OCTOBER 20, 2020 - For the first time in recorded naval aviation history, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps closed out the previous fiscal year without a single aviation-related fatality in either service. Even though U.S. Naval Aviation began in 1910, historical recordkeeping on mishaps – including aviation-related fatalities – did not begin until 1922, meaning this is the … [Read more...]
Sun Sets as Harriers Prepare for Lightning
OCTOBER 20, 2020 - Marine Attack Squadron 311 conducts a sundown ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, October 15. In spring 2022, VMA-311 will reactivate as Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 311 operating the F-35C Lightning II at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Similarly, VMA-214 will begin flying the F-35B as VMFA-214 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. The VMA-311 … [Read more...]
New Battalion Puts the Red in Readiness
OCTOBER 19, 2020 - U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Noah Minner was once told it identified members of a permanent working party. Cpl. Elias Pirkey heard from another Marine it signaled warrant officers-in-training. These Marines, all landing support specialists, are referring to a small red patch, sewn to the utility trouser pocket and the distinctive eight-point utility … [Read more...]
An Overdue Homecoming: 77 Years Later, Marine Finds His Way Home
OCTOBER 13, 2020 - After 77 years, Pfc. Louis Wiesehan, Jr., has finally returned home. Wiesehan, 20, was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He was among the cadre of Marines charged with securing the small, but heavily fortified, island of Betio in the Tarawa atoll on November 20, 1943. The Battle of Tarawa was part of … [Read more...]
Marine Corps’ Landmark PhD Program Celebrates First Technical Graduate
OCTOBER 12, 2020 - When the Marine Corps developed its new Doctor of Philosophy Program, the service recognized the need for a cohort of strategic thinkers and technical leaders capable of the applied research and innovative thinking necessary to develop warfighter advantage in the modern, cognitive age. The Technical version of the program, PHDP-T, just celebrated its first … [Read more...]