8th Engineer Support Battalion: OEF 10.2

By LtCol Christopher Downs

 

On 25 November 2010, 8th Engineer Support Battalion (8th ESB) (Minus) assumed responsibility of the general engineering support mission for Regional Command-Southwest (RC(SW)) as part of the Operation ENDURING FREEDOM 10.2 (OEF 10.2) campaign. The battalion (minus) was organized and employed as an independent formation within the Marine logistics group (MLG).

Carlson's Raid On Makin Island

By Col David W Haughey, USMC(Ret)
Originally published in August 2001 Marine Corps Gazette

The Marine Corps Gazette gratefully acknowledges PRIMEDIA Enthusiast Publications' permission to reprint this article which originally appeared in American History Illustrated, October 1983. 

The war news in America in 1942 was bleak. Our navy had lost the bulk of its striking power, with the exception of the carriers, at Pearl Harbor. German U-Boats prowled the Atlantic and exacted a terrible toll on United States shipping. American outposts such as Guam and Wake Island had already fallen to overwhelming Japanese forces in December 1941, and other U.S. forces in the Philippines surrendered in early May 1942. Although the U.S. Navy won the most important naval battle of the war off Midway Island from 4-6 June, the full impact of the victory, which put the Japanese Navy on the strategic defensive, was not yet fully appreciated by the Pacific Fleet staff. Most Americans thought the Pacific Ocean was rapidly becoming a Japanese "lake."

British Royal Marine Heads OCS Training

By Cpl Jahn R. Kuiper
The Quantico Sentry

As the sun rises on Officer Candidates School, the physical training instructors have the candidates sweating it out on the PT field.  Standing out amongst the growling voices of the instructors is a sometimes cheeky, always motivating British accent that urges the candidates to push themselves and ensures the future officers are conducting training safely.

Colour Sergeant Richy Asson, a British Royal Marine physical training instructor, serves as OCS’ physical training advisor. Asson works directly with the commanding officer to decide the most effective and safest way for candidates to train, and oversees the U.S. Marine physical training instructors.