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Marines

Stories

Mess night: a toast to tradition

It's part tradition and part ribaldry. Throw in a little bit of dare, heaps of humor and let it simmer with the somber remembrance of fallen brethren. It's a strange brew Marines call -- mess night.Camp Pendleton's Staff Noncommissioned Officers' Academy Career Course 1-04 recently hosted a mess night, a traditional meal shared by Marine NCOs and

Wolfowitz: Marines understand role in Iraq

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz toured Camp Pendleton Tuesday, telling Marines their upcoming deployment to Iraq remains as important as ever, despite the news of Saddam Hussein's capture."The biggest challenge remains... there is this hardcore group of people who for 35 years abused and tortured the people of Iraq and don't want to see

'Real hero,' injured OIF vet hits locker room with Packers

It is probably a safe bet to say that Marine Sgt. Jason Wittling won't soon forget the weekend of Dec. 12-14, 2003. Friday afternoon, just minutes after his three brothers arrived at Camp Pendleton from their home state of Wisconsin, Wittling was surprised to hear the voice of his favorite NASCAR Busch Series driver, Team Marines' Bobby Hamilton

Marine hero saves life

Sgt. Isidro G. Rubio, an instructor with Company H, Marine Combat Training Battalion, was recently decorated for saving a Marine's life. Rubio was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for saving the life of a School of Infantry Marine aboard Camp Pendleton. On Dec. 11, Pfc. Michael T. Waller, a student attending Marine Combat

Buyers warned against holiday credit crusades

During the holidays, too many credit-card purchases can result in a flood of pesky calls from creditors in the new year. So base credit counselors are urging consumers to be cash-conscious before loading up loved ones with gifts. Nonetheless, some Pendleton Marines plan to make plastic the rule rather than the exception when it comes to funding

Maimed OIF vet mulls future in Marine Corps

Gunnery Sgt. David J. Dill never saw it coming. He knew the dangers. He'd trained to disarm them for years. But bad luck, bad timing and the dangerous nature of clearing minefields caught up to him. Dill, the staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion's Sapper Course, lost his lower left leg to an Iraqi land mine

Marines fire rounds, loosen trigger fingers

Lance Cpl. Mary F. McCue crouched down behind the monstrous machine gun. She gripped the vertical handles of the M-2 .50-caliber weapon, ready to send downrange half-inch-thick chunks of lead. She just couldn't keep from smiling as her thumbs mashed down the butterfly trigger. "This was my first time firing the '.50-Cal,'" said 22-year-old McCue,

Sapper: where infantry Marines broaden their skill-set

They're the Marines who clear the path into combat. Marines called "sappers" use cunning determination and skill to defeat enemy defenses and they learn how to do it right in Camp Pendleton.Sapper course offers combat- arms Marines an opportunity to learn new techniques, from field maneuvering to dealing with high explosives during combat.The term

1st CEB clearing the field

Some Marines might look at barricades, fences, barbed wire and minefields as obstacles that deter their mission. Not combat engineers. For them, it's a chance to blow things up. Company B's 3rd Platoon from 1st Combat Engineer Battalion put a charge into its training last week at Camp Pendleton's Range 600. The training with line charges was aimed

Pendleton shoppers escape holiday logjam

Ryan Aragon knew exactly what he wanted for Christmas, even if he wasn't tall enough to reach it. "Mom! Mommy!" exclaimed the 3-year-old. "I want that!" When his mother, Carrie Aragon, reached down to inspect the Fisher Price Imaginext set, she didn't have to push past any other parents on the first official day of the holiday shopping season.

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