest speaker at the dedication of the new chapel on Sept. 4, 2013, which was the 46th anniversary of the death of Father Vincent Capodanno. “All of us understand that what is expected from us is what Chaplain Capodanno provided for his Marines,” she said. Chaplain Christopher Earley, The Basic School’s chaplain, detailed the actions that earned Capodanno the Medal of Honor and cost him his life on Sept. 4, 1967, during an ambush of the 5th Marine
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While rain fell softly onto the tree branches overhead, Maj. Justin Betz, air officer for The Basic School, adjusted his headset and dialed in his hulking, green hand radio for contact.As he carefully walked up a steep hill beside a mix of grass and mud called LZ-7, Betz’s eyes scanned the skies looking for incoming aircraft.“We rarely get Ospreys out here at TBS,” said Betz. “So it’s a real treat to our students and even our permanent personnel.”Suddenly, three MV-22 Ospreys, the distinct helicopter-plane hybrid, broke over the tree line and quickly covered ground toward the landing zone.Betz raised a neon-orange landing panel to mark the LZ, making sure the pilots knew they were in the right place; else he risked an expensive
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The lieutenants of 3rd Platoon, Charlie Co., The Basic School, put the lessons they’ve learned for the last three months to the test during Field Exercise II, a culminating event stressing platoon-sized elements on Range 15 on Aug. 15, 2013.The four-day exercise took 3rd platoon through preparation for the evolution, entrenchment and defensive positions, offensive maneuvers and, lastly, a live-fire support by fire mission with a maneuver element.The final mission involved a two-part attack on an objective where the designated machinegun squad laid suppressive fire while the maneuver element closed with the enemy at a 90-degree offset.Though only three months into a six-month stint at TBS, 3rd platoon’s performance impressed their
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More than any class before them, the lieutenants of The Basic School’s Charlie Company are getting a first-hand experience of “what it is to have a really good sergeant or staff sergeant to help them lead Marines,” said Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers, commanding officer, TBS. Instruction at the school that teaches every new lieutenant in the Marine Corps how to lead Marines has been undergoing a fundamental change since this spring. Pending approval of Marine Corps Bulletin 5400, submitted in June, Support Battalion is no more, with its 400 or so Marines folded into TBS’s command, and many of the enlisted members of Combat Instructor Company embedded in the school’s training companies as senior enlisted leaders, platoon advisors and squad
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In attempt to compete with dining options the civilian world offers, Marine Corps chow halls are moving toward a more customer-driven model, and this explains many features of the new chow hall at The Basic School. “A lot of Marines came up and said, ‘We don’t want frozen pizza. We want fresh pizza,’” said Master Sgt. Matthew Detwiler, operations officer for Quantico’s Food Services Branch. So, unlike its predecessor in O’Bannon Hall, the new chow hall, located inside the brand-new Lopez Hall, has a fresh pizza station. The eatery in O’Bannon Hall closed Friday, July 12, and the new chow hall opened the following Monday. It also features a “Charleston Market”-themed station, much like the one created at nearby Maxam Hall late last year. And
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With summer officially begun and daytime highs around 90 degrees, those in charge of training are taking cues from color-coded flags placed throughout Marine Corps Base Quantico. These “heat stress flags” indicate the level of intensity that is advisable for outdoor training in given weather conditions with a simple, four-tier system. The system that determines flag conditions, however, is a little more complicated. The wet bulb globe thermometer dates back to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island of the 1950s, when a particularly stifling summer resulted in a high number of heat casualties, said Anna Smith, safety manager at The Basic School. “The elements were knocking them out left and right,” she said. A joint effort between Army
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The season opener for intramural softball on Marine Corps Base Quantico was held June 17, 2013, at Field of Dreams 1 and 2. The American League, which has 12 teams, opened the season and will continue to play every Monday and Wednesday, weather permitting, through to the playoffs, which are scheduled for September, said Robert Anderson, intramural sports director. Games are scheduled for 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, meaning all 24 teams throughout both leagues play twice a week.The playoffs will pit four teams from the American League up against four teams from the National League, which plays every Tuesday and Thursday, weather permitting, said Anderson.This year, the American League is comprised of: OCS, LSG, TBS, M&RA, AFOSI,
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More than 650 officer candidates and officers were processed into the clinics at the Officer Candidates School and The Basic School on May 29, in one of the busiest days of the year for Naval Health Clinic Quantico’s satellite branches. The staff at OCS’s John H. Bradley Branch Clinic refers to its summertime support of the school’s candidates — which swell in numbers from a few hundred during the rest of the year to as many as 1,500 between late May and mid-August — as Operation Bulldog. Enlisted corpsmen came from as far as North Carolina and Connecticut, and providers from the officer ranks came from all over the country, totaling 62 augments to the clinic’s usual staff of about 23, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Wayne Morstad, clinic lead
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Competitive noises filled the courts at the Barber Physical Activities Center on May 28, 2013, as the Marine Corps Systems Command and The Basic School volleyball teams participated in the first game of the evening. Participating in the Quantico intramural volleyball league, the 4-0 MCSC team outplayed the 1-4 TBS team and found themselves victors after the fist set. “Volleyball is a good team sport,” said Tom Frush, MCSC coach. “I’m fortunate to have talented players.The second set was much more competitive than the first with both teams consistently scoring throughout. MCSC kept a steady pace, rotating players throughout the set as TBS gained momentum throughout the game. TBS brought good competition to the game tonight, said Frush.It was
