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DoD Issues Instructions on Military Support of Civilian Law Enforcement …
DoD Issues Instructions on Military Support of Civilian
Pakalert Press ^ | April 15, 2013Posted on Monday, April 15, 2013 9:22:23 PM by True Grit
gophum (Photo credit: GunnyG1345)
The Department of Defense has issued an instruction clarifying the rules for the involvement of military forces in civilian law enforcement. The instruction establishes “DoD policy, assigns responsibilities, and provides procedures for DoD support to Federal, State, tribal, and local civilian law enforcement agencies, including responses to civil disturbances within the United States.
The new instruction titled “Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies” was released at the end of February, replacing several older directives on military assistance to civilian law enforcement and civil disturbances.
Obama sending more F-16s and Tanks to Muslim Brotherhood Egypt
Why is Obama arming the enemies of freedom? This cat is dangerous and scary. Why the support of Islamic revolutions whose stated goal is sharia and a universal caliphate? What’s he doing to protect the oppressed religious minorities in peril? America, time to remove your morphine drip. Wake up!
mussobama (Photo credit: GunnyG1345)
More tanks for Egypt this year than the entire Marine Corps has…
For the new Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood dominated government, the Obama Administration is ensuring another $1.3 billion annual shipment of state-of-the-art weaponry.
Prison Planet.com » New Documents Show Military Is Flying Drones Throughout US
Thousands of pages of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents released under the Freedom Of Information Act highlight that the military is extensively flying surveillance drones in non-restricted skies throughout the country.
RPREVOLU (Photo credit: GunnyG1345)
The records, released by The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), reveal that three branches of the military are operating drones within civillian airspace. Those branches are the Air Force, the Marine Corps, and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
Gunny G: WE’RE ALL “GRUNTS” NOW !!!!! …(Maybe?)
Every Marine A Rifleman: Under New Policy, All Marines To Receive Infantry MOS | The Duffel Blog
QUANTICO, VA – The Marine Corps is debating a controversial policy under which all Marines will be designated as “Infantry Marines” and receive the infantry Military Occupation Specialty(MOS), as either a primary or secondary occupation.
GyGRet (Photo credit: GunnyG1345)The policy would affect the estimated 160,000 Marines who serve in non-infantry occupations throughout the Marine Corps and would let them earn the infantry MOS following their graduation from either Marine Combat Training for enlisted or The Basic Schoolfor officers.
garyjohnson (Photo credit: GunnyG1345)“For too long the Marine Corps has had to deal with the so-called ‘grunt versus POG’ divide between our infantry and non-infantry Marines,” said Commandant General James Amos. “However, starting next year we’re all grunts.”
gophum (Photo credit: GunnyG1345)Related articles
THE DAY I STOLE THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS’ GLASSES CASE
Copyright: 2005 Dr. R. E. Sullivan
MAY 1, 1965.
THE DAY I STOLE THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS’ GLASSES CASE
Until the recent death of General Greene, and the even more recent announcement that, as CMC, General Greene and other ranking officers in the Marine Corps, had kept certain highly classified/sensitive/code word documents in their custody “off the record” and in direct violation of regulations regarding the accounting for such documents I felt that I could not write the below. The recent Bulletin of the Marine Corps Historical Program, Fortitudine, Historical Bulletin Volume XXXL, Number 3, 2005, refers “special messengers” as effecting transfers of these documents.
Actually, I wish the author had included the word “couriers,” because that is what I considered myself, since almost all of my work was done within the confines of the government buildings within the District of Columbia.
On August 1, 1964, and for the next fifteen months, my title was the Deputy Director of the Marine Corps Command Center, and Operational Spokesman for Headquarters Marine Corps, and in the latter role it opened many doors.
I knew that when I read the book Dereliction of Duty, published in 1997, that General Greene had talked to the author, and probably made certain documents available to him, because of content in the book, particularly conversational interchanges between General Greene and President Johnson that was reported in some detail in the book and
I believed could only have come from General Greene.
In short, I no longer feel constrained to not tell of the very interesting,at least to me, four years and six months tour I spent in Headquarters Marine Corps between June, 1961, and November, 1965.
Sully
More…
via THE DAY I STOLE THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS’ GLASSES CASE.
(“Well, the marines do not belong to the navy, contrary to what many people think. “) Marines: The USNs Neo-Marines
Why not continue just using marines for this? Well, the marines do not belong to the navy, contrary to what many people think. Both the navy and marines are part of the Department of the Navy (the Department of the Army and Department of the Air Force each have only one component.) The marines used to be part of the navy, but over the years, the marines obtained more and more autonomy. They are now, for all practical purposes, a separate service.
SSgt Frank Wuterich and Our Future in Iraq (Defend Our Marines Exclusive)
Here in the United States, Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich is waiting for court-martial. He has been waiting five years. In Baghdad, State Department officials negotiating a new Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government need “talking points” to convince them that our country is all about prosecuting service members accused of crimes against the Iraqi people.
Frank Wuterich is a talking point. He first came to the attention of official Washington when he was accused of leading a fireteam of Marines on a rampage through Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005. He was indicted a year later for multiple murder and related offenses. Wuterich has been in limbo at Camp Pendleton, Calif. ever since. He can’t get promoted, he can’t get out and he can’t catch a break……………..
via SSgt Frank Wuterich and Our Future in Iraq (Defend Our Marines Exclusive).
Gunny G: Semper Fi Does Not Mean Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) (via ~ BLOGGER.GUNNY.G.1984+ ~ (BLOG & EMAIL))
Gunny G: Let’s be damn sure that no man’s ghost will ever say “If your training program had only done its job.” (via ~ BLOGGER.GUNNY.G.1984+ ~ (BLOG & EMAIL))
Gunny G: One Marine’s Remarks Regarding D-Day At Normandy, etc. (via ~ BLOGGER.1984.GUNNY.G ~ (BLOG & EMAIL))
Unbelievable: US Marines preparing to indoctrinate soldiers to accept homosexuality
Every commander executing a plan that he considers bad or disastrous is criminal. He must point out the flaws, insist that it be changed and at last resort resign rather than be the instrument of the destruction of his own men.
– Napoleon
Even we didn’t think that the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) would lead to anything like this so quickly.
How can even the US Marines be fully on board? Many of you may have seen this recent official announcement video by the Marine Corps on how they intend to do their best to integrate homosexuality into their units.
It’s truly mind-numbing watching the commanders of America’s armed forces cave in to an immediate and thorough large-scale indoctrination into the destructive tentacles of homosexuality. It’s hard to figure out whether they actually believe this, or they’re selling their souls. In the end it doesn’t matter. They are helping destroy the US military as we know it.
What do you suppose Napoleon (or General Patton) would say about all this?
(Excerpt) Read more at massresistance.org …
via Unbelievable: US Marines preparing to indoctrinate soldiers to accept homosexuality.
Gunny G: On Col Heinl’s Soldiers of the Sea…
NOTE:
Retrieved from an old Gunny G webpage…
***** *****
I like the book, Soldiers Of The Sea, by Robert Debs Heinl, Jr., Colonel, USMC, for many reasons. I personally consider it to be the most thorough and detailed account of the Marine Corps as it was. And, I also like it, if for no other reason, the opening pages contain the photograph by Lou Lowery of the actual flag raising at Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima on 23 February 1945–not, mind you, the photograph by Joe Rosenthal of the “replacement” flag raising which occurred later that same morning. And, the scope of Heinl’s book is from 1775 thru 1962–just as well, after 1962…well, things began to change in many ways for the old Corps soon after that. In any case, this author presents a most thorough and detailed account of Corps history with information on topics of interest that I’ve seen in no other writings.
