Tales of the Mug: Published in Leatherneck

Warrior-Scribe-Shooter Lane Miley in the turret with 2d FSSG teammates (clockwise from his left) Madisol Cantu, Allan Grodovich, Jason Huffine and Rowdy Yeatts, circa 2003 in the Middle East, gearing-up for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Bainbridge, Georgia native Lane Miley now lives in Tampa where he is field supervisor for ONICX Construction.

The first time I remember being published in Leatherneck Magazine I was a young lance corporal at a dusty, sweltering, June to August Combined Arms Exercise (09-’02 if I recall correctly) in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

I wasn’t long out of DINFOS and was eager to cover something with a bit more “action” than a meritorious promotion dinner, change of command article or ‘What’s new at the Base Hobby Shop?’ on Camp Lejeune.

We arrived at night and I remember the Marines sitting on bleachers or laying on their staged gear, waiting for the sun to come up. When it did, the morning sky looked painted as it came alive with vivid beautiful colors contrasting the earth tones of the craggy mountainous backdrop. This was very exciting and it wasn’t long until I met a tanker first sergeant who was just as colorful. I’d later serve with him in the Horn of Africa.

I rendezvoused with his men who were already at the range. Eager to do my job ‘telling the Marine Corps Story,’ I interviewed a young tank crew who described the importance of working as a cohesive team, I wrote a personality feature on one staff sergeant, took pictures of their training in the M1A1 Abrams and even got to fire the tank!

I got some awesome shots while out with those guys – huge orange fireballs coming from the turret, the Marines themselves and silhouette shots of the tanks at dusk – though the staff sergeant sucked his teeth and said they were cliche. The lighting there was amazing in the mornings and evenings!!

I never received a mug, but I remember how exciting it was to see my pictures all glossy and high resolution in the magazine – from those articles and several other photos from that training cycle. There was one of a radio operator’s dirty hand with concertina wire behind it holding a photo of himself and his master sergeant father at the previous year’s Marine Corps Ball and even one of those Marines on their gear awaiting sunrise.

— Lane Miley

(Editors Note: Lane won a pair of free tickets to the Welcome Reception at the 2018 USMCCCA Professional Development and Training Symposium in New Bern, N.C. Aug. 21-24, with his fast response. If you have a story about being published in Leatherneck Magazine, send it to hq@usmccca.org.)