
Meanwhile, Gunnery Sgt. John S. Mosser and Maj. Dan Strelkauskas, then a captain and team leader, were dealing with mounting injuries and relentless fire on the ground near the cave system. Mosser was awarded the Navy Cross and Strelkauskas received a Silver Star Medal for their actions that day. Over the radio, Mosser, ordered no one else enter the draw.
“He was basically saying over the radio, ‘nobody else comes in. If anybody else comes in you’re going to die,’” Torrisi said. Then a bullet ripped through the only other corpsman on the ground, piercing his lungs and other vital organs.
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Tags: 2d Marine Special Operation Battalion, Chief Petty Officer Jeremy K. Torrisi, silver star, u s marine corps
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When they arrived at the rendezvous point where emergency crews and the park rangers were waiting, firefighters examined Beauregard’s makeshift splint, decided it would suffice and loaded her on to the park rangers’ all-terrain vehicle.
“We knew we had done something right when the firefighters told us the splint ‘wasn’t pretty but it did the job’ and they were not going to replace it,” said Beauregard.
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Tags: Christine Anderson, combat lifesaver course, Lance Cpl. Josh Rucker, Lance Cpl. Justis Beauregard, Mount Woodson summit trail, Poway California
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Helmand Gov. Mangal and Afghan national army Brig. Gen. Zazai, 205th Atal Corps commander, addressed the media during a news conference in Lashkar Gah. In the evening, representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.N. World Food Program, the World Health Organization and local nongovernmental organizations reported that no increase has been observed in Afghans leaving Nad-e Ali as a result of the operation.
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Tags: Helmand Province Afghanistan, Marja Afghanistan, Marjah Afghanistan, Nad-e Ali district Helmand Province, Operation Moshtarak, Petty Officer 1st Class Eric E. Casasflores, Petty Officer 2nd Class Nashon Stark, united states marines
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Two station Marines left the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz., on Jan. 14, 2010, to begin their journey to Afghanistan as members of a female-only team that hopes to bridge a cultural divide.
Lance Cpl. Sorina Miller, flight clearance clerk, and Lance Cpl. Dawn Doyle, military policeman, began training in Camp Pendleton, Calif., to [...]
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Tags: 1st marine expeditionary force, female engagement teams, Lance Cpl. Dawn Doyle, Lance Cpl. Sorina Miller, Marines in Afghanistan
Posted in Afghanistan, Marines, Military, Rebuilding, War on Terror • 1 Comment »

Before leaving the United States, Jan. 16, aboard the Amphibious Assault Ship USS Bataan, Gene finally got in contact with his family in Haiti.
As the earthquake began, his wife and son were in their house watching television. When she felt the first tremors, his wife quickly grabbed their son and fled the house. Just as they exited the structure, the force of the massive earthquake collapsed the house, destroying everything they owned.
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Tags: 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, disaster relief in haiti, earthquake in haiti, Haiti, Haiti quake, JTF-Haiti, Lance Cpl. Malarky Gene, Leogane Haiti, Marine assistance for Haiti, Petite Goave Haiti, relief operations in Haiti, U.S. military aid to Haiti
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The casing of the II MEF colors signified completion of the Marine Corps mission in Iraq. As the Marine color guard marched their colors off the stage, the Army color guard replaced them. Maj. Gen. Terry Wolff, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Division-Center commanding general, said the accomplishments of the Marines in the region will not be in vain.
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Tags: 1st Armored Division, Al Anbar province Iraq, Awakening Movement, Camp Ramadi, completion of the Marine Corps mission in Iraq, U.S. Marines
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Upon getting word at 3 a.m. yesterday of the upcoming Haiti mission, 22nd MEU officials began recalling unit members, and they conducted the first crisis action team planning session six hours later, Carpenter said.
“So we have been prudently planning the embarkation of the ships,” Carpenter said. “Right now, the focus is to expeditiously and safely embark these ships and get the equipment we need aboard. We are tailoring a very flexible package to ensure we can accommodate broad requests, because we don’t exactly know the specifics of what we will be doing right now.”
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Tags: 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, disaster relief in haiti, earthquake in haiti, Haiti, Haiti quake, relief operations in Haiti, U.S. military aid to Haiti, USS Bataan, USS Carter Hall, uss fort mchenry
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Basic medical assistance is not the only the service the FCT provides. While Now Zad’s male population is forthcoming about their physical medical concerns, the area’s female population has shown an anxiety about emotional concerns. FET and FCT members have shown the ability to provide the female population an emotional outlet where they can voice mental issues and concerns.
“What [the FCT] has been able to provide is really, truly an open door. When we’ve gone out into the villages to see people, [the female population] tend to open up to the female providers,” said Craig. “When I looked at the list of complaints that the females were providing to the [FCT] it was fear of Taliban, fear that my son is going to be brought into the Taliban, fear for my family, fear for my home. A lot of fear components which the guys don’t say at all.”
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Tags: 4th Marine Regiment, afghan women, Changwalak, Dehanna, Female Engagement Team, Khwaja Jamal, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, Now Zad Afghanistan, Operation Cobra's Anger, Taliban repression, women marines
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Then-SSgt. Mosser’s patrol came under heavy fire while conducting a combat reconnaissance patrol under the cover of darkness to apprehend a high value target and an enemy security element. The terrain was restrictive and mountainous with large boulders and rugged terrain along the route.
The team came upon a white sport utility vehicle off to the side of the road and a red pick up truck blocking the path. Mosser’s team dismounted from their ground mobility vehicles, and immediately came under heavy machine gun fire from elevated positions cutting off forward and rear movement.
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Tags: 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Gunnery Sgt. John S. Mosser, hero, Navy Cross, Special Operations Command, U.S. Marines
Posted in Afghanistan, Heroes, Marines, Military, Terrorist Death Watch, WOT Heroes, War on Terror • Comments Off