I was surprised to read that Colonel Heinl referred to the service hat, or campaign hat as it is more popularly known, as the “old slouch hat.” Prior to my reading of that I had thought of that term soley as a reference to the Australian campaign-type hat; and this caused me to look into the matter a bit further. But then I recalled that there was that old song by Hank Snow, from back in the 1950s…
"Just a-Bummin' Around (Pete Graves) Got an old slouch hat, got my roll on my shoulder I'm as free as the breeze, and I'll do as I please Just a-bummin' around. I got a million friends, don't feel any older I've got nothin' to lose, not even the blues Just a-bummin' around.. Whenever worries start to botherin' me I grab my coat, my old slouch hat And hit the trail again, you see. I ain't got a dime, don't care where I'm goin' I'm as free as the breeze and I'll do as I please Just a-bummin' around. From Sing Your Heart Out Counry Boy Recorded by T. Texas Tyler; Jimmy Dean and many others. Copyright Pete Graves GG APR99"
“The word slouch refers to a hat with a brim that droops down all the way around unless rolled or held .The slouch hat was worn a lot during the American Civil War.Many soldiers, even up to General rank, turned up one leaf and wore some sort of feather, cockade or embellishment.”
Re http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-uniforms/non_oz_slouch.htm
The Campaign Hat, M1911
http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/camph.htm
Col. Heinl writes of WW II and that Marine officers were urged to contribute their swords to the nation’s scap-metal drive. He continues, “Close on the heels of the sword’s departure came that of the Sam Browne belt. Still another casualty was the field hat. The old slouch hat, which had sheltered American Marines ever since the Spanish-American War, gave way to stamped cardboard sun helmets, which the troops nicknamed ‘elephant hats.’”
Interestingly, he relates that, “But the major change in the Marine family of uniforms was the retirement of khaki from the time-honored status as a field uniform to garrison duty. Although the 4th Marines, some troops on Guadalcanal, and some of the senior defense battalions fought in khaki, the greeen utility clothing, or ‘dungarees,’ adopted in 1942, became the combat uniform of Marines. With the new dungarees came the shapeless utility cap, an unsightly nuisance destined to plague the Corps for years to come.”
(Note:
1. I know that some of Carlson’s Raiders went ashore on Makin Island wearing khakis dyed black.
2. My DIs in 1952, and a few others thereafter, always referred to the dungaree cap as a “Gung-Ho Cap.”) -RWG
“Still another change in headgear was the new steel helmet, more practical and better protection than World War I’s ‘tin helmets,’ in which Marines fought the early actions of 1941-42. To put a proper Marine imprint on the new helmet came the camouflaged cloth helmet-cover, worn by Marines but by no other Service; often seen in the most desperate fighting in the Pacific, this simple cloth cover came to distinguish and symbolize the assault Marine for years to come, until plagiarized by others…”
GUNNY G: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES !!!!!
Happy Birthday Marines 1775 Vs. 1798
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/dickg/truebday.html
Happy Birthday Marines and Others!!!!!
THE MARINES! SINCE 1775… OR 1798?
THE TRUE BIRTHDAY OF THE CORPS!
July 11, 1798?
November 10, 1775
From MarineLINK
“… When the peace treaty with Britain finally was signed in 1783, only the Continental frigate Alliance was still in commission. A small Marine guard commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Elwood stayed with the frigate until Congress decided to sell the vessel in September. With the sale of the Alliance, the Continental Navy and Marines went out of existence.”
From, The United States Marines A History, by BGen Ed Simmons…
“…As for the Marines, only the slenderest thread of continuity can be claimed by virtue of “marines” serving in the Revenue Cutter Service…There were to be Marine “quotas”…not “detachments” for there was no corps from which they could be detached…
…on 11 July 1798, the true birthday of the Corps,
President John Adams approved…establishing and organizing a Marine Corps.”
-Dick Gaines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Customs and Traditions
Marine Corps Birthday Celebration
“The U.S. Marine Corps begins preparations for its “birthday party” every summer. Activities become more feverish as the fall hues arrive. By early November, every Marine is either rehearsing his role in the “party” or pressing, polishing, and spit-shining in order to appear at his or her best for the Birthday Ball. This has not always been the case, however. In fact, Marines have not always celebrated their founding on November the 10th.
Formal commemoration of the birthday of the Marine Corps began on 10 November 1921. That particular date was chosen because on that day the Second Continental Congress resolved in 1775 to raise two battalions of Continental Marines.
Until 1921 the birthday of the Corps had been celebrated on another date. An unidentified newspaper clipping from 1918 refers to the celebration of the 120th birthday of the Marine Corps on 11 July “as usual with no fuss.” It is doubtful that there was any real celebration at all. Further inspection of documents and publications prior to 1921 shows no evidence of ceremonies, pageants, or parties. The July date was commemorated between 1798 and 1921 as the birthday of the Corps. During the Revolution, Marines had fought on land and sea, but at the close of the Revolution the Marine Corps and the Navy were all but disbanded. On 11 July 1798, President John Adams approved a bill that recreated the Corps, thereby providing the rationale for this day being commemorated as the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps.
On 21 October 1921, Major Edwin McClellan, Officer-in-Charge, Historical Section, Headquarters Marine Corps, sent a memorandum to Major General Commandant John A. Lejeune, suggesting that the original birthday on 10 November 1775 be declared a Marine Corps holiday to be celebrated throughout the Corps. McClellan further suggested that a dinner be held in Washington to commemorate the event. Guests would include prominent men from the Marine Corps, Army, and Navy, and descendants of the Revolution.
Accordingly, on 1 November 1921, General Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921. The order summarized the history, mission, and tradition of the Corps, and directed that it be read to every command on 10 November each subsequent year in honor of the birthday of the Marine Corps. This order has been duly carried out.
Some commands expanded the celebration during the next few years. In 1923 at Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania, the celebration of the Marine Corps’ 148th birthday took the form of a dance in the barracks that evening. Marines at the Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, staged a sham battle on the parade ground in commemoration of the birthday. The battle lasted about twenty minutes, and was witnessed by Portsmouth and Norfolk citizens. At Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the birthday was celebrated on the 12th, since a special liberty to Santiago had been arranged on the 10th. The morning activities included field and water sports, and a shooting match. In the afternoon the Marines won a baseball game, 9-8, over a Cuban team. In the evening, members of the command put on a variety show followed by four boxing bouts.
The first so-called “Birthday Ball,” such as suggested by Major McClellan, was probably held in 1925 in Philadelphia. No records have been located of one prior to 1925. Guests included the Secretaries of War and Navy, Major General Commandant Lejeune, famous statesmen, soldiers, and sailors. The principle event was the unveiling of a tablet on the site of Tun Tavern. The tablet was a gift from the Thomas Roberts Reath Post, American Legion, whose membership was composed exclusively of Marines. The celebration was held in conjunction with the annual convention of the Marine Corps League. A parade included Marines, Regular Army, and Navy detachments, National Guard, and other military organizations. The evening banquet was held at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel and a ball followed at the Bellevue-Stratford.
