Strategic Communicator sought

LMI seeks a strategic communicator to support a federal government customer in Northern Virginia. Join our team of collaborative self-starters focused on advising senior leaders on communications strategies and delivering targeted, effective messages to affect organizational change and support employees’ professional development. As part of our high-performing team, you will Read more…

Dale Cook is buried: 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division (Iwo Jima veteran)

Marine Corps League Detachment’s founding commandant Dale Cook and president of the San Francisco Joe Rosenthal Chapter of the USMCCCA, was laid to rest recently.  (Photo from MCL1155)

By William Michels
(Bill Michel’s father served in the 4th MarDiv during WWII)

The funeral for Dale Cook was an impressive affair befitting an Iwo Jima veteran. In addition to Dale’s large extended family who attended from around the country, proudly assisting at the service were veterans from a number of local groups, led by a contingent of Marine veterans from the Delta Diablo Detachment 1155 Marine Corps League (1155 MCL), which Dale Cook founded. Ably assisting the 1155 MCL Det was Mount Diablo Det 942 MCL, VFW Post 10789, the American Legion Post 202, and staff of the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building. These veterans (including Marine veterans) coordinated flags, flowers and photographs for the Rosary Mass on the previous evening (Monday), and were prominent throughout today’s (Tuesday’s) full church service–many serving as pallbearers.

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Requesting combat stories from occ fields 43XX’s and 46XX’s

First lieutenant James Mercure is requesting your personal stories from combat within the legacy 43XX, 46XX Occ field to help train our Marines (and future Marines) for combat and as a forcing function/evidence for an additional formal combat training requirement for Marines in the 45XX field before a deployment. Questionnaire is here.

In the legacy 43XX, 46XX MOSs, there was often a significant disparity between training before a deployment and the expectations of the Marine while deployed i.e. the Marines were not prepared prior to a deployment and some were labeled incompetent because they were not properly trained or integrated with the unit prior to deploying. Some Marines also adapted to their environment and were successful operating under fire based on their own initiative, intuition and instinct.  This is a success story for that Marine, but it should not be on the individual to “figure it out” when lives are on the line.  Also, a firefight should not be the first occasion a Marine thinks about what to grab; their rifle or camera?

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