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1st Intel Bn MAI Course Pushes Marines to Their Limits

January 3rd, 2023

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES —

Every U.S. Marine is taught the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, but less than 10 percent of those Marines are qualified to teach it. Eight Marines successfully completed Martial Arts Instructor Course 22-23 hosted by 1st Intelligence Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, pushing the Marines past their limits.

MAI courses include MCMAP techniques, combat conditioning, and in-class instruction on different topics from warfighting to the history of the Marine Corps. These courses certify Marines to instruct and monitor MCMAP training and advance Marines in the program, distinguishing them with different colored belts.

“I joined for the mental and physical challenge,” said Cpl. Cameron Gottschalk, a radio operator with 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and the honor graduate for MAI course 22-23. “I’m really hoping I can live up to the standard that our MAITs in the black shirts set for us.”

“In order to be successful out there on the battlefield, we need to put those Marines in the highest stress environment,”

Sgt. Avery Luengo, a martial arts instructor trainer with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.

MCMAP is a combination of mental, character, and physical disciplines. Training in these three disciplines while implementing Marine Corps leadership traits and principles, enhances a Marine’s capability on and off the battlefield.

“The character should already be in the individual, but we’re also going to emphasize the mental and physical aspects,” said Staff Sgt. Inain Torres, a martial arts instructor trainer with 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division. “We are going to teach them how and why you lead your Marines in any kind of war.”

The 1st Intelligence Battalion MAI course prepared future instructors through extreme physical and mental training. Marines must prepare for any fight they may encounter. It is necessary to prepare Marines for times of close-quarter combat.

HIGH GROUND

“In order to be successful out there on the battlefield, we need to put those Marines in the highest stress environment,” said Sgt. Avery Luengo, a martial arts instructor trainer with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. “It is crucial to maintain those leadership traits and principles in combat, even while facing fatigue. That is how we will come out victorious.”

Many Marines attend the course to better themselves and the Marines around them. It is essential to train future instructors properly. MAI’s are entrusted to pass on their knowledge and experiences to the next generation while maintaining the discipline and lethality of the Marine Corps.

LCpl Gadiel Zaragoza, I MEF Information Group

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You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up

January 2nd, 2023

Old Mirage III in Meyenheim, France

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POF-USA Tombstone

January 2nd, 2023

The new Tombstone from POf-USA certainly caught me off guard. It’s a 9mm box-fed lever action rifle with features you’d expect from an MSR including a modular handguard, ambi controls, flat face trigger and even a free floating barrel.

Probably the only thing I’m not thrilled with is the proprietary magazine. Granted it’s a 20 round capacity, but it’s yet another magazine I’ll have to procure if I want to pick this rifle up, and I do.

My hat is off yet again to POF-USA, a company who continues to innovate.

pof-usa.com/firearm/tombstone-9mm

Posted in Firearms | 11 Comments »

Tools Included at Atlas46

January 2nd, 2023

Atlas46 has created some great load carriage solutions for construction workers and craftsmen. Now, they’re offering tool rolls and pouches loaded with tools.

One example is this Double Cargo Pocket Minimalist Kit. Featuring Wright Tools, the kit includes:

• Double Cargo Tool Chest Panel
• Channel Lock Code Blue Long Nose Plier
• Channel Lock Code Blue Lineman’s Plier
• Channel Lock Code Blue Cutting Plier
• Wright 9 Pieces—Fractional Resin Fold-Up Set, Carded
• Wright 5 piece screwdriver set

See the entire offering here.

Posted in Gadgets, Load Carrying | Comments Off on Tools Included at Atlas46

Tattoos of the GWOT Vol II

January 2nd, 2023

Orders have opened for the second volume of “Tattoos of the GWOT”, a continuation of the visual showcase of some of the best tattooists specializing in military ink.

Limited to 700 copies, once they are gone, they are gone. They are had serialized and the final product will mimic the standard GSA green notebook.

store.fortherecordbook.net/products/vol-ii-1

Posted in Morale, Veterans | Comments Off on Tattoos of the GWOT Vol II

TSL 227 XL Snow Shoes in Finnish M05 Snow Camo from Varusteleka

January 2nd, 2023

Varusteleka is offering TSL 227 XL Snow Shoes in Finnish M05 Snow camouflage.

TSL snowshoes are manufactured in the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps, quite near to Mont Blanc.

www.varusteleka.com/en/product/tsl-227-xl-snow-shoes-m05-snow-camo

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TRADOC Commanding General Visits Fort Huachuca, Army’s First Multi-Domain Training Range

January 2nd, 2023

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. — Gen. Gary M. Brito, Commanding General of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, made his first visit to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca Dec. 19-20.

TRADOC oversees 32 Army schools organized under 10 Centers of Excellence, each focused on a separate area of expertise within the Army — such as intelligence and maneuver. These centers train more than 750,000 Soldiers and service members each year.