It is not possible to determine precisely when the first cake ceremony was held, but the first on record was held at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., in 1937. Major General Commandant Thomas Holcomb presided at an open house for Marine Corps officers. Ceremonies included the cutting of a huge cake designed after the famous Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.
From 1937, observances of the Marine Corps Birthday appeared to develop spontaneously throughout the Corps as if they had a life of their own. The celebrations were publicized through every media. Newsreels, motion pictures, and displays were prepared to summarize the history of the Corps. In 1943, standard blank Marine Corps scrap books were forwarded to all districts to be filled with 168th anniversary clippings, scripts, pictures, programs, and other memorabilia, and returned to Headquarters. Unfortunately none of these scrapbooks remain in official files.
In 1951, a formal Birthday Ball Pageant was held at Headquarters Marine Corps. Similar to the pageant today, the script described the Marines’ period uniforms and the cake ceremony. Although this is the first substantive record of a pageant, Leatherneck of 10 November 1925 pictures Marines at a pageant in Salt Lake City, Utah, which had taken place “several years ago.”
On 28 October 1952, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., directed that the celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday be formalized throughout the Corps, and provided an outline for the cake ceremony, as well as other formal observances. This outline was included in the Marine Corps Drill Manual, approved 26 January 1956.
Traditionally, the first piece of Birthday cake is presented to the oldest Marine present and the second piece to the youngest Marine present. When and where this tradition began remains unknown. Some records indicate this practice, and others vary it depending on the dignitaries present at the ball. First pieces of cake have been presented to newlyweds, the Secretary of the Navy, governors, and others, but generally speaking, the first pieces of cake go to the oldest and youngest Marines at the ball.
At present, celebrations of the Marine Corps Birthday on 10 November differ at posts and stations throughout the Corps. All commemorations include the reading of Marine Corps Order No. 47, and the Commandant’s message to those assembled. Most commands sponsor a Birthday Ball of some sort, complete with pageant and cake ceremony as prescribed in the Marine Corps Manual.
Like the Corps itself, the Birthday Ball developed from simple origins to become the polished, professional function that all Marines commemorate on 10 November around the world.“
(Read Major General John A. Lejeune’s Birthday Message)
Reference Section-History and Museums Division
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Sen. Webb Advocates Beefing Up Navy, Cutting Back Army And Marines
Sen. Webb Advocates Beefing Up Navy, Cutting Back Army And Marines
DefenseAlert, Oct. 27, 2010 — Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) today advocated scaling back the size of the Army and the Marine Corps while increasing the size of the Navy.
Gunny G’s Marines History and Traditions: Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, USMC CQB Pioneer…
Journal of Non-lethal Combatives, Dec 2001EJMAS Tip JarAnthony J. Drexel Biddle, USMC CQB Pioneer
By Joseph R. Svinth
http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_Svinth_1201.htm
Copyright © EJMAS 2001. All rights reserved
.Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle 1874-1948 was a pioneer of bayonet and hand-to-hand combat training in the US Marine Corps, and reading the New York Times February 15, 1942, one learns that:When the first World War started, Colonel Biddle opened a military training camp near Lansdowne [Pennsylvania], where he trained 4,000 young Philadelphians in military manoeuvres.
His system then, as now, was based on long hours of callisthenics and gymnastics to harden young bodies for the rigors of the advanced training.When he judged his charges ready for the more arduous training Colonel Biddle taught them the use of the machete, saber, dagger, bayonet, and hand grenade. He taught them also the techniques of jiu-jitsu and the French punch-and-kick man-killing attack known as savat [sic].
He was the first to give Gene Tunney, later to become heavyweight champion of the world, boxing lessons at Quantico [a US Marine base in Virginia].That said, it is my opinion that Biddle was primarily an enthusiastic promoter. As I wrote in Kronos 1900-1939:Biddle was a Philadelphia socialite who fancied himself a boxer, and in 1906 he began taking a first-rate professional boxer named “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien on visits to Sunday School classes at Philadelphia’s Holy Trinity Church.
Founder of a movement called Athletic Christianity that eventually boasted 300,000 members, Biddle loved telling the children how Christ had been an athlete who “had gone into the jungle [sic] for forty days to train for a match with the Devil.”Biddle also hosted boxing teas at his home. His guests included many of the best white pugilists in the country. Although Biddle was not averse to sparring with black men, he was a man of his times, and would not invite one to eat at his table.
So, when Biddle sparred with Jack Johnson in Merchantville, New Jersey in 1909, he did so incognito, using the pseudonym “Tim O’Biddle.” According to his daughter’s account, Biddle came out fast, causing Johnson to tell him, “‘Now, you boy, there; don’t get yourself stirred up.’ But Father was always stirred up, and Johnson finally had to fetch him a smart whack on the side of the head to settle him.”
MILINET: Marines of Conscience or Homosexual Marines By: Maj. Anthony F. Milavic, USMC (Ret.)
Marine in drunken incident with girl, 14
Marine in drunken incident with girl, 14Townsville Bulletin Australia ^ | 5th October 2010 | Alexis GillhamPosted on Monday, October 04, 2010 8:49:27 PM by naturalman1975A US marine here as part of the military’s Exercise Hamel was taken into police custody and questioned after a drunken incident with a 14-year-old girl on The Strand on Sunday night.
The 23-year-old marine allegedly grabbed the girl who was skating past on a skateboard.He was taken to the Townsville watch house and interrogated for 90 minutes.The older sister of the girl who was present is understood to have asked that charges not be laid.
It has sparked concern as to how the Department of Defence would monitor the 6000-strong military contingent.Northern Region Crime Coordinator Acting Inspector Mick Walker said the incident was believed to have taken place outside the Seaview Hotel.”At 8pm a member of the US Marine Corps, who we believe had been drinking at the Seaview, was involved in an incident with a 14-year-old girl,” he said.
“She had been skateboarding out the front when the suspect walked out.”We’re not sure exactly what happened but he’s touched her on the arm … she pushed him off and he staggered away.”Police attended the Seaview Hotel where they located the offender and took him into custody for investigation.Inspector Walker said the girl, who had been with her 22-year-old sister, made no formal complaint and the soldier was released at 9.30pm.
Exercise Hamel is the largest military training exercise to ever take place within the Australian Defence Force.More than 6000 troops from Australia’s Army, Navy and Airforce will descend on Townsville over the next month.Troops have also arrived from New Zealand and the United States Marine Corps to be part of the intense military exercise.
Excerpt
Gunny G: “A NEW CORPS WITHOUT GUNNERY SERGEANTS”
Friday, February 06, 2004
Gunny G: “A NEW CORPS WITHOUT GUNNERY SERGEANTS” … by R.W. Gaines, GnySgt USMC (Ret.)
I have long known that the Marine dress blues were redesigned in 1947, but I was not aware of the reasons behind this. But alas, there is a story here too. Myself, I have always thought that the old blues blouse w/o the pockets looked better than the new version. I have mentioned this before on my sites and forums, and I have received a few responses back from old salts stating that they had been issued old style blues after 1947, and most disagreed with my opinion, preferring the appearance of the new blouse w/pockets over the previous blouse.
Once again, a few facts related to the above have come to my attention from the writings of Colonel Robert Debs Heinl USMC (Ret.), deceased.
