CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Marines with Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron conducted a Warrior Night at Red Beach, Camp Pendleton, April 22.
Warrior Night is a way for Marines of a unit to come together through Marine Corps tradition to increase camaraderie and espirit de corps.
“With a unit like ours that is full of Marines that work in seven different geographic areas around Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, just the daily operation of running an air field all year long is hectic and they don’t get to do stuff like this very often,” said Lt. Col. Todd Miller, the commanding officer of Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, MCAS Camp Pendleton.
The Marines were flown by an MV-22 Osprey to a flight line near Red Beach followed by a half-mile hike to the site where Warrior Night was held.
“Events like these are important because they bring everybody together so they understand that they are all one unit,” said Miller.
The Warrior Night combined physical events called Warrior Games with the Marine Corps’ traditional mess night in a field setting. The Warrior Games consisted of four events: a grappling tournament, tug-of-war, tire race and a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle pull.
Mess night is a formal dinner that can only be attended by members of a particular unit. There is a serious ceremonial aspect to it, but it has also has light-hearted moments such as Marines calling others out on infractions, which are penalties that require the fined Marine to either pay a small monetary fine or drink out of the grog. The grog is composed of many mystery liquids and contents.
Toward the end of the mess night Marines perform a series of toasts to honor Marines and Sailors who have come before and those currently serving.
“I feel like Warrior Night is important for us because it’s a chance for us to come out here and get away from the work week and the normal everyday grind,” said Lance Cpl. Coal Ricardo, an air traffic controller with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron MCAS Camp Pendleton. “It gives us a chance to come out here with everybody that we work with and to build camaraderie between the whole command. It lets us know that we can all pull together to do something good.”
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