Brito, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, took a tour of the installation; experienced Fort Huachuca’s Resiliency, Awareness, Prevention, Inclusion, and Diversity (RAPID) Escape Room; and met with installation leadership, Soldiers, and spouses to discuss command priorities and was briefed on Fort Huachuca programs and initiatives.

“I think Fort Huachuca is at the forefront of building the Army of 2030, 2040, and I shared with the team earlier in that respect that 2030 is right around the corner,” Brito said. “With all the tenet organizations here at Fort Huachuca, it’s critical; the training, development, testing, and experimentation, is necessary for the Army of 2030, 2040 and beyond.”

Maj. Gen. Anthony R. Hale, USAICoE and Fort Huachuca commanding general, took Brito to Star Hill to give him an overview of the 1st Lt. John R. Fox Multi-Domain Range.

Renamed this past summer as the 1st Lt. John R. Fox Multi-Domain Operations Non-Kinetic Range Complex, it is the first Army range dedicated solely to training and enhancing the Army’s multi-domain operations capabilities.

“Fort Huachuca is well-positioned to meet the Army’s demands by building on our current capabilities as a major range test facility Base,” Hale said. “The 1st Lt. John R. Fox MDO Range will be an environment with the full development and representation of threat capabilities and activities across the electromagnetic spectrum to address our warfighting concepts and modernization requirements.”

During the USAICoE update brief, Brito heard from organizations across the installation to include Intelligence Capabilities Development Integration, the USAICoE NCO Academy and the HUMINT Training Joint Center of Excellence.

Anne Marshall, USAICoE CHRD/SGS civilian training coordinator, briefed Brito on how her office supports the development of its civilian workforce through training needs analysis, professional development, and career workshops. Some of these programs have become TRADOC best practices.

“Our programs are largely successful due to full support of leadership and Maj. Gen. Hale proves that people are his number one priority through fully funding the Professional Development Training Fund, and giving new and innovative trainings a chance,” said Marshall.

By Amy Stork, USAICoE public affairs

Posted in Army, Guest Post | 7 Comments »

SCUBAPRO Sunday – POW Ships

January 1st, 2023

Throughout the course of the American Revolutionary War, the British imprisoned a significant number of colonists as prisoners of war. They were held on ships because doing so was more cost-effective than constructing prison of war camps on land.

In Wallabout Bay, one ship that fit this description was the HMS Jersey. This port was in close proximity to New York City. The captives were handled in an extremely cruel manner. They were not provided with an adequate amount of food or water. Many of the soldiers perished as a result of diseases such as yellow fever and smallpox. More Americans lost their lives on British prison ships in New York Harbor than in all of the Revolutionary War’s engagements combined. For the majority of the conflict, there were at least 16 of these floating prisons, all of which were known for their filth, bugs, contagious diseases, and terror. They were all anchored in Wallabout Bay on the East River. The Jersey was the most infamous of the miserable ships, although they were all awful.

The British had hundreds of prisoners on their hands after the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 and the subsequent surrender of New York City, and the jails in New York quickly became overcrowded. The British then converted a number of old ships into prison ships when they started taking hundreds of seamen from privateers.

On the HMS Jersey, more than a thousand soldiers were crammed at once. When their British jailers opened the hatches in the morning, their first words to the soldiers below were, “Rebels, turn out your dead!” They died so frequently.

The Department of Defense reports that during the Revolutionary War, 4,435 people died in action. There may have been more deaths on prison ships than the 7,000–8,000 that one historian estimated. Some sources have that number as high as 12, 000 dyeing on the prison ships. Although such number is improbable for a single ship, it is plausible for all of the prison ships taken together and is frequently used.

Elizabeth Burgin was a loyal and brave citizen. We don’t have a lot of information regarding her life. It is well knowledge that she paid as many visits as she could to the captives held aboard the British prison ships. She provided the men food as well as a joyful spirit. An American officer took note of her frequent trips. He intended to provide assistance to a few of the inmates so that they might flee. He requested Elizabeth’s assistance in carrying out his plan. The British authorities did not permit male visitors on board the ships. Elizabeth gave her consent for the inmates to be informed to prepare. They were able to escape the ship with her assistance. The winter of 1779–1780 was one of the coldest on record. Men were able to escape from the ships by walking on the ice that formed when the water in the harbor froze over. During the winter of that year, Elizabeth Burgin was responsible for freeing more than two hundred convicts.

The anger felt by the British was palpable. They were willing to pay a reward of two hundred pounds for information leading to her capture. This sum was greater than what the majority of British troops were paid throughout their whole career of twenty years. Elizabeth was concerned that she might be executed by hanging. As a result of being forced to escape her home, she had to leave the majority of her valuables behind. Elizabeth’s bravery was praised in a letter that General George Washington sent to the Continental Congress. In recognition of her service and sacrifice, the Continental Congress awarded her a pension in the year 1781.

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