Col Heinl writes in his book, Soldiers Of The Sea, that in the years immediately following World War II, and this was during that period of the unification battle where the Marine Corps was threatened with being legislated out of existence and/or being absorbed into the Army, the War Department had convened a board to survey the post-war lot of the enlisted man. The recommendations of this board, which Col Heinl describes as “mischievous insofar as the regular forces were concerned.” It called for an almost complete leveling between officers and enlisted men, with a concomitant abandonment of disciplinary traditions proven in peace and war. Saluting was to be deemphasized; officer and enlisted uniforms were to be made alike; badges of enlisted rank made small and inconspicuous; and, officer and NCO priviliges slashed. “From the “egaltarian tenor of the Doolittle report, one had the impressions of the peasants and workers remolding the Tsarist armies of the 1917. Everything was there but political commissars and comrades.”
Col Heinl goes on to say that Marine uniforms were then made to make it difficult to tell officers from enlisted men; officer-style pockets were put on redesigned enlisted blues; enlisted chevrons were kept small, and; the salty and distinctive barracks cap was abolished in favor of a more conservative one like the officers.
The Corps was (almost forced) to accept the Army ranks of master sergeant, technical sergeant, and staff sergeant, but accept them it did. It had been recommended that the rank titles of chief sergeant, sergeant 1st, 2d, and 3d class be adopted, and this nearly came to be. No wonder the CMC accepted the Army rank titles as a compromise.
“That this stroke created a new Corps without gunnery sergeants and abolished rank titles in some cases going back to 1798 (such as quartermaster sergeant) was seemingly overlooked.”
As a matter of fact, “Doomed by the war, but not killed until a year afterward was the prolifery of enlisted ranks which had gradually flowered since 1922.” When the rank titles of master sergeant, technical sergeant, staff sergeant, sergeant, and corporal were adopted for Marine NCOs, so too were gone the enlisted rank titles, in addition to the quartermaster sergeant already mentioned above, of sergeant major, first sergeant, master gunnery sergeant, master technical sergeant, paymaster sergeant, gunnery sergeant, supply sergeant, drum major, platoon sergeant, chief cook, field music sergeant, field cook, field music corporal, assistant cook, field music first class, and field music.
I take note here that the Marine Corps had indeed previously already used the rank titles of M/Sgt, T/Sgt, and S/Sgt (in addition to many other rank titles) for some years, but these were known to have been originally Army ranks. What was being imposed upon the Marine Corps here was the then current rank titles in use by the U.S. Army.
Interestingly, the Marine Corps had combined two of these previous Army ranks to create their Master Technical Sergeant rank. And, of course the Master Gunnery Sergeant was a variation of both the unique Marine gunnery sergeant rank which dates to 1898, and the (Army) master sergeant rank.
-RWG
Surprising it is that these cases of politics as usual, political correctness, or just plain bullshit, depending upon your personal perception and choice of terms, seems to appear not only without ending through the years, but also seemingly almost without beginning–unless, of course, in general, you would go all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
Some things never change.
Semper Fidelis
R.W. “Dick” Gaines
GnySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952-72
Gunny G…
Gunny G: WHY THE TITLE “GLOBE AND ANCHOR” ON MY SITE?
Gunny G:
WHY THE TITLE “GLOBE and ANCHOR” ON MY SITE?
Many have asked why I have not indicated, eagle, globe and anchor, rather than just “GLOBE and ANCHOR,” implying that I have erred.No error, it reads as I intended. Apparently unknown to most Marines of today, there was a time in the Corps when Marines referred to their emblem (EMBLEM, not “ega”–but that’s yet another story) as simply the “Globe and Anchor,” and there are still some old timers and writers around who use the term. There are many writings available, most of them older writings, but some more recent, where you will find this.
One of the best examples of this, perhaps, may be–and there are many more–a quote in the recent book by Colonel Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR, Chesty. It reads as follows:
“Colonel Robert D. Heinl, the premier historian of the Old Corps and a former subordinate of Puller, believed that Chesty was one of the greatest raconteurs that ever wore the Globe and Anchor.”
(Random House, 2001, Preface, page xi)Globe and Anchor was still a common expression even in this old boot’s first days in the Corps of the early 1950s. (I find the term a reminder to me of the term used by the Royal Marines for their emblem, known as the Globe and Laurel.
Matter of fact, I do not recall our emblem being specifically referred to as an eagle, globe and anchor until the very late 1950s or early ’60s, on TV recruiting promotions, ads, etc.It was a little jingle that was sung to the words, “wear the eagle, globe and anchor of the Corps…for service in the air, on ship or shore…”
To be sure, the popular term has now become “eagle, globe and anchor,” and considered by the majority to be the correct term, even shortened to “ega”and, apparently, anything else being incorrect in the eyes of the younger Marines.
Not this Marine. As always, I’ll fall in w/the old salts. Besides, “Globe and Anchor” has a fine ring to it, it clicks
SEMPER FIDELIS
R.W. Gaines GnySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952–1972
*****
Gunny G: “WORLD WAR ONE MARINES” My Favorite Globe and Anchor Story
“Pershing was mercilessly thinning the ranks of
senior officers he considered too old or infirm
for field command. Brigadier General Doyen was
one of the casualties. He was invalided home and
replaced by a Pershing favorite, Army Brig. Gen.
James Harbord.
of staff and he had gone from major to brigadier
general in a year. Col. Buck Neville, now the
commander of the 5th Marines and far senior to
Harbord at the war’s beginning, had every reason
to think that he should have been given command
of the brigade.
Neville handed him a pair of Marine Corps
emblems, it was half a greeting, half a
challenge. Harbord promptly put them on his
collar….
jaunty hybrid in his poilu’s helmet and Marine
emblems, moved up to command of the 2d Division.
Buck Neville took over the Marine brigade and
would soon be promoted to brigadier general.”
-Simmons”
Ref
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/dickg/notes.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1952–1972
Gunny G: One Marine’s Remarks Regarding D-Day At Normandy, etc.
Sunday, June 06, 2004
ONE MARINE’S REMARKS REGARDING D-DAY, NORMANDY, ETC.
This weekend (June 2004) marks the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion of WW II. There has been much ado in the media and so forth regarding the massive Normandy “amphibious invasion,” Ike’s brilliant planning and execution, courage, heroism, etc.–and rightfully so.The Normandy invasion is often regarded as the largest amphibious operation in history; some have even compared the amphibious landings in the Pacific as miniscule in comparison.
In perusing the book, Soldiers Of The Sea-The United States Marine Corps, 1775-1962, by Robert Debs Heinl, Jr., Colonel, USMC (The National Aviation Publishing Company of America, Baltimore, Maryland, 1991, page 513), I find an interesting remark by the author regarding the above.
“Under atomic attack, the World war II amphibious assault was finished. Normandy (more a ferrying operation than a true oceanic amphibious assault in any case) and Okinawa would never be repeated.”
Of course, there was another amphibious landing, at Inchon in 1950.
Although Col. Heinl’s mention of Normandy, above, is not much more than an aside comment and not the main thrust of his point regarding amphibious assault in general, his remark does, I think, sum up and define the major difference between the Normandy Invasion and Marine Corps amphibious operations in the Pacific. And he does so in a very few words, and in a more correct light than is usually perceived.
