The United States Marine Corps birthday was 10 November, the anniversary of the founding of the Corps in 1775. Each year the Commandant hosts the Marine Corps Birthday Ball. This year, the 240th Birthday, will be celebrated on 14 November at the Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland. For tickets email:
Veterans Day in 2015 is Wednesday,11 November. Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all military personnel who served the United States in all wars. This day is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended the World War I in 1918. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect. On November 11, 1919, Armistice Day (as it was originally known) was commemorated for the first time. In 1954, veterans’ service organizations urged Congress to change the word "Armistice" to "Veterans".
Thank you for your service!
http://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-free-meals-and-discounts
Team from Ireland Wins 2015 Sniper Competition at Fort Benning
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | Oct 26, 2015 | by Ben Wright
An international team from Ireland was recognized Friday as the winner of the 14th annual International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning's Long Hall.
The two-man team, who didn't want their names or photos used, emerged as the winner in a field of 36 teams from around the world. A team from the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at the post was second, and a U.S. Marine Corps School of Infantry-West took third place in the four-day competition that pushed soldiers mentally and physically for 96 hours.
Col. William Thigpen, commander of the 316 Cavalry Brigade, pointed to consistency as the key to success for the Ireland team over the course of 16 events. Teams were tested in long-range marksmanship, observation, target detection, stalking, reconnaissance and reporting and the ability to move with stealth while concealed.
"They demonstrated the most consistency across the board," Thigpen said.
The statistics haven't been reviewed yet, but Thigpen said the Ireland team may be the first international team to win the sniper competition.
"I'm almost positive this is the first international team to win the competition," the commander said. "We are fair in everything we do. That's how the numbers registered. They were the best team in 2015."
Over the years, consistency in shooting has been key for winners.
"We found out that over the last couple of years teams that stay within the top five in each event tend to have a better chance in winning the overall competition," Thigpen said. "That's a consistent trend at least over the last three years."
The efforts of the Ireland team were noticed by Staff Sgt. Steve Curry and Sgt. Emmanuel Velayo of Camp Pendleton, Calif., who came in third place.
"The international teams were quite impressive," Curry said after the ceremony. "The Ireland team did extraordinarily well. They were consistent, they were accurate and they did all the basic things right."
Curry also said teams have to complete different tasks under a tight timeline.
"You have that stress and physical fatigue that puts the screws to you," he said. "It forces you to focus on fundamentals. Out here, it's the smallest mistakes that's going to dock you points. Before you know it, you do the little things right, you are going to be on top. If you do the small things incorrectly, you're going to be on the bottom."
If a team is thinking of the competition next year, Curry suggests the shooter and spotter start working on communication. "If you start working on communication two ways, you can shoot two ways," he said. "It's going to lead to an accurate shot."
Curry improved on his last competition -- he placed seventh last year. It was the first contest for Velayo.
Other international teams included the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark and Germany. The state of Georgia had teams from the Columbus and Covington police departments and the Atlanta FBI. The Army also had teams from the National Guard.
'Black Widows' arrive in Afghanistan to give Taliban nightmares
Air Force Times, by Jeff Schogol, Staff writer November 9, 2015
Airmen and F-16s with the 421st Fighter Squadron from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, have arrived in Afghanistan to make sure the Taliban have nowhere to hide, day or night.
Known as the “Black Widows,” the squadron traces its heritage to World War II. In June 1944, it received the P-61 “Black Widow,” the first U.S. aircraft designed as a night fighter, according to the squadron’s fact sheet.
Nowadays, the unit flies night-capable F16CMs, equipped with night vision goggles, the High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile targeting system and the Advanced Targeting Pod, all of which allow pilots to put bombs on target at night or any other time, a U.S. Air Forces Central Command news release says.
“It deploys worldwide to conduct Day and Night air superiority, precision strike, and Forward Air Controller sorties employing laser-guided and inertially-aided munitions during contingencies and combat,” the news release says.
The squadron arrived at Bagram Airfield on Oct. 28 for a six-month deployment, replacing airmen and F-16s with the 555th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Aviano Air Base, Italy, the news release says.
“We are incredibly excited to be here,” Lt. Col. Michael Meyer, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, said in the news release. “This is what we train for. We are here to support the ground commander’s intent, wherever and whenever they ask, save lives on the ground and help transition Afghanistan to a stable and self-sufficient government.”
This is the 15th time the squadron’s F-16s have deployed to the U.S. Central Command theater of responsibility since the 1990s —and the last time the Black Widows willsend F-16s downrange before the 388th Fighter Wing begins transitioning to the F-35A Lightning II, Meyer said in the news release.
The Air Force hopes that the F-35 will be fully operational in 2021.
Spy party: Tuxedos, martinis and some of the greatest heroes of World War II
Washington Post, by Dan Lamothe November 9 2015
Army Maj. Frank A. Gleason’s small unit was facing an advancing Japanese army in China in December 1944 when he made a judgment call: Rather than let 50,000 tons of ammunition and weapons fall into enemy hands, they’d blow it all up.
The fiery chain reaction of explosions, Gleason recalled, went on for three days. It was a highlight of a long deployment in which Gleason’s unit detonated more than 150 bridges and an assortment of river ferries, locomotives, barracks and weapons stockpiles during one of the great sabotage missions of the World War II.