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Marines from Bravo Co. at The Basic School aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico exercised convoy leadership at the Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer at Camp Upsher on May 21, 2013. The VCCT, a virtual exercise program, tests TBS students’ decisions while serving together in a convoy. “We have been here for roughly four months,” said 2nd Lt. Joe Orskey, 6th Platoon, TBS student. “It is important to do this training so we can familiarize ourselves with procedure.”Marines used the combat simulation to prepare for combat.“There’s a lot of problem solving in convoys,” said Capt. Jennifer Kukla, staff platoon commander, 6th Platoon, The Basic School. “We want to make critical thinkers who can take a problem and think out of the box for solutions.”The
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The Marine Corps Leadership Seminar was held at the Wake County Young Men’s Leadership Academy in Raleigh, N.C., April 11. The Marine Corps Leadership Seminar has been hosted by colleges and universities across the country for the past three years; however, this is the first time the event has been hosted at a high school. “We are going to colleges and universities in an effort to guide top talent into the Marine Corps officer and enlisted programs,” said Ret. Col. Dr. Kenneth Dunn, the Marine Corps Leadership Seminar’s director. “The target audience is young men and in a lot of cases it might be better to reach that person before he reaches college.” As a direct result of the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James
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The Basic School molds lieutenants into leaders by teaching the traditions & lessons passed down from generations of Marines.One such tradition is the presentation of a class gift to leave a little piece of the class behind to inspire new officers to keep the Corps’ best interests in mind. There are iconic statues, crisply folded flags and shining brass plaques that adorn the school. One of the little-noticed gifts to the school are the tontines: time capsules holding the aspirations and spirit of the class within, along with a bottle of fine liquor to be consumed under certain circumstances.The tontines - unassuming wooden boxes, often labeled with a note explaining when and under what cicrumstances they are to be opened - rest aside many
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Twenty-nine members of the Military Advisory Committee visited The Basic School on April 4, 2013, to see what the sounds of freedom are all about as they watched the lieutenants attending TBS practices their call for fire.Capt. Courtney Boston, warfighting operations officer, The Basic School and the Range Officer-in-Charge, briefed the members after they arrived at the range.“It’s really important to give community members exposure to the training,” said Boston. “It helps Americans understand what they are getting out of the Marine Corps.“By coming out to the range they are seeing the foundation all Marine officers are trained on and it helps to give that appreciation for what they do.”The group was led by John DeBerry, command visit
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Marines are transitioning from their counterinsurgency mission in Afghanistan and redirecting more of their attention back to seaborne crisis response in the Pacific. 50 Marines who are currently awaiting training in the Infantry Officer Course contribute to this by participating in a proof-of-concept exercise for tactical employment for the MV-22 Osprey in future operations.
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Every Marine has called a rifle his own. He has memorized a serial number, "gone around the world" performing rifle manual, and kept his faithful companion safe against his body during cold nights in the field. Every Marine is a rifleman; however, few put thought into what goes into the rifle he holds.The Marines at The Basic School armory work behind the scenes to make sure every weapon they issue, including rifles, are in peak form."Our mission is to provide support for the lieutenants," said Staff Sgt. Matthew Bitterman, operations chief for TBS armory. "With everything we do, we’re looking to put out the best warfighter possible."Behind School of Infantry East and West, TBS’ armory is the third largest armory in the Marine Corps,
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Beans, bullets and Band-Aids are the hallmarks of supply, and Supply Platoon at The Basic School, where Marine officers are forged, stands as an example of how a seldom seen process can have big effects.“We order the fuel, the trucks, the ammunition and the weapons,” said Sgt. Abdul Coronado, a supply administration and operations clerk with Supply Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, Instructor Battalion, The Basic School. “We account for everything an officer carries or uses, from M16s to night-vision goggles.”The beans - food in the form of meals ready to eat [MREs] - are routed through supply to be distributed to hungry Marines in the field.“It’s three MREs a day per officer, 330 officers per company and that’s a lot to account
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The call comes in over the radio and Marines spring into action. The section chief shouts coordinates as his Marines prepare to fire. One Marine hauls a 155mm round up to the feed tray arm and, as the arm drops into place, the round is placed into the breech. Two Marines rush forward with a ramming bar, pushing it into the cannon with a distinct “THUNK.” The charge is set behind the round and the breach is sealed, ready to fire. The firing lanyard is placed and with a swift tug – BOOM - a round weighing about 100-pounds rockets off to its target. More than 20 Marines with Artillery Instructor Battery, Combat Instructor Company, Instructor Battalion, The Basic School brought out the big guns to Range 4 for a call for fire exercise Nov.
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The Marine Corps Recruiting Command recently wrapped up its Key Influencers Workshop, which ran here July 18-22. The Key Influencers Workshop provided a week-long look into how the Marine Corps assesses and trains its officers and steps the Corps is taking to increase diversity representation in its officer ranks. Attending the workshop were influential leaders from historically black colleges and universities and African-American communities. “We are trying to educate community leaders of the opportunities and possibilities that are open to the best and brightest of any background,” said Capt. Joseph Wydeven, diversity officer, MCRC. “We want these leaders to understand what we already know – that women, African Americans, Hispanics, and
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Every year, hundreds of enlisted Marines join the officer ranks through the warrant officer program. Warrant officers are sought for their physical, technical and mental capabilities, according to Chief Warrant Officer 3 David L. Pearson Jr., financial management resource officer, Marine Corps Recruiting Command. Those who make the move to warrant officer are the most knowledgeable and experienced Marines in their respective job fields that the Corps has to offer. “As a technical expert, you will be sought out for knowledge as a subject matter expert in your occupational specialty,” said Pearson. There are four programs of warrant officers for Marines: Regular Active Duty, Active Reserve, Marine Gunner and Career Recruiter. Each program has
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