I like Colonel Heinl’s insights into historical Marine Corps topics as he is always most thorough, and he delves into areas usually left untouched by other writers. Then, too, Heinl’s book sports a photo by S/Sgt Lou Lowery (Leatherneck magazine) of the Iwo Jima Flag Raising; not the Joe Rosenthal version, mind you, but the first flag raising that preceeded the “replacemnet flag” raising some time later, which was captured on motion-picture film by Sgt Genaust, and photographed by Rosenthal. But, then, this is an area of special interest to me.
And also, part of the book title says it all, and immediately gains my attention–”…1775-1962,” for it was those years that I find as most significant, and interesting for me.
Semper Fidelis
Richard Gaines
GnySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952-72
~~~~~~~~~~
Gunny G: 11 Attempts To Disband The Marines Or Merge With The Army…
“Beginning with the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the Marines had survived eleven serious proposals to disband the Corps or merge it with the Army.5″
“…Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who was inspecting Green Beach on Iwo Jima that morning in 1945, saw the Stars and Stripes go up atop Mount Suribachi and heard the beleaguered troops below come alive with whistles and cheers and shouts of joy. He turned to Marine General Holland M. Smith and said, ‘The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years!’1″
Gunny G: THE ORDERLY SERGEANT – USMC
Gunny G: THE ORDERLY SERGEANT – USMC
THE ORDERLY SERGEANT – USMC
When the Marine Corps was reactivated in 1798, the American Navy consisted of a handful of frigates under orders to patrol the Atlantic seaboard. During the second war with England, Marines served aboard Yankee frigates in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Following the war, the Navy was charged with the protection of American interests througout the world.
Many of these vessels had no Marine officer. Instead, a sergeant was responsible for the conduct of the ship’s detachment. Thus, a sergeant serving on a sloop-of-war off Java drew the same pay as a sergeant in the Washington barracks, but his responsibilities were many times greater. To remedy this situation, the Marine Corps in 1833 created the grade of orderly sergeant. Thirty “orderly sergeants and 1st sergeants of guards at sea” were to be paid $16 per month, the same amount as the drum major and fife major. The 41 “other sergeants” received $13 per month.
Gunny G: FIRST MARINE SERGEANT MAJOR ~ EARLY MARINES ENLISTED RANKS
EARLY MARINES ENLISTED RANKS — FIRST MARINE SERGEANT MAJOR
EARLY MARINES ENLISTED RANKS
FIRST MARINE SERGEANT MAJOR
There evolved from the Continental Marines of 1775, the enlisted titles of sergeant, corporal, drummer, fifer, and private. When the U.S. Marine Corps was established in 1798, the old titles were retained; but for some unknown reason both sergeants and corporals were placed in the same pay grade at ten dollars per month. Also, a new law in 1798 provided for staff noncommissioned officers in the event that the Marine Corps or any part of it was called upon to serve on land with the Army.
Gunny G: George B. Clark Newsletter…
I haven’t spent much time lately sending out any information as to what I have been up to. Various reasons: mostly lies, but essentially, my email system can’t handle much in the way of general mailings.
It’s on the telephone lines, and notoriously slow. Anyway, I have been kept busy and away from interfering in what my wife does best, cooking etc. So, in order to waste time I’ve been busy writing.
My latest tomes are A Battle History of the USMC, 1775–1945. Available in hardcover from McFarland and no doubt Amazon and a few other sources, at $75.00 plus shipping. I have a couple of copies and will sell them to you for that price. For any of you that happen to be of Irish ancestry, I have also had a book published by Mercier Press in Cork, Ireland tilted Irish Soldiers in Europe, 17th – 19th Century.
Soft cover, illustrations, maps, 351pages. Amazon has that probably at $25. If you happen to be English and want to find out why the Irish are so great, you might also want a copy.
Anyway, I am working and publishing a few other things that you might find some interest in. The latest is a project which I thought might interest many of you. It is a series of biographical units describing the events of various Marines who began their careers enlisted and cracked the line to become officers. Some are very widely known, some lessor or not commonly known. Examples range from the earliest, including John Hughes, to the latest who, I believe, has just shipped out to Afghanistan. There is even one example from the 19th Century and a friend who is recently retired and works for Homeland Security [not the same person].
The book is titled Pride of the Marines, from Enlisted man to Officer. It is perfect bound, has color covers, front and back, photos of many of the “mustangs” and close to 200 pages. The price postpaid is $38.00.
If you would like to see a listing of those individuals included, request by email to brasshat@kingcon.com.
The same if you wish to see a pdf of the covers. Sorry, no pdf of the book. At any rate please always use that email address. I am going to try to produce more of my own books for Marine enthusiasts. Publishers are less interested in biographical material whereas I, and many of you, recognize that people make history and consequently their lives are important. I didn’t realize what a great man “Ironman” William Arthur Lee was until I wrote about him for “Pride.” Now I believe he may be worthy of a full-blown biography. Other books coming along:Characters of the Corps which has biographical sketches of Wilburt Brown, “Jim” Crowe, and a few more like that. Heroes of the Corps with a series of short sketches of many of the Corps’ heroes from the earliest times till Vietnam and perhaps later. If you might have any interest in any of these, I’d like to know.
George B. Clark
Marine general opposes repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
Gen. James Amos, who is poised to become the new Marine Corps commandant, opposes repealing the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bars openly gay and lesbian soldiers from the military.
The Senate Armed Services Committee, which held a hearing Tuesday on the nomination of Amos to become commandant, released 37 pages of policy questions the general answered in advance.”
In my personal view the current law and associated policy have supported the unique requirements of the Marine Corps and thus I do not recommend its repeal,” Amos wrote.”My primary concern with proposed repeal is the potential disruption to cohesion that may be caused by significant change during a period of expended combat operations,” Amos said in his answer to the committee’s advance questions….Amos said he had heard that at Marine bases and in Marines’ responses to an online survey, the feeling “is predominantly negative.”
He added: “But I don’t know that as a fact.”
Excerpt
Gunny G: THIS MARINE DON’T SEMPER FI !!!!!
Gunny G: THIS MARINE DON’T SEMPER FI !!!!!
To me, Semper Fi is not an abbreviation for Semper Fidelis, and it smacks of the old saying the hippies had back in the ’60s with their “Sorry ‘Bout Dat”–which meant about the same as the original meaning of the WW II Semper Fi.
I understand it’s a hard think to drop once yer indoctrinated, but just not me cup O’ tea!
Explanation Follows:
http://gunnyg.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/gunny-g-semper-fi-does-not-mean-semper-fidelis-always-faithful/
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Gunny G: A Few Good Men ~ The Damn Few… (via ~ The GUNNY “G” BLOG & E-MAIL ~)
reblog
GUNNY G: That Famous Presidential Marines Quote?
NOW… ABOUT THAT FAMOUS MARINES PRESIDENTIAL QUOTE! “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they’ve made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem.” -Author Unknown
President Ronald Reagan seems to be universally credited with the above quote, and the quote itself is generally shown with Reagan’s name below it. But, was he the originator of that saying?
No, he was not!
He did speak those words in 1985 or whenever alright, but he was not the first one to do so. I, personally, know that the above “quote” was known to Marines long prior to 1983/1985.
In fact, when I heard Reagan use it, I recall that I jokingly remarked to the effect that he would likely then be credited with it. But I never really thought that all reference to the original speaker of those words would be lost. Today, a search of the Internet would seem to indicate Reagan as the original speaker/writer of those words, and it must appear that way on a thousand Marines’ websites that I’ve seen!