“People have asked me, ‘Weren’t you afraid?’ And I say, ‘I didn’t know enough to be afraid,'” said Gleason, 95. “We just had a great time just blowing up everything. I only had one objective, and that was if the Japanese could use it, I tried to destroy it.”
Gleason, who retired as a colonel, was one of several veterans of the secretive Office of Strategic Services (OSS) who were recognized Saturday for their heroism at a black-tie dinner in Washington. A precursor of the CIA, the organization carried out everything from propaganda missions to espionage behind enemy lines in both the European and Pacific theaters during World War II.
The annual dinner was hosted by The OSS Society, which counts some of America’s best-known modern spies and special operators among its ranks. Those in attendance Saturday included CIA director John O. Brennan, former Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers, former U.S. Special Operations Command chief Adm. Eric T. Olson and Rear Adm. Brian L. Losey, the chief of Naval Special Warfare Command.
Office of Strategic Services founder Maj. Gen. William Donovan, center, is shown here with members of the OSS Operational Groups, forerunners of the U.S. Special Operations Forces, at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., which was used as a primary OSS training facility. (Photo courtesy the OSS Society)
The event’s stars, however, are the nonagenarian veterans of the OSS, who were sprinkled at tables throughout the Ritz-Carlton banquet hall as officials offered nearly a dozen toasts with martinis (never champagne). Gleason received a Distinguished Service Award, along with George and Helias Doundoulakis, a pair of Greek-American brothers who served in Greece under cover while spying on the Nazis.
The event’s biggest recognition — the William D. Donovan Award — went to Ambassador Hugh Montgomery, who was wounded while serving as a paratrooper in World War II and joined the OSS’s counterintelligence branch, known as X-2. He went on to become one of the CIA’s founding fathers, and served in several other roles in the intelligence community before retiring in 2014. The award he received is named after the two-star Army general who led the OSS.
Montgomery, who turns 92 this month, recalled Saturday that he didn’t know what X-2 was during World War II. His unit was known at the time only as the 12th Army Group’s Special Counterintelligence Attachment. It worked frequently with MI6, the legendary British military intelligence organization, and its members had wide latitude to move throughout Europe.
To explain the secretive nature of operations at the time, Montgomery recalled that some members of his unit were given what was known as the “Eisenhower Pass,” a document that was signed by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of Allied Forces in Europe. It included little more than his signature, a phone number and directions in several languages for anyone reading the document to call the number if a soldier was detained.
“When this document was issued, we were told that without fail, it had to be returned intact if the war ever ended, or we would never see the U.S.A. again,” Montgomery said. “Needless to say, we took great care of this treasure and used it sparingly, although it did serve us well when the need arose.”
The OSS Society continues to press for recognition for the remaining OSS veterans, said its president, Charles Pinck. Last week, legislation was introduced on Capitol Hill to have them recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the top awards a civilian can receive.
The Gold Medal has been used to recognize groups of military veterans in the past, including the Native American Code Talkers of World War I and World War II, black U.S. Marines who were trained for war at Montford Point, N.C., and the Monuments Men, who served during World War II to protect art and artifacts from destruction.
Dig into discounts and deals on Veterans Day
Military Times, by Karen Jowers, Staff writer November 10, 2015
From free meals to discounts on propane deliveries, countless local and national businesses are offeringdiscounts to military personnel and veterans on Veterans Day.
Following are just a few available. Keep an eye out in your local community for information about others..
A word to the wise: Always call ahead to confirm what they’re offering, and whether there are limitations, such as hours. In many cases, for example, a free meal doesn’t come with a beverage, so be prepared to pay for your beverage and other extras. While some restaurants have discounts for those who are dining with a veteran or active-duty member, many don’t. When you go into the business, let them know you would like the discount or deal.
No business is required to offer discounts, or offer it in a certain way. It’s a gesture of appreciation.It’s up to you to decide whether any extra out-of-pocket costs are worth it.
Here are a smattering of offerings:
· 7-Eleven car washes are offering current and former military personnel free "The Works" car washes that include undercarriage blast, pre-soak, wheel wash, foam conditioner, surface protectant, rinse and power dry. Some 300 7-Eleven stores with car washes in 16 states will offer the service, rain or shine, from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 on Veterans Day.To locate a car wash, visit the 7-Eleven smartphone app and click on the map, check the car wash filter and search for the nearest store. Or visit www.7-Eleven.com, go to the locator tab, click on "Looking for Something Special" and check "car wash", along with your location.
· California Tortilla is offering onefree tacoper person, to active duty and retired military members, all day. The chain has restaurants in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Show the cashier your military ID.
· Denny’s is offering a free “Build Your Own Grand Slam” to veterans and active military personnel, from 5 a.m. to noon on Nov. 11. To find a participating Denny’s nearby, visit www.dennys.com. Call ahead to find out what documentation you need to bring.
· ESquared Hospitality is offering discounts to veterans and military personnelon Nov. 11 at most of their locations in the U.S. Some of their restaurants include BLT Steak in New York, Arizona, Atlanta, Charlotte, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas, but there are other restaurants as well. In most cases, discounts are 50 percent for parties of one or two, and 25 percent off for parties of three or more, except for the BLT Steak Las Vegas, which offers 25 percent off for all veterans. Check www.e2hospitality.com/ for locations near you and contact them to find out whether they’re participating, and what proof of service is required.