Now that the saying has found its way into print together with Reagan’s name, the world believes what it sees is fact, and If the true reference is still out there somewhere, it is in indeed buried.
I am surprised that I can now find so few old-time Marines who remember it before Reagan. Most likely it was first written or voiced by a Marine–but possibly someone else– in a…
Excerpt ~ Continued @ Link…
‘Chosin’: GI Film Festival Winner Hits Theaters
“Chosin,” winner of Best Documentary Feature at the 2010 GI Film Festival opens in theaters this week. Produced by combat decorated Marines and NY City friends Brian Iglesias and Anton Sattler, this Academy qualifying theatrical exhibition is sponsored by PepsiCo.
After 60 years of silence, the survivors of the Chosin Reservoir Campaign of the Korean War take viewers on an emotional and heart-pounding journey through one of the most savage battles in American history.
In the winter of 1950, 15,000 U.S. troops were surrounded and trapped by 120,000 Chinese soldiers in the frozen mountains of North Korea. Despite overwhelming odds, the men never lose faith in each other. Refusing to surrender, the men fight their way to freedom through 78 miles of unforgiving, mountainous terrain and ultimately save the lives of 98,000 civilian refugees.
Excerpt
Retired General Lobs Bomb at Military Benefits
Earlier this year, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro chaired a panel that helped pave the way for a series of cost-cutting measures at the Pentagon, including efforts to cut overhead and dependence on outside contractors. Now he’s taking aim at something more sacrosanct: Compensation for service members, military retirees and their families.
Excerpt
Enlisted Marine’s Candidacy Unique, Important
Marine Corps sergeant Jesse Kelly led a squad of infantry Marines during the initial invasion of Iraq, received the Combat Action Ribbon and brought all the Marines under his charge home alive.
In late August, the six-foot-eight Leatherneck scored a major upset in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District GOP primary. He beat fellow Iraq vet and former state senator Tim Paton who was heavily favored and backed by the Republican establishment in Arizona and Washington. Now the twenty-nine year-old Kelly, who manages projects for his family construction business, faces Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is seeking a third term.Few Enlisted Combat Vets In CongressBecause Kelly was an enlisted serviceman rather than an officer, his presence in Congress would have a profound impact on national security matters.
Consider that barely twenty percent of our leaders in Congress spent time in uniform and the number of combat veterans is even smaller. According to a report by the House Armed Services Committee, only five percent of House members served in combat zones and even fewer saw actual combat. Also quite rare is the member of Congress who served as an enlisted man. Only about forty percent of the veterans in Congress were enlisted despite the fact that eighty-five percent of our military are enlisted rather than commissioned officers.
EXCERPT ~ CONTINUES @ LINK…
“PULLER”
“PULLER”
“Amid a nationwide public outcry regarding the whole matter of the drownings in particular and Marine Corps training practices in general, LtGen Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller was recalled to active duty to testify at the trial regarding Marine training and tradition.”
“Mrs. Puller protested to her husband citing previous trouble and controversy in Puller’s career. Puller told her, “…The important thing is the Marine Corps. If we let ‘em, they’ll tear it to pieces. Headquarters won’t speak up. It’s my duty to do it.”
Ref
http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/loyaltydown.html
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Gunny G: Let’s be damn sure that no man’s ghost will ever say “If your training program had only done its job.” (via ~ The GUNNY “G” BLOG & E-MAIL ~)
reblog
Gunny G: A QUICK Story, USMC, The Great War, etc.
And Now…A Quick Story…
June 22 2006 at 10:42 AM
Who’s Who In Marine Corps History
big (Photo credit: GunnyG1345)
SgtMaj John H. Quick
Ref
http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Historical/Whos_Who.htm#PQR”…
Vera Cruz was the end of the lull before the storm. There was trouble in Haiti, in Santo Domingo, and the big scrap in Europe was looming more portentous every day.
When it came, SgtMaj Quick was ready, sailing for France as Sergeant Major of a battalion of the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines. Belleau Wood was only the opening battle of the World War for him; he participated in every battle that was fought by the Marines in France until 16 October 1918: the Toulon Sector at Verdun, the Battle of Belleau Wood, the Aisne-Marne Offensive popularly known as the Battle of Soissons, the Marbache Sector near Pont-a-Mousoon, the St. Mihiel Offensive, the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, and the Meuse-Argonne Sector.
His gallantry in the Battle of Belleau Wood earned for him the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross. He earned these decorations on 6 June 1918, when “he volunteered and assisted in taking a truckload of ammunition and material into Bouresches, France, over a road swept by artillery and machine-gun fire, thereby relieving a critical situation.” He was further awarded the 2d Division Citation and the French Fourragere.
Sergeant Major John J. Quick died in St. Louis, Missouri, on 10 September 1922.”~~~~~
And, from George B. Clark’s, “Devil Dogs, Fighting Marines of WW I,” Presidio, 1999, Notes, page 213…”74.
A Ford truck, driven by 2d Lt Moore with an old hand, Sgt. Maj. John Quick, sitting in the passenger’s seat, made the trip over the terrible path toward Bouresches under terrific German shelling and machine-gun barrages.
They were a “team,” the “college boy” and the long-serving Marine NCO who, incidentally, had been awatded the MoH for his bravery at Guantanamo Bay in 1898.
Years later Moore testified to a friend that it was all a figment of Marine Corps publicity.
Gunny G: Taps for Master Gunnery Sergeant John Marjanov, USMC…
24 May 2002 MILINET:
Taps for Master Gunnery Sergeant John Marjanov, USMC
========================================
Master Gunnery Sergeant John NMN Marjanov enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on January 16, 1941 and went to Parris Island, SC for basic training. He was assigned to 5th Marine regiment at Quantico, VA.
He volunteered for the newly formed 1st Raider Battalion. Upon acceptance to the Raiders he was sent to Navy Parachute School at Lakebust, NJ; Commando School in Scotland; and Airborne training at the Army’s base at Fort Benning, GA.
While he served with the Raiders in the Pacific Theatre, he participated and distinguished himself in campaign on Guadalcanal, New Britain, New Guinea and other classified missions.
He took part in the Pelelieu landings with 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, in Leyte with 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, the invasion of Iwo Jima with the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, and the victory in Okinawa with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines.
Toward the end of the Pacific Campaign he participated in the classified operations of mopping up Japanese war criminals in China, during which he was part of the capturing of General Yama****a. >
After the war, Master Gunnery Sergeant was involved in the protection of American and British interest in northern China against Chinese Communist guerrillas until he was transferred to Camp Lejuene, North Carolina.
Subject: USMC Online Social Media Guidance for Unofficial Internet Posts
Subject: USMC Online Social Media Guidance for Unofficial Internet Posts
ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDANCE
For
UNOFFICIAL INTERNET POSTS
1. Overview
a. This guidance is provided for Marines who, in their personal capacity, desire to make unofficial posts online, regarding Marine Corps-related topics. (The term “Marines” on this guidance refers to active-duty and reserve Marines and sailors).
“Unofficial Internet posts,” referred to below, are considered any content about the Marine Corps or related to the Marine Corps that are posted on any Internet site by Marines in an unofficial and personal capacity. Content includes, but is not limited to, personal comments, photographs, video, and graphics. Internet sites include social networking sites, blogs, forums, photo and video-sharing sites, and other sites to include sites not owned, operated or controlled by the Marine Corps or Department of Defense.
b. Unofficial Internet posts are not initiated by any part of the Marine Corps or reviewed within any official Marine Corps approval process. By contrast, official Internet posts involve content released in an official capacity by public affairs Marines, Marine Corps Community Services marketing directors, or commanders designated as releasing authorities. Policy for Family Readiness Officers will be provided in separate guidance.
c. In accordance with these guidelines, Marines are encouraged to responsibly engage in unofficial Internet posts about the Marine Corps and Marine Corps-related topics. The Marine Corps performs a valuable service around the world every day and Marines are often in the best position to share the Marine Corps’ story with the domestic and foreign publics.
2. Guidelines
a. Marines are personally responsible for all content they publish on social networking sites, blogs, or other websites. In addition to ensuring Marine Corps content is accurate and appropriate, Marines also must be thoughtful about the non-Marine related content they post, since the lines between a Marine’s personal and professional life often blur in the online space. Marines must be acutely aware that they lose control over content they post on the Internet and that many social media sites have policies that give these sites ownership of all content and information posted or stored on those systems. Thus Marines should use their best judgment at all times and keep in mind how the content of their posts will reflect upon themselves, their unit, and the Marine Corps.
Why A Marine Corps
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recently said that he had ordered a review of the future role of the Marine Corps amid “anxiety” that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had turned the service into a “second land army.
“In remarks for a speech at Marines’ Memorial Theatre in San Francisco Gates said that the review would seek to define a 21st century combat mission for the Marines that is distinct from the Army’s, because the Marines “do not want to be, nor does America need” another ground combat force.
(See Free Republic Responses, etc)
Excerpt ~ Continues…
Want to Cut Spending? Abolish the Marines! Barf Alert
Want to Cut Spending? Abolish the Marines!
Barf AlertBlog Critics Magazine ^ | July 14, 2010 | Alan KurtzPosted on Saturday, August 21, 2010 2:54:40 AM by 2ndDivisionVet
U.S. government spending is out of control, and much of it swirls down the military’s bottomless sinkhole. The FY 2010 federal budget is $3.55 trillion, of which $663.7 billion 18.74% is earmarked for the Department of Defense.
The U.S. spends 4.3% of its GDP on defense, more than double that of our nearest competitor, China 2.0%. With 4.5% of the planet’s population, we account for over 40% of world military expenditures. As a country, we are $14 trillion in debt.Many defenders of our global military posture and permanent War on Terror insist that every penny spent on defense is not merely justified, it’s sacrosanct.
This is madness. By trimming the fat, we could cut defense outlay significantly without adversely impacting national security.It is therefore in the name of fiscal responsibility that I call for abolishing the United States Marine Corps USMC, which is operationally obsolete.This will be anathema to those who cherish the USMC’s unquestionably heroic history from 1775 through the Pacific campaign of World War II, from Korea to Vietnam to Beirut, and in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Kuwait/Iraq during the early 1990s.
But the primary purpose of marines is to serve as an amphibious assault force. And when was the last time U.S. Marines got their feet wet? Since November 2001, we’ve been waging a never-ending War on Terror in Afghanistan, which is landlocked, and since 2003 another in Iraq, which has a coastline measuring all of 36 nonstrategic miles. For comparison, the main part of San Francisco Bay is 60 miles north-to-south.
The Marines are valiant warriors, but given our current geopolitical doctrine, their mission is irrelevant. The costly concept of a separate, redundant marine branch has outlived its usefulness.
CONTINUES…
Gunny G: My Memories of George C. Scott, Sgt USMC
George C. “Patton” Scott, who died Wednesday of an aneurysm at age 71, and I were good friends and frequent liberty buddies while serving together as three-stripers at the Washington Marine Barracks from 1946–1948.
George and I were both instructors at the Marine Corps Institute, then an accredited academic correspondence school for Marines. I instructed first-year college journalism, English grammar, and authored a new MCI course in photo journalism.
George instructed English literature and Radio Speaking and Writing.Because he marched with the grace of a gazelle, he was designated guidon bearer for the elite Barracks ceremonial company. I marched immediately behind him as company right guide , ever-failing to emulate his awesome ballbearing strides.
We marched in rain, snow, and Washington heat in many military funerals at Arlington cemetery–sometimes two or three a day–as well as in presidential inaugural parades and other special ceremonial occasions in DC. This was in addition to our regular MCI duties.
George found funeral details distasteful to him. He became very depressed when witnessing families and relatives mourning the deaths of their Marines.George was quoted several times in his life-after the Corps as saying that the Marine Corps made him an alcoholic.
One late night when I was standing barracks duty, I was summoned to Brinkley’s, the Marines’ watering hole across from the gate, by a fellow sergeant moonlighting as a bouncer.
“Get him out of here before he tears up the joint and gets in trouble.” I proceeded to wrestle a very intoxicated George back across the street to the barracks. On such occasions, he was always beligerent, if not sometimes mean…
CONTINUES…
Gunny G: That’s Marine With A Capital “M”!
Gunny G’s
GLOBE and ANCHOR
Sites & Forums!
By
R.W. “Dick” Gaines
GySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952-72
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!
That’s MARINE
WITH A CAPITAL “M”!
First, there was an article a few months ago indicating that the Army has decided to begin requiring all its Soldiers to be both trained and ready to assume duties as basic riflemen. Then, more recently, there was an announcement that the Army Chief Of Staff would require the capitalization of the word “Soldier.” These two articles have been e-mailed around, and posted to numerous Marine messageboards/forums with lengthy discussions ensuing. Some Marines have even gone so far as to think that “hey, they’re copying us again.” But, everybody seems to have an opinion on these topics, and they freely voice their opinions.
George Clark makes some good points on this, below…
“Dick
The words soldier, sailor and airman denote a person who might be a civilian, or the word could also be generic. There are sailors, sailing profesionally and taking cargo ships to all parts of the globe. A soldier is anyone who could be in any military, or even civilian, force. Airmen could be civilian flyers as well as participating in a flight piloted by others. A Marine, however, denotes a person who is a specialized professional in a specialized job. He is a soldier of the sea. No one else can make that claim. There is no civilian word to describe anyone that is a “marine.” So, its MARINE! this is my description.
george clark”
In regard to the Every Soldier A Rifleman issue, the Marine Corps has always considered all its Marines riflemen, regardless of specialized duties assigned. “Every Marine A Rifleman” has been the emphasis and focus of all Marine training. Nothing new there for the Marine Corps.
And Marines, who consider and claim MARINE as our title, have been capitalizing the word Marine’s first letter M, since, to the best of my recall, the late 1950s, possibly the very early 1960s, when a change was effected to the Marine Corps Personnel Manual (MCPM) requiring this.
History Of The Marine Gunnery Sergeant Rank!
History:The Gunnery Sergeant Rank USMCby R.W. “Dick” Gaines, GySgt USMC Ret.1952-72
All Rights Reserved-Copyright 1998
The rank of the venerable Gunnery Sergeant is now unique to the Marine Corps. In 1775 the basic enlisted ranks of private, corporal and sergeant were used by Marines. Later, at varying times, the more senior ranks of Sergeant Major, First Sergeant, Master Sergeant, etc. were adopted.
But the Marine Gunnery Sergeant rank adopted in 1898 has remained distinctive to the Marine Corps.After the World War, the Marine Corps added to its rank structure the ranks first used by the army of Staff Sergeant, Technical Sergeant, and Master Sergeant. The Marines’ rank of Master Technical Sergeant, for instance, came about by combining the rank titles of two previous ranks.
Gunny G: Brevet Rank USMC, etc.
Friday, September 12, 2003
THE BREVET RANK…
Brevet Rank In The Civil War
Brevet rank, usually an honor, was borrowed from the British and introduced into the American army during the Revolutionary War. Over the years Congress, in legislation, specified reasons for granting brevet ranks and gave the senate the right to approve or reject them after they were recommended by the president. Army Regulation, published periodically, stipulated that an officer functioned at this brevet rank on special assignment of the president in commands composed of different corps and when in detachments or on courts-martial composed of different corps. In these instances the officers ordinarily received pay based on their brevet rank.
In early 1861 some recent graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point were named brevet 2nd lieutenants because there were not enough vacancies in the Regular Army to give them commissions as 2nd lieutenants. Many officers held brevet commissions higher than their ordinary rank, usually for gallant actions or meritorious service in combat or to allow them to serve in a staff position.
The Civil War encouraged the granting of hundreds of brevet commissions to both Regular and volunteer army officers and to at least one enlisted man, Pvt. Frederick W. Stowe, who was brevetted a 2nd lieutenant. About 1,700 Union officers held brevet rank as brigadier or major general.
The awarding of Numerous new brevets often created confusion, such as in the case of George Armstrong Custer. In addition to holding rank as major general of volunteers in the the Civil War, Custer was a lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army when in 1876 he was killed at the Little Big Horn, and also held brevet commissions as major general of volunteers and major general in the Regular Army. For a long time after the war, the army had to determine the official of many an officer and the rank he should show on his uniform.
Gunny G: Semper Fi Does Not Mean Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful)
Semper Fi Vs. “SEMPER FIDELIS”!
I recall vividly a day in 1953 at Tent Camp #3,
at CJHP, when M/Sgt Tony Virginia pointed out to
me that “Semper Fi” did not mean Semper Fidelis;
it was not an abbreviation of Semper Fidelis, nor
did it have anything positive in common with
Semper Fidelis. He then went further into detail
regarding just what Semper Fi was and meant. It
had apparently come into use with the influx of
great numbers of new Marines during WW II into
what had been a very small U.S. Marine Corps.
The Top stated that, in many cases, promotions
had become much faster than previously experienced
for peacetime Marines. At one point early in
WW II, Marine enlisted began to wear chevrons
only on the left sleeve, due to a policy of
conservation of supplies. He advised that the term
Semper Fi came into being with a gesture
reminiscent of the old Italian salute, and he
demonstarted this by slapping his right hand over
the left upper arm (over the chevron) while he
exclaimed the words “Semper Fi!”
This was obviously intended as an obscene term
and gesture. The above noted conversation with
Top Virginia, now more than 50+
years ago made an impression on me.
Though I have sometimes used both the correct
Semper Fidelis as well as, sometimes, using the,
what has become the usual, Semper Fi, I have
always preferred Semper Fidelis, and for obvious
reasons.
CONTINUES…
CAPTAIN JIMMY BONES and HIS DEVIL DOG MARINES
CAPTAIN JIMMY BONES and HIS DEVIL DOG MARINES
Captain Jimmy Bones And His Devil-Dog Marines
‘Twas winter time in Quantico in nineteen-twenty-two,
The slum was pretty rough that night, and all the men felt blue;
The hail and sleet, with ghostly feet beat on the bunkhouse dome,
Some men doped out their time to do, while others thought of home.
Then from the starless night, there slipped in through the bunkhouse door,
An old top sergeant that no man had ever seen before;
The hoar frost glistened in his hair, his eyes like star shells shone,
A gnarled mustache hid half his face, and he was skin and bone.
He sat down near the glowing stove and warmed his fleshless hands,
The chill of death was in his breath, like thunder his commands;
His voice was hollow, like the tone of one who’d long been dead,
And when he spoke, the silence broke, and this is what he said:
“Pipe down, all you devil-whelps, and snap out of your dreams,
And a tale I’ll tell of heaven and hell, and the Devil-Dog Marines;
Just Captain Jimmy Bones, M.C., their skipper wrote his name,
He was a fiend for fighting, he had no care for fame.”
“Have never seen so fierce a man on land, nor sky , nor sea,
He had a scar for every war, and fought in ninety-three;
When he was riled, he had an eye that drilled a hole through men,
He spoke but once, and no man asked him how, nor why, nor when.”
“Now Jimmy was the headpiece of a hundred brave Gyrenes,
He used to have a whole lot more who died from eating beans;
But them what ate the chow and lived, they sure were hard-boiled guys,
They flicked the bullets off their coats just like so many flies.”
The old top sergeant’s voice grew low, and at its ghostly gloom,
Men shivered, and the vermin crawled upon the bunkhouse broom;
He stuffed a live coal in his pipe, and deeply did inhale,
He blew the smoke clean through the roof, and then resumed his tale.
“They say the devil made him mean when he was in the skies,
And filled them all so full of hell it shone out through their eyes;
Then old St. Peter found the bunch, and gave them souls of white,
But hell still boiled up in them, and they couldn’t else but fight.”
“So Peter had to can old Nick, and when to earth he fell,
He got himself a steady job recruiting souls for hell;
Well, Peter stamped Marines ‘OK,’ and marked them all first class,
‘Cause all that ever scared ‘em was to see a looking-glass.”
“Now some they come from Texas sand, so they was full of grit,
And some was from Montana plains where they’d been roughing it;
Some more they come from old New York, and wore a Bowery frown,
Then some which was the toughest came from good old Frisco town.”
“Old Jimmy Bones shoved off for France in nineteen-seventeen,
And shipped across the toughest crew the world had ever seen;
Each man had ‘First to Fight,’ tattooed across his chest, in black,
And right betwixt his shoulder blades, ‘Watch out, we’re coming back!’”
“Them hundred Devil Dogs sure was a bold and daring crew,
They bit the soles right off their shoes whenever they’d want a chew;
There wasn’t one among that bunch of those U.S. Marines
Who couldn’t spit three fathoms deep, and sink three submarines.”
“And when it came to shooting guns, why, say, them men were there,
They’d shave a man a mile away, and never miss a hair;
They’d trim the eyebrows off a lark, a- soarin’ in the sky,
Or shoot the points off shooting stars, as long as they had an eye.”
“They cruised on all the seven seas and rationed on hard tack,
They fought their way around the world and half to hell and back;
They fought in every war there was, clean up to Vera Cruz,
The only things they hadn’t fought was huns, and too much booze.”
RIBBON CREEK: THE AFTERMATH… “BOOT CAMP” 1956 AND AFTER…
Gunny G’s
MARINES
GLOBE and ANCHOR
Sites & Forums
By
R.W. “Dick” Gaines
GnySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952 (Plt #437)–1972
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!
RIBBON CREEK: THE AFTERMATH…
“BOOT CAMP” 1956 AND AFTER…
Jack Webb as T/Sgt (Gunny) Jim Moore
The D.I., 1957
and
Platoon #104, PISC, 1956
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